Road Trippin'

Greetings from the road!! With the Subaru packed to the gills, we hit the road yesterday morning and embarked on our first day of travel - 9 hours to Whiskeytown, CA. As we approached the old mining town, the car's outdoor thermometer hit close to 100 degrees. Whew - we were hot. Luckily, the Oak Bottom Campground where we had reservations that night offered a refreshing dip in the cool waters of Whiskeytown Lake. What wasn't so refreshing, however, was the smoky air from the nearby wildfires. To top it off, we had some rowdy camping neighbors who decided it would be fun to stay up (with kids in tow) until all hours of the night, screaming and yelling obscenities! This didn't really bother us, however, since we were still enamored by the comforts of our new tent, which felt like an estate compared to our old one.

Playing Rummikub at the campsite

Brickoven pizza....almost

We got up early this morning and drove 7 hours to Portland, Oregon where we excitedly checked into our hotel: The McMenamin Kennedy School. It's an old elementary school from the early 1900's that was converted into a hotel. We both agreed that this was BY FAR the coolest place we've ever stayed. With original blackboards and coat racks in our very own hotel room, we could play school all day long (OK my dream, not so much Matt's...). There's also the hallways full of art and photos, the "Detention Hall" (a bar with unique brews), the "cafeteria" - a great restaurant, outdoor fireplaces......aah a teacher's haven!

Matt got sent to detention

Were these water fountains always this low??

Tomorrow we depart for Seattle - only 3 hours away! So far we are thoroughly enjoying our time both on the road and at our daily destinations. What a nice change from the hustle and bustle that preceeded this trip....it's so nice to RELAX!!