Pacific Northwest Trip - Day 1 (Travel Day)

I type this not knowing what our wifi situation will be like tomorrow and thinking I better get at least one post in. It is only 7:20 here, but I feel like it's 3 in the morning. Both Will and I didn't sleep very much last night and were up at 4:15 for our 5 am cab to O'Hare. We woke the kids at about a quarter til. Our early riser, Ethan, likely loved this. Eleanor, since she was excited about our trip, woke up happy, but she did keep asking in the cab, "Why couldn't we wait until morning to leave?"

The drive to O'Hare was fine, though it was raining. I guess this is one advantage to having to be on the road so early. After some annoying run-around by American Airlines, we made it to our gate with a few minutes so spare. We did sit on the runway for about 40 minutes, but we were able to make up some time in the air. The flight itself was smooth and pleasant, and both kids did very well. They watched Kung Fu Panda cartoons, and I was able to watch the latest Avengers movie, which was the in-flight movie. Keeping my eyes open was a bit of a challenge. Our first flight was to Vegas, and because we were a bit late, we had to hustle to our connecting flight. After grabbing the world's most over-priced sandwiches, we trekked to the other side of the airport (seriously, like the farthest away from where we started...we had to take a train) to find our next flight on the final boarding call. Fortunately, we were not the only ones racing their from a connection. Eleanor and I sat together with Will and Ethan a couple rows behind. A shorter flight, it went by quickly and was also pretty painless.

We got our luggage quickly only to realize that Will had left our booster seat on our plane. We were able to retrieve it from customer service and then we took a shuttle to pick up our car. Thirty minutes of annoying sales tactics later, we drove off in our Chevy Impala. Our destination for the night was Eugene, Oregon. Eleanor was asleep in her carseat within minutes (she NEVER sleeps in the car, so she had to have been very tired!) and Ethan drifted off for ten minutes or so. The drive down I5 was pretty, with mountains in the distance, lots of wheat farms, and several wineries. When we got close, Will took a detour to check out the University of Oregon stadium. We were not able to go in, but we did get a picture outside of it.

We had dinner at the first place we saw, really, after driving around for too long in downtown Eugene. Both kids (and at least one parent) had hit their travel limit for the day, and the expensive (yet tiny) sandwiches from lunch had long worn off. The place was called McMenamins East 19th Cafe. Kind of hippy like and very good. I ordered a salad with walnuts and blue cheese with a very tasty vinaigrette. I was interested in some local wines but just felt like I would fall asleep on the table after one glass.  Our nice waiter did bring me a taste of a delicious pinot noir. After dinner, we made a quick stop at Hayward Field, the track of Prefontaine fame. Again, we were not allowed in. There was an international teacher event going on. But a very nice guard pretty much told Will that it is not always closely watched, so maybe we will try to run a lap in the morning.

By 6:30 Pacific time, we were at the hotel. It is a Comfort Suites and very nice. We just stayed in one in Indy, and while it was nice, this one exceeds all expectations. We have two queens and a couch bed, so the kids don't have to share a bed, and the room is very spacious. I know already that our next two nights in Crater Lake will be much more rustic...the kids are going to be disappointed after this place. :) The kids took a quick trip to the pool while I got the room ready for bed. Ethan conked out already, but Eleanor keeps asking me questions from her bed. Stinker.

I am going to enjoy some Goldfish crackers and a ginger ale Will pilfered from one of our flights. Will left to "explore," which I'm pretty sure means he won't be back any time soon and will return with a few groceries. Tomorrow we head to Crater Lake, and I am pretty excited to see it. I saw it from the plane - looks absolutely incredible.