We're not big fans

I'm happy to report that New Orleans is back. The French Quarter (FQ) is alive and kicking, and Southern hospitality is the real deal. (The people we met on the street and in our hotel were by far the friendliest people we have met on our trip.) The jazz music was outstanding with pretty much every street corner band soundings soulful and deep. To top it all off, our second wedding anniversary dinner was at a very romantic restaurant in the FQ that served amazing contemporary cuisine with Southern influence.

We really did enjoy our time in New Orleans, but the city was not our cup of tea. It centered around Bourbon Street where smut and alcohol were heavily advertised and abused. It was downright obscene. I felt dirty walking down the street. I really couldn't imagine any city promoting or at the very least condoning this type of behavior, but this is exactly what New Orleans is doing. I hope as the city continues to rebuild that the people look to focus on more positive aspects of their culture like the jazz, the food, and the history.

Plantation owners??

We're back on the road, and this time we're heading to the Big Easy - New Orleans. On our way to the Mardi Gras capital of the US, we took a slight detour down plantation alley. The was the road next to the Mississippi river that large plantation owners in the 1800s built their massive estates. I felt a bit like Fletch in the movie "Fletch Lives" - coming down to New Orleans to check on our inheritance?

Our plantation visit took us to the Houmas House - the crown jewel of Louisiana's River Road. I was pleasantly surprised at how well maintained the private owners kept the house and grounds. We took a stroll around the estate and even had a mint julep in a bar that use to be a small separate house for bachelors. As the house tour began, we sipped on our mint juleps and pretended the tour guide was giving us a tour of our new house. We were very impressed with all the details - beautiful crown moldings and lavish silver banquet pieces. This is what Southern living is all about.

As we drove down plantation alley, we did see some smaller plantation estates for sale. Maybe it was possible to be plantation owners? I just have to somehow get use to the mosquitoes. Hmmm, maybe not.

A wonderful family dinner

For one of our last nights in Dallas, we got together with family for a great sit down dinner. No, it wasn't a Chinese restaurant - surprisingly. We went to a Cajun seafood restaurant. I'm not quite sure what the family's connection to this restaurant is, if any, but the food was very good. What made the dinner even better was the wonderful company.

I have to admit that I haven't been very good at keeping up relations with my dad's side of the family. The usual excuses being time and distance. Though during dinner, none of that mattered. Everybody just focused on catching up with each other, and enjoying each other's company. It felt like old times, with no one missing a beat. I think that's how it should be with family or with friends. If only every day was this easy and enjoyable.

Big D

We're in Dallas visiting my dad and step mom for a couple of days - taking a break from being tourists for a little while. Dallas is funny, everything is big. You've got big cars, big roads, big malls, and even big people. It's no joke when Texans say they do it big in Texas. Large does have its drawbacks, like driving an hour just to go for dinner. That's considered normal in Texas.

Taking a step back for a minute, I wanted to thank our Aunt Georgia and Uncle Gary in Oklahoma City (OKC) for their wonderful hospitality and conversation as we, too quickly, passed through their area a couple of days ago. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting extended family members, and was pleasantly surprised with all that Oklahoma had to offer.

Last but not least, let's not forget Thunder-querque. On our marathon 18 hour - 2 day drive from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to OKC, we stopped in Albuquerque for the night and witnessed an amazing thunder and lightning storm. Some of the bolts of lightning lit up the sky in a sea of deep purple - a color we had never seen before in lightning. I tried to take some pictures of the lightning, but it was pretty difficult to catch lightning in a bottle, uh, camera.

Wondrous Grand Canyon

After exploring Zion for most of the day, our heads were filled with such great natural beauty, I didn’t know what to expect upon our arrival at the Grand Canyon lodge. All I knew was that I was very excited to see the Great Big Ditch (no not the Boston Tunnel Project). I practically ran through the lodge to the sun room that looks out over the Grand Canyon.

It’s hard to describe the Grand Canyon in words that does it justice. Krista said it was like describing the Pacific Ocean. It’s just so darn big and overpowering that it’s hard to get your mind around something that impressive. Upon further research, I did find a passage in the newspaper that we got as we entered the park did an excellent job explaining why it’s grand.

It is the ensemble of stunning dimensions – the melding of depth, width, and length – that sets the Grand Canyon apart. Nowhere else is such a dazzling variety of colorful rock layers, impressive buttes, and shadowed side canyons revealed in such a dramatic chasm. Grand Canyon is the canyon by which all other canyons want to be measured.

