Road Trip, Second Stop: Crater Lake (2nd day)

On the second day, we had a boat tour that took us out to Wizard Island as well as around all of Crater Lake.  A Park Service guide pointed out all the crazy geological points of interest.  Then they let us off at Wizard Island for three hours.  We took the opportunity to hike to the summit and enjoy another view of Crater Lake.  That hike was rated "strenuous," as was the hike down (and later, back up from) the landing for the boat tours.  So Ellie completed two strenuous hikes that day!  She also had a bit of a nap on the second half of the boat tour, so maybe that helped ;-).  We also discovered that the chipmunks are very tame, and seem to even stand up on their back two legs as a trick.  See if you can find one in one of these (many) photos!

Road Trip, Second Stop: Crater Lake (1st day)

Get ready for a gazillion photos.  This place is just so amazing.  It looks just like it does in the photos (only bigger).  Here are photos from the day we arrived.  We stayed at the Crater Lake Lodge.

Road Trip, First Stop: The Edgefield

We embarked on what is really our first family road trip.  Ellie tends toward carsickness, so we've avoided anything that requires long-distance driving.  This summer though, we thought it was time to explore Oregon.  To prepare, we got some advice from an occupational therapist regarding car sickness and we also brought along some Bonine.

We are starting off with a night at the Edgefield (where we got married), then heading to Crater Lake for two nights, then over to Bandon on the southern coast of OR for three nights, then up to the Manzanita area on the northern coast of OR for four nights.

First stop: the Edgefield.  What should have been a 3-hour drive was somehow a 4.5 hour drive on a Thursday afternoon.  Ugh.

A romantic dinner for three at the Black Rabbit restaurant.

A walk around the grounds the next morning.

Did I mention that Ben rocked his 180-mile bike ride?

Dedicated to finding a cure for cancer, faster, the inaugural Obliteride appeared to us to be a fabulous success.  Ben finished the two-day ride very strong, and I had a great time meeting up with him at our alma mater to hang out at the end of day one.  We even got to sleep over in the old dorms (which I moved into 20 years ago, whoa).

Heading out Saturday morning

At the finish line on Sunday!

Ben rode with his co-worker and friend, Andy, the whole way.

Cousin Laura comes for a visit!

Cousin Laura came out for a long weekend to celebrate graduating from college and starting up her new adventure teaching 6th grade special education.  She fit us in between teaching gigs, and we did our best to show her the best of the PNW!  We are proud of you, Laura!

Friday evening cruise on Lake Washington - pink sparkling wine, gourmet sandwiches, and a cruise through the montlake cut!

On Lake Union, with the city in the background.

On Saturday morning, we headed out to Columbia Winery to support Ethan's Run and Children's Hospital.  

Ben came in 2nd (out of everyone!) in the 10k run.  Ellie did great in the kids' dash but definitely needed some motivation on the 5k walk she did with me and Laura.

After the run/walk/dash, we had a great brunch at Barking Frog and then Laura and I did some wine tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle, Delille Cellars, and Januik (then we took a nap ;-).

On Sunday, we took a day trip to Guemes Island which is part of the San Juans, and so small we had never heard of it before.  It has its own little ferry that runs and takes about 5 minutes to cross from Anacortes to Guemes.

We did a nice hike up to the highest point on the island.

On Monday, Laura and I walked Ellie to her new elementary school for kindergarten camp.  Ellie was a bit apprehensive, but also very brave and had good things to report each day of the week.

Sitting in the Kindergarten room for the first time!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

We had a birthday party for Grandpa while we were in MN, complete with cake and a competitive crossword puzzle!  Here are some photos of the whole gang and the birthday boy!