Family Vacation 2013

Hold on folks....this one is going to be a doozy. A two week family road trip crammed into one post. 

Can I do it?

We shall see.

Earlier this year Luke and I were contemplating what we should do for a family vacation this summer. It was MY brilliant idea to take a road trip to Seattle, since we now had the Passat. Luke and I have always wanted to see Seattle and a road trip was a more affordable option, especially with all of the kids in tow.
As we started planning the trip and talking to other people, the trip expanded to multiple stops along the way. Luke also has a teacher whose family owned a home on Lopez Island, which is just north of Seattle. Her family offered us the opportunity to stay at their vacation home while we were up there. We were very excited, but most of all because it was FREE. :)
Luke left for his conference in San Francisco on a Tuesday evening. The kids and I left the house on Thursday after I got off work and we picked up Luke along the way. We drove the rest of the way up to my parents' house and stayed two nights. We left Saturday morning to head to Gold Beach, Oregon. This stop was Luke's idea...he wanted to do a jet boat trip up the Rogue River, Sunday morning for Father's Day. I was not a fan of the idea because I was paranoid of an accident happening...and it was COLD. Saturday was a long day of driving. We drove 443 miles from Roseville! We were happy to be out of the car Saturday evening.

Father's Day we were up early to head to the meeting spot for the jet boats. We were all dressed cozy and ready for the 60 miles round trip.

Here are some pics of my dad on Father's Day...enjoying the cinnamon rolls I made before we left.

Happy Father's Day to the wonderful men in my life....Luke, Grandpa Baer, and Grandpa Hogue!

Sunday afternoon we got off the jet boat around 2:30 pm. We hopped in the car and made the 315 mile drive to Portland. Another long day! We got into our hotel around 10pm. We ended up stopping around 8:45pm for a few treats after Wiggy had a nervous break down in the back seat.

Monday morning we were up early and ready for Portland. Our first stop was for breakfast at "Biscuits Cafe" which is managed by my sister-in-law Lindsay's aunt.It was fabulous and FREE! (We love free) After breakfast, we stopped at the Portland temple before heading to downtown Portland. We ended up doing a trolley tour around the city, that included a second day free. 

We found a place from "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" that absolutely made the best chicken biscuits everrrrrrrr! Pine State Biscuits! We both thought we had died and gone to heaven. It has to be on my top five fave places to eat. I would weigh 500 pounds if I lived up here. We found so many good places to eat.
Tuesday afternoon we left Portland and drove 100 miles to Astoria. We stopped for a bit so the kids could play. Then we made the 177 mile trek to Olympia, Washington. Another LONG day! :)

Wednesday morning we were up early and headed to Lopez Island. We were excited and ready to be off the road for four days. It was cold and rainy...and we were sick of eating on the road! Today we made the 181 mile drive to Anacortes to catch the 40 minute ferry ride to Lopez. We stopped in Anacortes to get a few groceries first. 

We stayed four nights on Lopez Island and I knew it would be my favorite part of our vacation. The house we stayed in was HUGE and we had it all to ourselves. There were some really comfy pink recliners in the upstairs living room and we spent a lot of time snuggled up in them, becoming Duck Dynasty fans and napping. There were also two couches, so all the kids really enjoyed the down time.
Sunday morning we caught the first ferry off the island and made the 120 mile drive to Seattle. We had purchased a City Pass months in advance, so we were fully prepared to do the tourist thing for the next 3-4 days. 

We left Seattle on Thursday morning and we were READY to be home. I think we were done two days into it. We were going to stay the night somewhere Thursday night and drive to Roseville Friday...but we decided to just go for it. We left the hotel at 6:30am with the plan of stopping in Portland, for one last chicken biscuit for the road! :) We didn't get to Portland until close to 10, so we had to stop to get the kids breakfast before they completely flipped out. This was going to be a LONG day indeed.

We made the 1030 mile drive to Roseville and pulled up to my parents' house around 9:30pm. Yay! We made it. Our first family road trip was a success. No one was left behind (Joe Dirt style) and we all came back alive. 
Friday we spent the day swimming and playing. I ended up breaking a toe, trying to do a bad version of a cannonball...in the shallow end of the pool. 

Friday night we BBQ'd burgers and made homemade pies! 

Mmmmmmmmmm! 

Saturday morning it was time for us to hit the road for home...but not before pedicures with all of the girls! I love them all so much!