The view did not disappoint even with my high expectations. I’ve never seen anything in nature that beautiful, and I watch a lot of Discovery Channel.

We then hiked along a very narrow ridge to Bright Angel Point to view the sunset. This busy trail is only 4 feet wide, and for most of the way, the sides of the trail fall straight down for 100s of feet. I must say that I was really scared at times. Even with impending danger at every corner, the view at the end was worth it. We were dangled on the very tip on a rocky outcropping that offered almost 360 degree views of the Grand Canyon. This was one of the best days of our trip.

Amazing Zion

Zion as an afterthought? I decided only at the last minute to squeeze Zion in before our stay at the Grand Canyon. In hindsight, I wished we would have stayed at Zion a bit longer. We were both very impressed with the natural beauty of Zion AND with the efficient public transportation system that got us around the park.

Our trip into the park from the Eastern side – supposedly the best way to enter the park – was perfect. The set up was a wind sculptured landscape of rocks that looked like cake batter whipped into smooth waves or checkerboard at times. Up next, a mile long tunnel through hard rock that only added to the suspense. The designers had blasted a couple of viewing holes in the tunnel that offered quick glimpses of what was in store for us. As we exited the tunnel, the full majesty of Zion exploded in front of us. We were in the middle of a huge multi-colored canyon with a host of smooth and jagged peaks accentuating indomitable stone walls. It was breath-taking.

We parked at the tourist center and rode the shuttle that takes visitors to various stops along the scenic drive that we hadn’t even seen yet! We saw rock formations that could have been national monuments in themselves with names like The Three Patriarchs, Angels Landing, The Great White Throne, and Temple of Sinawava. We also went on a hike to see an emerald pool, which were nice though not as spectacular as the canyon walls. We reluctantly left Zion, as we still needed to drive to the Grand Canyon that day, knowing that we only sampled some of its wonders.

Sweet Sedona

One of the great things about road trips is the unplanned surprises that we stumble upon. Zooming up US-89 toward the North side of the Grand Canyon, we had the option of stopping in Sedona or just continuing with our route. We decided to stop, and we were not disappointed.

Sedona lies in the middle of Red Rock country – towering buttes and spires of red rocks that are unbelievably deep in their color. It made from a dramatic background for the town. The town itself was very cute, maybe a bit touristy with all those tour shops and time share stands. In truth, we didn’t spend much time looking at the town. Our gaze was squarely set on the beautiful scenery and thinking how lucky we were. We would definitely come back to Sedona and maybe enjoy some of the world-class spas in the area.

Hottsdale and Dr. Death

Hell-o from Hottsdale, oh, Scottsdale. It's hot, really hot, here. We woke up at 7AM to go for a morning walk. Our host, Jon, informed me that it was 90 degrees outside (at 7AM!) and asked if it was too hot for me. I decided to go outside to get a feel of the heat. I was closing the door behind me and almost burned myself on the metal door knob. The door had been in the sun, but it was still pretty hot. Needless to say, we decided to stay indoors.

To backtrack a bit, I want to share a little bit of our trip from Buellton to Scottsdale. After leaving the LA area on Rte 10 the scenery quickly turns into miles and miles of desert with 100 degree plus heat. I was running low on gas and decided to stop at what I thought was a good sounding name of a town, Desert Center. From what I could see after exiting the highway, the town consisted of a couple of boarded up buildings and a rundown gas station that was charging $3.99 a gallon.

I reluctantly drove to the gas station where I met Dr. Death. He was downright scary. My first impression was that he seemed mad. (I think it was due to a combination of 120 degree heat and his choice of clothing - jeans and a flannel long sleeve!) Krista commented that if he wore black gloves, he would be a shoe-in for an axe murder. I didn't want to test out her theory. We got some gas and quickly made our way back to the highway.

Back in Scottsdale, we've been pretty lazy. No long days driving around sightseeing. Just relaxing indoors with plenty of air conditioning and doing laundry. We're really enjoying the break from doing touristy things. Next stop, the Grand Enchilada (Canyon)!

We've been busy

It may sound silly to say that we need to take a break from our travels in search of a little R&R; but, nonetheless, a little relaxation is exactly what we need. Since we left San Francisco this past Tuesday, we have been busy little travelers - trying to squeeze in every fun California thing to do. We headed south to the seaside playgrounds of Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel. We took the 17 mile drive around the peninsula, stopped in for leisurely noontime cocktails at the gorgeous Lodge at Pebble Beach, and wandered the nooks and crannies of posh Carmel (which incidentally reminded us of the atmosphere in Greenwich, Connecticut).

