Smith River California

From Crater Lake, OR we traveled South to Smith River, CA to visit some old friends.

Not just any old friends.

Matt and Meagan are friends we grew up with and went to church with. Friends we don't see very often because they moved North, but friends that we have such a good connection with we can spend months or years apart and still pick up right where we left off.

Forever friends, those who we love and cherish and feel blessed to know. The best kind of friends.

To top that off my sister flew in to stay with us for the weekend. I was one happy girl.

One thing I have missed terribly on this road trip is time with girlfriends. Oh these girls were so good for my soul. We just laughed and laughed...

while the kids played and played...

and the hubbies watched baseball.

It was awesome.

We spent a few days at the river, soaking up the sun and enjoying the sparkling clear water.

The boys jumping off the rocks.

The kids played with lizards, salamanders, fish and even snakes.

Layne was in heaven with this baby lizard, she would talk to it, put it in her hair and on her nose. So gross but she's our tomboy.

One day at the river the hubbies caught Crawfish and decided to cook them up after dinner.

A lot of work was put into catching, boiling and cracking open these little guys.

One other nice part about this stop was the opportunity to visit the church where my friend Megan's dad is the pastor.

It felt so good to be in church, another thing we have missed while on the road.

After church we were invited for a late lunch at the pastor's house. This family is known for there hospitality, we felt so welcomed and the food was absolutely amazing.

Megan's parents live on lots of land, so the kids were happy to roam free. They all loved the tractor rides.

Driving home that day we spotted this cute guy...

right next to this sign. So funny. I wouldn't mess with people from Smith River!

Part way through our stay we had to say good bye to my sister. Even though our time together was short I am still so glad I got to see her.

Since we have already explored this area a few times before on previous visits, we were able to pick and choose a few of our favorite spots to see again and Stout Grove is definitely one of them.

The dizzying heights of these redwoods make it impossible to not look up while walking.

Stout Grove is a natural playground for kids.

So much beauty.

We had the best time in Smith River. The area is gorgeous, the weather was perfect and best of all was the time spent with good friends and family.

Bend Oregon

I get it. I totally understand now why so many Oregonians choose to vacation in Bend and some Californians choose to move here.

So much outdoor recreation, so much beauty to discover.

To kick off our stay we visited Tumalo Falls.

The hike led us from one waterfall to the next making it fun to discover what was around every corner. That day was officially our first day of the new school year, even though we have been schooling throughout our trip. I now have a Kinder, 3rd grader and 6th grader. I am loving this age, all elementary school, they have adjusted well to "less structure" and Justin and I have enjoyed watching them learn through exploration and hands on experience. Our school life is far from normal right now, but it works.

Speaking of school, I had the kids start a scrap book at the beginning of our trip.

In each binder they have written about places we have traveled to, and collected brochures or other keepsakes to add along the way. The binders are getting heavy and are just about full. Hopefully in the years to come they can look through them and remember their time on the road.

In town near the Old Mill District we strolled down paths, played bocce ball and floated the Deschutes River.

But what made our trip to Bend extra special was that we were able to meet up with an old friend from high school who has been traveling full time with her family in their RV for over two years. When we first started on our trip we crossed paths with them many times, but were unable to find the right time and place to connect. Of all the places they've been to throughout the US and Canada, this family has now decided to put down roots in Bend for their permanent residence, and since we had already planed to visit the area it was the perfect spot to meet up.

Instant best friends, these two. They had a blast.

And I couldn't get enough of this special relationship.

With our friends we collected frogs and went swimming.

They took us to some pretty cool places to eat. This is Jackson's Corner, yummy food and perfect for the kids.

We also went to the Farmer's Market.

Lot's of unique veggies and fruits.

The Sparrow Bakery sells what they call Ocean Rolls, which is a must try if you visit.

