On Wednesday, July 15, we left on a nearly two-week road trip to Oregon. Jim worked a half-day, and then we took off as soon as we could after that. This was the stack of books we brought on our trip:
Ever was going to read Capitol Mysteries to the littles. (She's already read the series.) She wanted Nancy Drew for herself. She and I were reading The Mystery of the Treasure Seekers. The littles and I were in the middle of The Witches. I was reading The First Four Years to all the girls, and we were going to read Little House on Rocky Ridge after that. Jim was reading Hattie Big Sky to all the girls, although Tiny wasn't that into it. He was also reading The Return of the Indian to all of them, and in case they finished that one, The Secret of the Indian was the next and last in the series. I took A Wrinkle in Time in case all three girls and I needed another book to read together. So there you have it.
Many of the books were neglected on the trip, but we quickly finished The Witches. The girls were obsessed with my accent (which is in the book, but I exaggerated it). Months later, Tiny still frequently says, for no reason, "The vitches of Inkland!" I finished The First Four Years. I started and finished A Wrinkle in Time, thanks to several hours of reading on the last day. I got very emotional at the end, so it was quite a dramatic performance. I started Rocky Ridge. Jim gave me a break from reading, while I gave him a break from driving, and he read some Hattie Big Sky at the end. The girls are ruthless story-listeners. I read hour upon hour upon hour, and if I ever stopped to say anything to Jim - even to help him navigate - or to rest or take a drink or anything, they'd yell, "Mom! Read!" It was brutal. No one has ever read so much.
Back to Wednesday - I read, Jim drove, and we made it to a hotel outside Sacramento. A guy was sitting in his car in the parking lot, pumping music and blocking the gate. Then on our way up the stairs and around the building to our room, we passed some really sketchy characters. I was pretty frightened of the place, to be honest. Jim had to go back out to get something from the car, and I was relieved when he returned to the room safely.
Thursday morning we found a pastry shop for a malnourishing breakfast.
Then we finished the drive to Collins Lake to meet Dawn and Ed, who'd been camping there all week. They reserved a site for us just a few spots down from theirs and had set up a canopy tent by the lake near our site. They took us out on the lake that afternoon, and the girls did some tubing.
Ever was eager to try wakeboarding but wanted someone else to go first. Jim showed us how it's done. He never falls; he rides and rides until his arms are finally tired enough that he lets go or tells us to stop. He's amazing.
Ever tried her hand. Jim swam out to get her situated. It took her a number of tries to get up, but she was determined. Once she got it, though, she got up easily every time. We were so excited for her when she started doing it.
Ed cooked us all dinner that night. They provided and prepared all the food, which was so nice. We discovered when we set up camp that my sleeping bag had not made it into the car, despite my being sure I had put it in its stuff sack at home. I put a towel under me and a towel over me. It was hot when we first settled in, although I did get a little cold in the middle of the night.
Dawn tipped us off that there were a ton of wild blackberry bushes near the entrance to the lake. The littles slept in a bit Friday morning, so Jim and Ever went blackberry picking alone. Then Ed make us pancakes and sausage for breakfast, which we enjoyed with our blackberries. Dawn remembered the girls' love of Nutella and whipped cream, so the pancakes were decked out in all the favorite toppings.
We went out on the lake, and Ever and I improved at wakeboarding. Jim and I wanted to take the girls to Bridgeport, and Friday was the only day we could go. It got late, though, and we debated. Finally Jim made the call, and we headed out. We didn't totally know where we were going, so we took some detours. The girls fell asleep in the car and were still asleep when we finally found the place. We sat in the car in the parking lot and let them sleep. By the time we hit Bridgeport, it was really late. The girls really enjoyed it, though, and we were glad we went. We swam up the river as far as we could go. It was really exciting that all three girls could swim on their own. Swimming is the best milestone. I thought they'd be into jumping off the rocks, but they only jumped once. Jim and I remembered the water as being really cold, and I was concerned because we didn't get started until so late. The water was not bad, though, and we were able to have a good jaunt upriver without getting too chilly. This is the only pic we have, of the girls as we arrived:
Jim had promised the girls ice cream. We barely made it back to Collins Lake in time to get some from the ice cream shop there before it closed. It was a late night. While were were at Bridgeport, Dawn and Ed had set up a giant fan by our tent because we'd mentioned it was hot the first night. So nice. And I believe even though everyone was exhausted and it was crazy late, we still read before bed because that's our thing when we camp.
Saturday morning we all went berry picking together.
Deer sighting:
We had another breakfast feast courtesy of Dawn and Ed.
We went back out on the lake. Ever was so tired she appeared on the verge of passing out.
We explored the far end of the lake.
Tiny was also very tired.
We docked in a quiet area and swam.
Then we did some more wakeboarding. The littles got restless on the boat and jumped in the water every chance they got. When anybody went down while wakeboarding, they jumped in and swam until the wakeboarder was ready to go again.
Exhausted, white-faced Wrenzy also did some flag duty. (You're supposed to hold up a flag to signal when a wakeboarder is down in the water.)
Tiny tried to nap.
There was more tubing.
We had a great time. Dawn and Ed did all the work and were such gracious hosts. We said our goodbyes Saturday afternoon and continued our drive north.