The following day we drove down Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) headed for the Santa Barbara area. The "Today Show" described the PCH earlier this week - "every turn seems more breathtaking than the next and you continually feel as if you need to take a picture". And, if the drive itself wasn't spectacular enough, we traveled along with some type of antique road show. Hundreds of all types of vintage cars accompanied us along our journey down the coast. They were fantastic!

Eventually, we arrived in San Simeon to pay a visit to the second largest tourist attraction in the state; the Hearst Castle. Flowery words just cannot describe this estate. With 150ish rooms in the main house alone and the beautiful Spanish architecture, Italian art, etc. etc., it is a must see. Visually stunning - of course; yet what really made an impression on me were two things......

1. How much more can be accomplished with a good team (even a team of two) than as one person working alone.

2. Amazing wealth and good fortune mean all but nothing if you can't share it with others.

If you haven't visited, it’s something to put on your list. The story is inspiring.

As we continued our travel down PCH, we visited Morro Bay just to the south of San Simeon. It's claim to fame is a huge boulder on the side of the bay that’s a mini Rock of Gibraltar or a larger Haystack Rock. It’s quite impressive. But, more notably, the last place where I dipped my feet into the Pacific Ocean. The beach is very big and a fun place to run around and stretch your legs!

We stayed in Buellton for a couple of days to do the “Sideways” tour. The Santa Ynez Valley is an up-and-coming wine region that gained increased notoriety through the movie. We took the same tour as Miles and Jack; through the barrel room at Firestone Vineyard. The valley is quite breathtaking with acres of manicured vineyards. We really enjoyed our time at several of these winerys; very informative, some interesting varietals, and not too many people! Buellton’s other "claim to fame" is their famous split pea soup! Who knew? I love split pea, and it’s actually worth a try.

We had a short afternoon in Santa Barbara – the supposed American Riviera – that we wished was longer. We drove down State Street towards the pier that once was used for fishing and is now a tourist trap just like most of the other piers in coastal California towns. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and a long promenade along the ocean was calling us. A walk would have been nice, but we kicked it up a notch and rented a two man bicycle. It was a classic California moment – biking with other tanned Californians along the promenade with palm trees on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

As much as we have enjoyed every fun-filled day in the golden state of California, at some point we should head east or we might just find ourselves in Mexico. It that spirit, today we say adios to California and hello Arizona!

Good friends and good times

What if a genie came up to you one day and asked you for three wishes. What would they be? I would hope that I wouldn't get lost in the moment and ask for something trivial like a brand new Ferrari. What I hope I would say is continued good health, solid relationships with my family members, and great friends. On this last long weekend trip into San Francisco, I enjoyed the latter two. It was a whirlwind couple of days that left us exhausted, but happy to say that we'll be back.

We started off the weekend with a happy hour get-together at the Redwood Room. It's a great intimate bar inside the swank Clift hotel. It's a must see if you're near Union Square. It's hip and happening even after all these years. We had a great time reconnecting with old friends. Even though we haven't seen or talked to some of them in a while, time and space did little to break the initial bonds of friendship. We chatted into the night with only fatigue from a long week getting in our way.

For the rest of the long weekend, we spent more time with family and friends and indulging our passion for good wine. Our trip to Napa was wonderful though it didn't meet our high expectations. The area is down-right beautiful with manicured vineyards in the forefront and rolling hills in the background. With this beauty comes a price - in this case that price would be the hoards of tourists. With yearly numbers exceeding Disneyland; they invade the one-lane roads and quaint tasting rooms. On our next trip, it's tastings on the weekdays and appointments on the weekends.

We would be remiss to not thank our wonderful host and friend, Mehdi and his beautiful family. He is truly one of the good guys. Thank you Mehdi and Luciane for all of your hospitality. We also want to thank Mike for cooking us one of the best meals, at home or in a restaurant, that we've had in a long time. The meal started with homemade mushroom soup, the main course was cinnamon curry lamb with stir-fry sugar snaps and corn, and we finally ended things with caramel drizzled chocolate cake and ice cream. The meal, beautiful wine, and great company we shall not soon forget. And many thanks to all of our friends that made extra special time to hang out with us in the city. We had such a great time with each and every one of you!

