Day 1- Nothin' but Drivin' and Eatin'

"The Americans have found the healing of God in a variety of things, the most pleasant of which is probably automobile drives." --William Saroyan

Friday, we deemed a travel day. Nothing but driving, driving, and more driving. The goal was to get to Portland by the end of the day, and to enjoy some delicious food along the way. We scheduled our stops around favorite eateries. We bid an enthusiastic good-bye and good-riddance to the heat and road work that has been plaguing Utah, and we were off. We didn't stop until Boise. We drove 5 hours straight, without so much as a potty break. I'm telling you, traveling with big kids is glorious.

Upon arriving in Boise, we indulged in some yummy neapolitan pizza from Flatbread Pizza, a little gem discovered by Alicia and  Ryan a few years ago. I was too busy stuffing my face with fondita fondue to take any pictures.

Then it was back on the road for three and a half hours of what we lovingly refer to as "the ugly part of Idaho". Jonah fell asleep instantly. He was wise. He missed nothing. The rest of us listened to music. We welcomed a change from boring sagebrush to lovely pines as we crept up and over the Blue Mountains. At this point, Jessica was picking a jam for each member of the family. I don't remember everyone's hand-picked jams, but mine was "Walking In A Winter Wonderland" by Annie Lennox, Neil's was the theme from Chariots of Fire, Sabrina's was something from the Les Miserables soundtrack, and Spencer's was Shining Happy People by REM. At this point, we began to descend upon that patchwork quilt of farmland known as Pendleton Oregon. We love Pendleton for Roosters restaurant.

Naturally, we were hungry again, so we stopped for bowls of our favorite homemade chicken noodle soup, with homemade noodles. Spencer claims that it's "almost" as good as his mother's homemade chicken noodle soup. He won brownie points for that comment. 

Sabrina ordered what would be the first of a steady stream of chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, chicken fingers, and chicken strips. I shudder to think of how much deep-fried chicken product that girl consumed over the coarse of the vacation. It's all she would eat, so what are you going to do?

Jonah ordered his second helping of Macaroni and Cheese for the day. We had to get confirmation from the waitress that it was indeed Kraft macaroni and cheese and not anymore of that hideous gourmet stuff made from fine cheeses like the pizza joint offered. The adults were more than happy to finish off his macaroni at lunch, but he had his dinner all to himself. His macaroni came with fish crackers, so he basically had a big plate of orange for dinner.

By now our tummies were full beyond capacity, which was indicative of what the rest of the vacation would be like. A whole lot of face stuffing.

Before getting into the vehicles for our final stint, we took a traditional Roosters photo. This photo is always one of my favorites, because we are all smiles as we anticipate the adventures that lay before us.

We were now down to the final three hours of our drive. This is where the drive gets fun. We look forward to passing the tree farms and the multitudes of windmills that didn't used to exist. And we wait patiently for our first glimpse of the beautiful Columbia River. When it makes it's first appearance in all of its massive glory, then I know that I've arrived, and the drive is nothing but a pleasure from that point on. And we watch as the temperature gauge steadily drops. It's a beautiful thing. In Boise, the temperature was at 104 degrees. By the time we arrived in Portland that evening, it was 74 degrees. And that's how it is done my friends. Twelve hours of focused driving will take you from a hot desert to a cool green oasis. We got to the hotel tired but excited. We were pretty sure that one great week lay before us, and we were right.