Happy Halloween!

Although this video has nothing to do with Halloween,

I thought it would be a good time to post it,

just in case you need some holiday cheer. 

Now, moving on to Halloween:

This year we were going to make Orin a polar bear costume.

Later we changed "polar bear" into "snow cougar"

to go with Orin's cougar screeches, which

he loves to demonstrate his unmatched ability to produce.

However, when Halloween rolled around,

Orin had already worn his snow cougar costume so often that

we decided we needed a new idea.

So for Halloween this year Orin was

a Stew.

Unlike most babies in their first costume,

Orin seemed to actually enjoy being a stew.

He even got quite into sampling himself...

and, just in case you can't see the details in the last picture,

I will provide a close-up of the tongue-action

Maybe a dash of salt...

Settling In

As you might have noticed,

lately I have been making a habit of not taking my camera with me,

leaving scores of undocumented life occurrences.

Fortunately, our life isn't that interesting,

so you haven't missed much.

For a quick summary:

As soon as we arrived, Casey and I set out to transform 

the living room/ dining room

into a little baby-proof studio apartment.

I have no "before" pictures for you

but here is what the space looks like now:

This is my office...

Orin's corner, including his awesome new crib...

One side...

And the other side

(that pile of blankets on the bed is hiding a napping baby,

in case you were wondering)

We even added a couple finishing touches

 to really make it feel like home

 including dog-butt leash holders.

Other than that, we have just been relaxing, 

hanging out with friends and family,

and enjoying being back in Oregon.

In the next post I will reveal the latest "Orin news,"

but for now, nap time is over and 

motherhood is calling.

Loudly.

Home Again

On the last day of the trip, we woke up in Boise, Idaho

and drove without stopping until we crossed the Oregon line.

Although eastern Oregon, with its patchwork of farmland, looks 

nothing like home to us, it still felt good to be in the right state again.

But enthusiasm only takes you so far,

and shortly after crossing the state line, we were forced to stop

for a little breakfast.

The locals got a kick out of us when we posed for this picture.

Casey declared that Orin wasn't a keeper.

We kept him anyway.

After filling our bellies it was back to the van for one last haul.

We spent the next 5 hours staring across flat farmland, 

until finally entering the Columbia Gorge.

Seeing the river gave us another huge energy boost.

I don't think we were passed by a single car the rest of the way home.

Up until that point,

I wasn't even aware the van could move that fast.

The entire trip our max speed was:

"we are probably going to make to up this hill,

but I would put any money on it."

Now we were flying.

At last, after nearly 10 months on the road,

we pulled back in the driveway on 9th Street

and were home.

When I think about the experiences I have had over the last 10 months,

it is hard not to feel overwhelmed.

The only thing I can say for sure is if you are planning on

getting married,

 traveling across the country,

living out of a van with 3 large dogs, 

having a baby,

and then doing the return trip. 

 The most important thing,

without a doubt, 

is to have good company.

Live, love, and laugh.

Until next time.

Idaho

Out of all the states on our way home, 

I was most excited about Idaho.

Ever since my first road trip, I have had a fascination with Idaho.

In particular, I remembered that there was a city there 

I really liked with something about "Falls" in the name.

So when I saw that we were going to pass through Twin Falls, 

I told Casey we should try to block out a little time to spend there.

To make a long story short, Twin Falls was not the place I had been.

In fact, it was not very exciting at all.

We were beginning to feel rather disappointed when 

we saw a sign for Shoshone Falls

and decided to give the town one more chance.

The drive down to the falls was beautiful and only heightened our 

sense of anticipation.

Shoshone Falls was, after all, the Niagara of the West.

Except when we got there we realized pretty quickly that the

Niagara of the West was dammed. 

I suppose that none of the locals here realize that Niagara Falls 

is actually a waterfall.

Oh well. 

There was, after all, a pretty trickle.

That counts for something.

And the views were well worth the trip regardless.

But I am not quite sure Twin Falls lived up to its expectations.

Next summer, we are hoping to go on another road trip,

this time hitting five or six national parks in

California, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.

On that trip, we will go through Idaho Falls.

That will be my last shot at redemption.

But for now, we are all going to enjoy the last night of Motel 6

before making the eight hour drive to Portland tomorrow.

See you in Oregon.

Wyoming-Utah

Wyoming is beautiful.