We truly see the appeal of Bend, it has so much to offer and is the perfect balance of a small mountain town, but with the conveniences of a bigger city. It is a beautiful place to vacation and looks like a wonderful place to live. I can see why our friends have chosen to live here and to be perfectly honest if we didn't love Carlsbad so much we could see ourselves in Bend too.

Slowly we are making our way south, but before we crossed into California we stopped off at Crater Lake for the afternoon. The lake is a beautiful deep blue due to the fact that at nearly 2,000 feet it is the deepest lake in the US.

We were able to stay for the ranger presentation about different types of volcanoes in the area and I was happy to check science off for the day.

As I look back on our time spent in Oregon I will always have the best memories. It is a wonderful place to visit, with amazing food, people and scenery.

Portland and Mt. Hood

Fresh homemade biscuits, fried chicken, fried egg, thick cut bacon and cheese all smothered in gravy.

Southern food has found it's home in Portland, Oregon.

Pine State Biscuits is a must stop in the city of Portland and the line out the door proves it.

The wait was well worth it.

To top off our calorie intake we walked a block to grab some ice cream at Salt and Straw, recommended by my sister.

Move over Greater's in Cincinnati, this all natural, handmade ice cream is now our new favorite. Salt and Straw uses local ingredients and has flavors like Honey Lavender and Pear with Blue Cheese. From first bite you can taste the quality. Yum.

That pretty much sums up our day trip to downtown Portland. Good food. Sometimes that's all you need.

Most of our time was spent back at camp near Mt. Hood.

One afternoon Justin was able to meet a friend who traveled to Portland for work. It was so good for Justin to be able to reconnect, I know he has missed his friends back home.

We have loved our life on the road, but we know we do not have it in us to live a nomadic lifestyle forever. We crave friends and family that we can see on a weekly basis, ones we can call last minute, have BBQ's and hang at the beach.

I say that now because we have been away so long. I am sure that when we get back to sticks and bricks (what RVers call a home) we will miss our travel days terribly.

Since we camped near the Historic Timberline Lodge we spent our last day in Mt. Hood checking it out.

Justin had to carry Layne the entire time because her flip flop broke when she fell getting out of the car. There were lots of tears. It was one of those days.

Up at the lodge we were able to cheer on runners from the Hood to Coast Relay Race. It is a two day, 200 mile, 12 man-team race from Mt. Hood, through Portland, and to the beach. Crazy, but looked like a lot of fun.

Oregon is great, not only is there no sales tax here but they also have service people who pump your gas for you. On top of that we have had amazing weather.

Currently we are East of the Cascades in Bend and we are loving it. More on that next time...

Tillamook and Pacific City

We came to the area for the Tillamook cheese but were surprised at the beauty that awaited us at camp in Pacific City, Oregon.

It was our first time seeing the Pacific in six months. After setting up camp Justin and I stood there soaking in the view and smelling the salty fresh air.

Home is not far away.

The kids were excited to find Huckleberry bushes lining our campsite.

Since we love the beach and Justin wanted to surf we headed straight for the water the next day.

And got our car stuck in the sand. Thankfully we had some help getting it out.

Justin caught a few waves and the kids had fun playing in the sand. Apparently we came to the Oregon Coast at the right time, the weather was sunny and only a little breezy.

In the evenings we enjoyed a campfire and would take long walks on the beach...

Some evenings were cloudy and some clear and windy, perfect for kite flying.

I was able to spend some one on one time with Blake. We climbed a giant sand dune that overlooked Pacific City. It was a killer workout.

We made it to the top after several stops mid way.

The best part was running down.

Finally we were able to cut some time out of our day to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory, which is the main reason why we came to the area. Tillamook has always been our favorite cheese so we were really excited for this field trip.

We were able to sample various Tillamook cheeses and we tried their ice cream. It was crowded because we went on a Sunday afternoon, but it was still a good experience.

Overall our time on the Oregon Coast was a blessing. Seeing the Pacific again was huge and reminded us of home. Our time on the road is quickly coming to an end and I am trying to enjoy every single minute of this experience.

I am so grateful.