Mendocino

As we drive south toward San Francisco today, we are sad to leave the quaint, little town of Mendocino, California. We arrived in Mendocino on Thursday after another breathtaking drive along the northern California coastline. Pictures really can’t do it justice. The coastal bluffs, jagged cliffs, driftwood strewn beaches, rolling green hills, meadows and wildflowers were spectacular! We stopped to watch a family of Billy goats along the side of the road.
As we drove into Mendocino we stopped to take in the striking coastal views. The small town is perched high on a cliff above the blue Pacific; the coastline decorated by the huge, black rocks dotting the landscape. We checked in to our hotel in the middle of Main Street; The Mendocino Hotel. The hotel first opened in 1878 and still retains it’s historical ambiance and character. It was extremely comfortable and absolutely charming. After a delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant, we decided to take a walk along the ocean bluffs and watch the sunset. We were able to walk all along the edge of the sea cliffs to watch the huge ocean waves pounding the rocks below us. As we were watching the sun sink lower and lower in the sky, we were in for a real surprise. Far out in the ocean, we could see about 15 huge whales leaping all the way out of the water. It was an amazing sight. They are such beautiful animals, and we have never seen so many of them before. As we went to sleep we listened to the sounds of the ocean waves pounding the rocks and the low, monotone moan of the foghorn.

The Bull

Yvonne, here's the picture of the bull that we encountered. It's a bit fuzzy as I was try to be quick about taking the picture. I guess I was nervous. The bull did take a couple of steps towards the center of the road as we approached, and then we make eye contact. He won the stare down. We quickly left his turf.

Billy goat climbs

When I was young, I use to love to climb trees. The taller the better. Weak branches, impossible hand holds, bring it on. I’m not quite sure when my attitude toward height and danger began to change. What I do know is that it has changed, and I’m not the crazy kid I was before.

Our day started with a leisurely walk around Founder’s Trail off the Avenue of the Giants. The park ranger told us that this trail is rated an “88”, which means that it is wheel chair accessible and elderly people can walk along the trail. We had a great time admiring the redwoods and just communing with nature. It’s our second day with the redwoods, and I’m still amazed by them. It’s hard to describe how impressive they are. I can give out facts and figures about their size and circumference – the largest around 380 feet tall and 60 feet around - but that only goes so far. Big is one thing, but to be noble and awe-inspiring is another. And these redwoods have all of that and more. They are well worth a visit.

We then started what we thought was our second leisurely activity of the day – a drive to Shelter Cove. It was only about 21 miles away, and the brochure (marketing devils) said such nice things about it. Our drive started with a few windy roads and quickly turned into a Billy goat climb. I’m talking about ascents that felt as if the car would not make it. After our final monstrous climb up what should have been a mountain, we began our descent through switch back hell. This was all punctuated by sheer drop-offs that were only a few feet away from the car, and obviously no guard rails.

An hour and a half later, we arrived at Shelter Cove. I knew that this drive was pretty special because the smell of burning rubber was in the air. In other words, I had ridden the brakes for so long that they were getting hot and starting to burn up. I wouldn’t recommend this drive, and Shelter Cove has little going for it besides the Black Sand beach. I wish we would have continued our walk along Founder’s Trail – crazy kids.

The Lost Coast: the bull and the blackberries

Up till now, we had prided ourselves on taking the “scenic” routes rather than the direct route. As we ventured out from Eureka towards Ferndale, we knew this could be our most adventurous scenic route yet. Our plan was to drive around the Lost Coast. We’ve read that most Californians don’t even bother to drive this route as it’s too remote and takes too long. We knew this was a challenge worth taking.

First things first, we stopped at the cute Victorian town of Ferndale. What a great little town! It’s like a trip back in time; the days when a town was centered on Main Street and everybody knew each other’s name and business. This is the town I envisioned when I was reading the great American classic – “To Kill a Mockingbird”. On our way out of Ferndale, we talked to our waitress about the drive around the Lost Coast. She was surprised that we were inquiring about the trip as it can be quite dangerous in the winter time. I must admit that I was a bit hesitant at this point, but we pressed on.

To say the road was a bit treacherous is an understatement. We drove on uncomfortably narrow one lane roads with no guard rails and climbed up the sides of very large mountains. While traffic was understandably light, there were a couple of large semis carrying lumber that passed way too close to us. Even with danger at every turn, we thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent views that this part of the unspoiled California coastline offered us. It’s definitely a must see for those that want to get off the beaten path.

