Steamboat Springs

I have not posted a thing this summer! I guess I was too busy enjoying it to the fullest. That's what we'll say. Tomorrow, I head back to work - new job. More about that, perhaps, another time. For now, allow me to post some memories from our family vacation to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Since we drove out there in order to avoid planes and airports, we got to make a stop in Omaha and see some very good friends and a former neighbor. Ernie is very special to us, and we were so pleased to be able to see him for a quick visit!

Steamboat Springs was really a great spot. It's a ski town, of course, but we enjoyed hiking a couple times. This one was Fish Creek Falls. It was delightful. If we ever went back there, I'd want to be in shape enough or acclimated enough to make the hike to the second set of falls, but this was a really beautiful spot regardless.

Another short hike we did was up around the place where the lift drops you off. Erick and I tried to hike up to this point later in the week, but it was the altitude again. Everything is just a bit harder.

My favorite thing we did was rent e-bikes. Basically pedal assisted bikes helped us enjoy the scenery without having to push so hard that we couldn't breathe. It was really a fun thing. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to bike but doesn't like to struggle on vacation. 

The food in Steamboat was pretty good. This meal was excellent. A nice little tapas place, which you don't expect to be delicious in Colorado, but it was! Plus, the lighting. Look at our gorgeous girl.

None of us had ever spent any significant amount of time in Colorado, so we were very excited to get a glimpse into what people love. Colorado is the home to the heart of so many people we love. I can definitely see the appeal. It truly is some of the most beautiful landscape you can see all at once! It was a very fun trip. 

Minnesota Moments

Our original 2020 vacation was across the pond. As we're not welcome there right now, we had to think again. So, we packed up our inflatable kayaks and our dog and headed north. A few days in Grand Marais, and a few days in Duluth. It was quite pleasant. I especially loved our time in Grand Marais. 

We are the people who let our dog sit at the table with us. He's such a good guy to have around. He rarely embarrasses us. Now that we're back home, he's disappointed that he no longer gets to sit around the table with us. 

We didn't kayak as much as we thought we would, but we did get out on Two Islands Lake, and it was lovely! A really pleasant time.

We got multiple great hikes. This one was inland, and the mosquitoes were THICK. We came away with very few bites, but we were just wiping them off our necks as they settled. 

We had a couple of rainy days. On one of them, we still got out for some hikes, and Leo was less than thrilled with that particular adventure.

My favorite spot in all of Grand Marais is Artist's Point. It's beautiful and peaceful and takes some intention to get out there. I really enjoyed the scramble over the rocks to get there.

Our hotel was right on the beach of Lake Superior. The water was cold, but it still made for a lovely setting. And of course Sophia got in it.

Something I didn't know that I wanted to do was swim under a waterfall. True that this isn't the biggest waterfall we saw by a long stretch, but it made for such a nice natural freshwater swimming hole that we really enjoyed swimming here even though we had a pool back at the hotel in Duluth.

This was in Duluth on our last night of vacation. The whole trip was as relaxed as I think we're capable of being right now. Masks in public places. Washing hands and not eating inside, etc. It was much needed in terms of a change of scenery and a restart to our routine. Hoping now we have the steam to make it to the start of (online) school. 

Beautiful Oregon

I may post more details later, but for now, here are some of my favorite things from our week in Oregon.


Favorite place we stayed:
Two nights in this lovely tiny house in the Boise neighborhood of Portland. We enjoyed the restaurants and shopping within walking distance.

Favorite drive:
The drive out past Mt. Bachelor here, with the top off the rental Jeep.

Bonus: Fall Creek, which comes from snow melting from the South Sister mountain (seen here) was so cold that even our "polar bear" daughter couldn't keep her feet in for more than five minutes. It took her a while to get the feeling back to her toes so we could take a hike.

Favorite hike:
The hike in the Three Sisters Wilderness, next to Fall Creek was a marvelous one. We didn't make the whole 11 mile trek, but we plan to make it happen next time!

Favorite overall place:
Smith Rock State Park

Each turn revealed something new and beautiful. Crooked River is something special.

It was actually quite a warm day. I could have kept going and going. As it was, my hiking partners were troopers and we all had fun!

Every time I thought it couldn't get better.

Each time I was impressed.

This one, though. Just pure showing off. Okay. Smith Rock clearly won my heart.

Favorite river:
The Deschutes
We floated it.

In various states of togetherness in our individual tubes.

We rode through Class 2 rapids. On my first trip down, I banged my right knee. On the second trip down, I scraped my right shin. On the third (pictured) trip down, I flipped the tube and lost my hat and glasses.

Sophia flipped, too, but came out happy and whole. The adventure was worth it.

Favorite locals:
Erick's uncle Bill & Cheryl

Favorite Beer:
the Wit from pFriem Family Brewing in Hood River

Favorite sunset:
In the Hood River Park across from pFriem

Favorite activity:
Trail ride over the Columbia River Gorge

Favorite story:
We topped out here, and I'll let Sophia tell the tale of our narrow trail

We had more adventures and lots more views, but these were my favorites. I'll tell you the stories when I see you next!

NOLA on my mind

Over break, the three of us and our little dog hit the road for New Orleans.

