A Great Day of Driving

Today was a sleep in morning and it did everyone well.  This was the first motel that we stayed in that breakfast was done at 9:00 am and it was the first time we weren't up long before breakfast was done.  In fact most of us weren't even out of bed by 8:15 am.  The kids really enjoy being able to fix their own breakfast in the morning and have been trying new things.  Andrea and David really enjoy the waffle making machine at the hotels.  I've had a few of them myself and they are very good.  They also have little pastries so now Natalie thinks there should be a "dessert" at breakfast now.

Tsunami Evacuation Route

We meant to take a photo of the card in our hotel room this morning before we left but we forgot.  It was a Tsunami evacuation plan which told us what to do in case of a Tsunami.  Apparently there is a chance in that part of Washington for major damage if a big wave were to come.  We also saw a number of signs throughout the towns.

Welcome sign to Oregon??

All through Canada we were blessed with great visitor information centers and ambassadors.  So far we have yet to experience this in the States.  We've now driven through two States (Washington and Oregon) and have yet to see an actual visitor center on the highway.  They have information kiosks but all that is there are brochures and pamphlets, but there is nobody to talk to which is how we got most of our information through Canada.


It didn't really matter anyhow because we had planned to drive straight to California to visit with Pierre, Paige and their two children Everett and Vander.  I'm sure there are lots of beautiful things to see in Washington and Oregon but when you drive on the Freeway you don't see any of it.  When we left Sequim this morning we had about two hours of hilly, backroad driving as it was a secondary highway and then we hit highway #5 which runs from the BC/WA border all the way to Mexico.  It became very level in southern Washington but then turned into mountains again in southern Oregon.  Lots of long slow uphills and fast winding downhills.

Francois makes the Kraft Dinner

We stopped for lunch just outside of Portland and at a highway rest stop.  The kids played football while Tanya and I prepared lunch which was Kraft Dinner.  After lunch I threw the football to the kids while they ran some wide receiver routes.  We had lots of fun and it was a great way to spend some energy.

The sous chef preparing the veggies

Playing Football

Tag Football

The kids traveled really well today and because of that we had very few stops.  We arrived in Medford, Oregon just before 8:00 pm, checked into a Ramada Hotel and headed straight for the pool.  At the visitor information kiosk, Tanya picked up a coupon magazine which had a coupon for Monday nights at this hotel so we got it for a really good rate.

1,2,3 Jump!!

After the pool, the kids responded to a few emails that they have received from friends - they love to get them.  Tanya and I are now planning tomorrow's travels which should see us arrive in Concord.  The kids are really excited to see their cousins since they've never seen them in person before.  Tanya and I are excited to see them as well.


The license plate watch continues and we are getting more and more stranger looks all the time.  Last night when we were boarding the ferry and clearing customs, the customs officer had no idea where PEI was and said he had never heard of the place before.  Numerous times today cars would pass us, slow down and look at the front plate, realize we had no front plate, change lanes, slow down and let us pass them so they could get a good look at the plate and then pass us again.  We are thinking of making a sign that we can hold up that explains what the plate is and where we are from.


Tomorrow marks four weeks on the road.  Hard to believe that we are almost at the half way point.  Watch out California... here we come.


Francois