The Lost Coast had a couple more surprises for us that were much more tangible and up-close. We knew we were in rugged territory. Sometimes the paved road would turn into dirt for a while and houses were the exception not the rule. What finally struck us, almost anyways, was our encounter with a huge bull that was between us and the rest of the road. I’ve hit a deer with my car before - unintentionally. I’ve seen sheep on the road, but I’ve never seen a bull in the middle of the road before. There was a small part of the road that it didn’t occupy, so I told Krista to drive slowly but continue to drive around the bull. We were inches away from the bull as we drove past, and, from the driver’s seat, Krista said that they made eye contact. She looked right at his huge face as we slowly cruised by. The look on his face could only be described as an apathetic annoyance; definitely irritated by our presence but much too lazy to do much about it. It was pretty freaky! Luckily, nothing happened. I will admit that I was scared. Not for me, but for my car.

Our last surprise of the day was the discovery of a huge plot of blackberries on the side on the road. We love blackberries, and we picked and ate our way through them. It was amazing to enjoy some fruits of the land. I felt like I was on “Survivorman”, and I just found some food. I will say that after picking blackberries for a little while, I can appreciate why they cost so much. There are prickly needles everywhere. Needless to say, I was a bit cut up after our blackberry adventure.

We say goodbye to Oregon with black sand beaches, sea caves, and wild elk…

We love southern Oregon! Monday was a breathtakingly beautiful drive. We left Florence and headed for Northern California. Checking the miles on our odometer, we have passed the 2,000 mile mark since our arrival in Seattle. This is completely crazy considering that the mileage coast to coast is approximately 3,000. And, within those 2,000 miles, we have traversed through only three states. We obviously love the northwest…

The drive down the coast of Oregon was indescribably breathtaking. The huge rock formations that decorate the coast are so beautiful and make the northern pacific coast unlike any other. We stopped for lunch in the small town of Bandon. More chowder, crab, etc…. But, what really took our breath away was the beach. Nothing like we had ever seen. Hundreds of “sea stacks” lining the Pacific Ocean beach. We descended about 50 steps to get down to the beach and the huge rock formations. We were surprised to feel the sand between our toes; softer and finer than any beach we had ever touched in Hawaii. It was foggy and cool along the beach. It was also low tide which allowed us to really explore the rock formations. As we got closer, we could see that the rocks were actually enormous sea caves. We explored around them and through them. There were millions of mussels and other sea life growing on the sides of the rocks. We actually pulled fresh seafood from the sides of the sea stacks.

As we moved steadily towards the northern California border, Oregon had one last surprise in store for us. About 25 elk stopped to graze along the side of the highway. We stopped along the side of the road and watched them for a while. They didn’t even seem to notice that we were there. A few miles later, we were crossing the border into the 4th state on our journey; California … We arrived in Eureka for the night. Historical, small and quiet; Eureka is a unique town.

Dunes & Dungeness Crabs

Yesterday was one of the best days we've had on the road trip - on many levels. First, was a leisurely dune buggy ride on the Oregon sand dunes. It was suppose to be a family activity which usually fails to please everyone. We had less adventurous young kids, thrill-seeking adults, and more seasoned elders - all with their own level of expectations to contend with.

The mood of the excursion was immediately set when we were all tightly buckled into our seats with professional race car harnesses. The ones that go over both your shoulders and buckle together in the middle of your chest. As we exited from the wooded staging area, our first impression was the shear expanse of the dunes - as far as we could see, 32,000 acres to be precise. Our second impression was the kick of the dune buggy. There were 10 of us on the dune buggy and we went from 0 to 50 up a dune way too fast. What made it even more exhilarating was that we went down the dune even faster.

It was one of the best roller coaster rides I've ever been on with the beauty of the Oregon coast sprawled out around us. Everyone had a great time, and we agreed that this would be an annual activity for us. Even after two showers, a dip in the hot tub, and numerous Q-tips, I knew I had a good time because I'm still digging the sand out of my ears.

For dinner, we had our last family dinner at a great local seafood restaurant that offered all-you-can-eat Dungeness crab. I, as a value eater, was immediately drawn to this proposition. I will concede that I didn't eat as much as I had wanted. But when my mouth starting to lose the ability to taste the crab, I knew that I had enough.

Finally, we said goodbye to Krista's family. It was extremely sad to say goodbye after two weeks any many adventures. We offered to take the kids with us, but they steadfastly said no - smart kids. Thank you, Soubanh & Kara, for letting us play with your kids and giving us your bed. Thanks, kids, for being so cute. Thank you, D&Y, for your hospitality. As we say in Hawaii, thank you for your kokua.

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We're Back!!

I guess we can't get enough of Oregon. We're back. After visiting with our dear friends Jackie and Jun in Portland and leaving for Idaho to visit Krista's family, we're back on the Oregon coast. I must say Oregon is quite beautiful during the summer time; though, it's not just the weather that Oregon has going for it.