It's possibly my favorite city, though I love lots of cities. I just feel the most at home there. Erick and Sophia love it, at least they love it in the winter. I am pretty sure Sophia would want nothing to do with summer in the south.

We hit some of our favorite spots - like the hot dog joint on Magazine Street.

Our dog likes Dat Dog. He also likes Magazine Street. He always makes friends there and gets lots of loving. But the hot dogs are definitely his favorite part.

In all the times that we have taken Sophia to New Orleans, we have never taken her to the Audubon Zoo. That's strange considering the zoo was one of our favorite things from our first trip down there in 2002 (honeymoon). We fixed that this time. It's a really great zoo. And what would a zoo in the swamp be without some baby gators?

Another new thing for Sophia was an evening in the Marigny. We spent the evening on Frenchmen Street, listening to live music in a club and on the street. It was my favorite evening of the trip, and that's saying something!

We had a great visit in New Orleans, as we always do. Soaking in the sights, sounds, smells of a unique and delightful place.

Hanging with these two is always the best part!

Disney Whirlwind

The week before Christmas, we headed to Orlando. Disney World is a lovely place - magical and bright.  It was even more fun that it had been the first time! 

Sophia did a great job about not complaining about the heat, even though she was sweating the entire time. 

I had some sinus trouble that got me down in the middle of the days, but a quick trip back to the resort for a nap for me and a swim for those two ended up being just the ticket.

We did all four parks in three days. Hollywood Studios was one that we probably won't do again, except that they're planning a huge Star Wars world there in another year or two. This time around, these guys made the trip worth it.

It was a great vacation! It was just the right mix of activity and togetherness and making great memories. I'm so lucky to get to travel with these two. We never find ourselves unable to have a good time in each other's company!

The Vacation Post

I truly intend to post more than once a month, but the summer has been so full and fun, partially full of couch laying and snuggling, that a blog post seems like way too much work. This does not bode well for my or Sophia's productivity in a few weeks, but I guess we'll deal with that when it comes.

We have been back for almost a week from our vacation to Portland and Seattle. That was one of the best trips we've had yet, and we've had a bunch of good ones.

We had a couple great beach days in Seattle. Erick and I got a little sunburnt. I always forget that the Seattle sun packs a little extra punch. It was worth it, though. I had my face sunscreened up, but my arms were sorely lacking. So at least I hope I didn't add any new cancer cells to my face. Downer.

One evening, we left our totally responsible and always surprisingly older kids (15, 12 and 9) at home to play video games while we headed out for some live music with our friends. Oh, did I mention that for our week in Seattle, we were staying in our friends' home? Because we did. And we still didn't tire of one another. Always amazing. But look at these faces! How could you lose?

Before we did Seattle, we did a bit of Oregon, and we loved it. In this picture, Sophia is actually quite congested, but she was a good sport. The higher we went (up Mt. Hood in the background), the more stuffy she got. But it was so beautiful!

This was a really strange landscape and riverbed called the White River. It's so interesting because the rocks here are different than they are anywhere nearby. We were fascinated. And Mt. Hood is hidden in the cloud behind us. Tricky guy.

All along the drive, we stopped at many picturesque locations just to see what they were all about. Water is always Sophia's favorite, and she can probably tell you about each water source we found and compare the temperature and speed to all the others. We saw all three of these and many more in our one drive through Oregon. There is so much exploring to do out there!

And now we're home and getting ready to start getting ready to start getting school supplies. Sophia is not looking forward to going back. This is the typical dread that settles in and dissipates on the first morning of school, kind of like the cloud over Mount Hood. That morning, she'll remember at the last moment to look back and say, "See ya!" 

Vacationing with Leo

Taking our little dog, Leo, on vacation with us was probably one of our biggest concerns. He's a lovely guy, but the longest he's ever been in the car with us is four hours, and he doesn't love it. Add to that our concern that Sophia wouldn't sleep in the back seat while he was there with her, and we were hoping it wasn't a terrible idea. 

Within the first hour of leaving home, Leo had growled at Sophia to get off him as she tried to lay down. She had complained that he was taking up too much room and she couldn't get comfortable. We were more than a little worried at this point.

Then... I don't know what shifted. Either they both finally got tired enough or they just accepted their fates. Regardless, they settled in, and never had any trouble again.

Having Leo with us was actually quite wonderful. In New Orleans, since it wasn't raining, we ate almost all our meals on patios, which meant that he was welcome to join us. He did so in a very mannerly way. He was charming to all and pleasant for us.

Here are Sophia and Leo in the lobby of our hotel. The Hotel Indigo is very dog friendly. During our first couple of trips through the lobby, we counted six or seven canine guests, all sweet and friendly. None quite as cute as our own, but then...

While we were in Gulf Shores, we didn't take him out to eat with us, but we had lots of time together. He loved hanging out on our deck watching the waves and the seagulls. He also loved running through the sand like a crazy dog.

Mostly, though, he enjoyed the same thing he enjoys at home: snuggling up on the couch.

Overall, I'd highly recommend traveling with Leo. He's a great companion. Sophia is very interested in taking him on our next flight, but that's an adventure that I'm not so sure about.