Vast expanses of natural beauty and not much else.

We drove through America's smallest town:

Bedford, Wyoming: Population 1

I wonder if it will stop being called a town when that guy dies.

We also passed through Wamsutter

whose billboard states (I kid you not)

"Wamsutter: It's more than you would expect"

After Wyoming, we headed into Utah

to be confronted by more beautiful scenery and

monster feet.

Maybe its just me, but doesn't that kind of look like a

monster foot?

In Utah, we hit a baby.

We decided to keep him.

Pictures of Utah cannot describe

how wild the landscape is. 

Its like you could wander off the highway and 

drop off the face of the world.

Next: Idaho,

but that will have to wait because its time for bed.

Hope you are all well.

GO RED SOX!!!

Indiana-Illinois-Iowa-Nebraska-Wyoming

After spending the night in Ohio,

we woke up early to breeze through Indiana and Illinois.

We didn't even stop at the windy city,

the last major show of human presence on the earth that

we would see for the next several days.

Because after Illinois we plunged into Corn Country:

Nothing but corn for all of Iowa.

(although I hear there is a college somewhere in there for people

craving monotonous flat scenery... I love you Andy)

And almost all of Nebraska

although they have some cows too.

Just when we thought that we were never going to see anything

but corn, cows, and pavement.

We entered Wyoming.

A state that has cows, corn, pavement,

and a super creepy rock statue of Lincoln.

Try sleeping with this image on your mind.

Yikes!

But by western Wyoming

we got our first glimpse of the Rockies.

And snow.

More on that tomorrow.

No Way, No How, No Walmart

Some of you might be wondering where 

we have been staying this trip.

I am glad to inform you that we are not staying 

in Walmart parking lots.

Why?

Well, for several reasons:

1. There is way too much gear in the van for us to make the bed

and all sleep comfortably

(This is the pile of stuff that I have to climb over to get to Orin,

I am turning into quite the gymnast on this trip)

2. Sleeping in Walmart parking lots is only slightly more fun

than having a root canal drilled

and, most importantly,

3. We have cats.

Needy Cats.

Cats that crave such luxuries as a litter box

and some time out of their carriers.

On day one, I hadn't gotten the cat situation figured out.

I think I left them in there too long because, in sheer protest,

Cali chewed her way out of her carrier.

To flaunt her new-found freedom,

she decided that she would make herself comfortable

on top of Trouble's carrier.

This wasn't fair, of course, so we had to make an emergency stop

to get her a chew-proof carrier.

Now I let the cats out in the afternoon

after making a spot in the chaos for their litter box.

They love their hour of freedom,

and often spend it assisting with the navigating.

Trouble is more useful in this regard than Cali

who doesn't bother to look at the road.

So, to answer the original question of where we have been staying:

Motel 6: the discount, pet-friendly chain

Which is where we are right now, stretching the definition of pet friendly

and watching the Red Sox fall apart in their World Series efforts.

(Please Note: I had to go back into this blog and edit this last section:

What a rally!!! Go Sox!!!)

See you tomorrow.

A Stroke of Good Fortune

I have recently been informed of a bit of information 

that allows me to feel substantially better 

about my early-trip directional mess-up.

We were in a truck stop the other day looking for stickers for the van.

While poking around in the isles, we ran into a friendly trucker

who informed us that we should be thankful we weren't in the midwest 

a couple days earlier.

Apparently they got over two feet of snow, 

closing down the highways for hours.

So between my bad directions, 

and October knowing the perfect time to break down,

we missed quite a serious storm.

Luck rides with us I suppose. 

Niagara Falls (Finally)

Yesterday we finally reached Niagara Falls

the first, and only, official stop we have planned for the trip home.

As we followed the crowds towards the falls, 

Orin, sensing excitement in the air, 

started flailing his limbs and cougaring wildly.

The people walking in front of us kept turning around to watch us,

intrigued by the crazy baby.

The falls were nothing short of spectacular

and were highlighted by picture-perfect rainbows.

It was well worth the extra trip.

After New York we drove through Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the 

Constitution of the United States

and the Declaration of Independence.

They also have a pretty cool glass yurt.

And an optimistic motto.

Today, we travelled through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa.

Highlights of that section of the trip will have to wait, though,

because I am off to bed now to dream of fields of corn

as far as the eye can see.

Goodnight from the central time zone.