Did you know that you're not allowed to pump your own gas at the gas station? Not allowed. Illegal in fact. I tried, mistakenly, and I was stopped. Politely, of course, but stopped nontheless. The gas station attendant told me that Oregon is the last state in the union to still provide this perk, which really is nice. They recently had a vote on whether to stick with the status quo. I'm happy to report that the status quo has been maintained.

Another really nice perk, which I'm beginning to appreciate as I get older, is having tax breaks. The great people of Oregon don't pay sales tax - zilch. When you get your bill at a restaurant. It's nice an even. No taxes to mess up the final tally. No need to dig for change. Whatever the price is, that's what you pay. I've been trained to always expect something higher. Sometimes it's just nice to pay the price on the menu.

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Ode to Idaho

Today is our last day in Idaho. Tonight we head off to the Oregon coast with all of Krista's immediate family - D&Y, the kids, and the kids' parents. Looking back at the last two weeks, there are a few more things I would like to mention about the potato state.

There is a great specialty store in this area called D&B. I'm not quite sure what the "D" and "B" stand for. Is it "Dirt & Barbwire"? Or is it "Dust & Barley"? All I know is that the place has very cool stuff for ranchers. The picture to the left is us in a D&B store trying out some cowboy hats and playing up the part. Casey actually found a steel feed bucket filled with cow hooves on sale for 99 cents each. I'm not quite sure what you do with cow hooves and I don't really want to know. But I am pretty sure that ranchers know what to do with them.

My father-in-law is actively involved in the tech industry in Boise. Yes, there is a booming tech industry in Boise. And he was commenting to me about how the Treasure Valley, as this area is called, doesn't have a high-tech name yet. The San Jose area is called Silicon Valley. The Portland area is called Silicon Forest. After some serious thought, I now proclaim the Boise area as Silicon Canyon. Here's my line of reasoning, valley was already taken and there are some gorgeous deep canyons surrounding Boise that should get their due. Please feel free to share your idea of an appropriate name, but mine is Silicon C-A-N-Y-O-N.

As a final tribute to our last 2 weeks in Idaho, this is my ode to Idaho.

O' Idaho, you brought me good weather

A lazy river that at times wasn't so lazy

A comfy bed that was light as a feather

And a family that really isn't that crazy

O' Idaho, you gave me rest before our long trip

A new smell that I didn't recognize ... hay

A love of little kids that will keep me hip

And, finally, a love of Idaho that I can not slay

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The Mini Mini

For extended time with the grandchildren, my father-in-law categorizes road trips into three buckets - road trips, mini road trips, and mini-mini road trips - with the biggest distinction being time and distance. Road trips would be like week long trips from Boise to Seattle. Mini road trips would maybe be a weekend in McCall, and mini minis would be a night at a nearby hotel. (I wonder what he would call our 2 month cross country trip? A mega road trip?)

In that spirit, we set off on a mini mini road trip to Cascade, Idaho with Krista's parents Dan and Yvonne - who will going forward be called D&Y - and "the kids" - Krista's sister's 3 adorable children, Austin, Casey, and Madison.

While Cascade isn't that far from Boise, when kids and cars are involved - as we are learning - distance is relative. You've got bathroom breaks, snack breaks, lunch breaks, sightseeing breaks, etc. Our early start and 75 mile mini mini road trip quickly becomes a half day affair, and we arrive well into the afternoon. The next lesson on our road trip with the kids is that indoor pools and children are like peanut butter and jelly. They go great together, and once you mix them together, it's hard to pull them apart.

For the evening accommodations, we were tasked with taking care of the two youngest. Essentially, we were parents for the night. There was bath time, teeth brushing time, down time, and then sleep time. In between, that's where a parent really earns their keep. Kids can be adamant about the weirdest things, and sometimes we as parents or prospective parents need to bend a little. We had three beds in the room, 2 full beds and a pull-out. Casey stubbornly wanted to sleep alone on a full bed, and Madison wanted to sleep with Krista. I wasn't going to sleep on the lumpy pull-out, so the pull-out went empty and I squeezed into the other full bed. Ahhh, compromise, or might it be called poor parenting. Who knows, let's just keep the crocodile tears to a minimum.

In spite of the many wildfires in Idaho right now - the most in the US - we had a great time staying at the Ashley Inn Hotel, a beautiful resort owned by friends of D&Y. They made us feel right at home with their warm hospitality and comfortable accommodations.

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