Pajama Pizza Party in Medford

Greetings Friends!  I apologize in advance for the shocking lack of pictures in this post.  There is a story behind that irritating business...maybe I'll share later.  For now, I will share the cuteness before me.  My boys are currently sitting on a queen sized bed at the Courtyard Marriott in Medford, OR.  They are wearing matching pajamas and they are watching one of their favorite videos, Crazy Hair Day.  Daddy will be arriving shortly with gourmet pizza for the grown-ups and pepperoni with no cheese for the short ones.  Sparkling water for us, chocolate almond milk for them.  YUM!

We are celebrating our last night of travel after ten days on the road.  This was our very first multiple-day road trip.  We did pretty well.  There were a few moments that were less than lovely, but I think those are pretty normal for most families who travel together.  Here are some of our highlights.

Our first night on the road we stayed in Dunsmuir, CA at the Rail Road Park Resort where every room is a real caboose that has been converted.  Yes, the boys were both absolutely entranced.  This was the point at which I realized my camera battery was dead. I had failed to bring the replacement, and I was officially sad.  I know that Grandma and Grandpa, with whom we were caravanning at the time, took a few shots.  We'll see if I can get a few of those eventually.
Our second day of driving, Paul was noticeably confused.  He kept asking the same question over and over.

Paul:  "Where are we going?"
Mommy or Daddy:  A brief explanation of the concept behind a road trip
(about an hour later)
Paul:  "Where are we going?"
Mommy or Daddy:  Another failed attempt at explaining to the four year old mind why we are spending so much time in the car.

To his credit, Paul did not once ask if we were there yet.  I don't think he ever actually grasped the fact that we would eventually stop being in the car all day. Sweet, patient, trusting child.

Our  second night we stayed in Fresno.  Paul bunked in with us while Luke stayed with Grandma and Grandpa.  That works so well for our people who just haven't been able to successfully sleep in the same room yet.  And while it was just a regular hotel with no railroad theme, there was a pool and the boys found this delightful.

One thing I failed to mention earlier was the absolute deluge we had driven through and continued to drive through.  It rained all day for three days straight from Portland to Palm Desert, CA.  Seriously.  It followed us.  Crazy.

But the boys and I were NOT deterred.  Upon arrival, we discovered that the condo had a fabulous in-ground hot tub.  Being in a hot tub in the rain is so fun!  The boys and I spent our first evening thus "relaxing" while the Daddy-Man unloaded the car and set up camp.  Yes, I realize that staying in a condo in Palm Desert is nothing like camping, but it's kinda as close as I get right now.  Yes, you can mock me.

We spent the next five days enjoying the pools, the parks, and time with Grandma and Grandpa, along with a number of other So Cal family members.  (Official shout out to Betty, Ellen, Barbara and Lyle - it was great to see you all!)  The boys also were able to build legos and drive remote control cars.

Friday morning we were up early and on the road by 7am.  Our longest day of driving was before us and this Mommy wanted to be sure it ended before dinner time.  We made it to San Jose by 4:30 on the dot!  I LOVE gps.  My favorite stretch of road on this drive was Highway 152 - so beautiful!  Green rolling hills with really pretty trees.  We are going to drive that road again without children sometime.

Our arrival in San Jose was a warm welcome from Uncle Jim and Aunt Judy.  Although the boys were heinous at dinner, they were delightful at breakfast.  Road-weary four year olds are hard to please.  Sorry, Aunt Judy.  I thought dinner was wonderfully delicious.  After a fun evening around the kitchen table, we passed out in our beds.

This morning we decided to take the scenic route through San Francisco, over the Golden Gate Bridge, thanks to Uncle Jim's fun suggestion.  The weather was junk, but it didn't matter.  That bridge is cool.  The boys thought as much and so did I.  It was also super fun to go home a different way than we had come.  It was hours of different scenery before we eventually hit I-5 and turned off the gps.  Follow the road home, people.

When we saw our first sign with mileage for Portland (around 380 miles), I had the brief thought of pushing through.  Because I'm pretty done with the road for awhile.  But we would have pulled in around 9pm.  That would have sucked big time.  Besides, this is Erik's favorite hotel of all time.  The Courtyard Marriott in Medford is a pretty accommodating place, I must admit.  If they could just get my four year old to fall asleep quicker...

We pulled in here just after 4pm.  We swam in the pool.  We sent Daddy for pizza.  We put on our pajamas.  We cannot wait to get up in the morning and head for home.  I hope Paul asks where we are going.  I really want to say, "Home!"