Our Summer Road Trip

After our week in Colorado, and 3 days at home to unpack, re-pack, and get organized, we headed out for a 2 week long family road trip.
First we headed to Washington. We spent a night at a campground camping with friends and then headed to the Gorge Amphitheater for 2 nights of Phish (a band that my husband and I used to see LOTS of in our past) and lots of friends, old and new. The weather was hot, but we spent our days relaxing in the shade, and by the time the music started, the weather was beautiful. Our second day there we awoke to a forest fire nearby, and we could watch it burn in the distance while the bend played.
Our next segment brought us to California. We first spent a night in Yreka, where another set of forest fires caused the town to be filled with smoke (in fact, about half of the drive don there was super smokey). The next morning we woke up and headed to our next destination, Lake Tahoe, a place where both Todd and I used to live before we dated. In fact, at one point, we were roommates, and I lived with him and his then-girlfriend, who was also a close friend of mine. We saw more music, more friends, swam in the lake, found gigantic pine cones, swam in the hotel pool, played mini-golf, and enjoyed a couple of days of hotel living.
Next stop: Berkeley and San Francisco. Here we had a whole new set of friends to visit, sushi to eat, a baby shower for a lovely friend, a trip to the San Francisco Exploratorium, fish and chips at Fisherman's Warf, sea lion viewing, and a glimpse into very urban living with kids. It was fun. Amazing actually. But, by this point, the kids were getting tired, crabby, and all out of sorts. We hadn't slept in the same place for more than 3 nights since July 15th, when we left for Colorado, and Finn thrives on routine.
So, we were all pretty eager to get home and try to find our way back to some semblance of a schedule. We have been home for 2 nights now, and I can tell that the kids are already happier. I know they had a great time, but I think our next set of adventures needs to be shorter. A week, or 2 max. Otherwise, the kids just start to melt.
And now, we are trying to be back to normal but also preparing for my parent's arrival tomorrow afternoon. At least we will be sleeping in our own beds!
And, as always, here are a few pictures from our adventures!

The Gorge Amphitheater-- this place sure has spectacular views!

 This is how the kids enjoyed the 2nd set!

  Photos of smoke from the southern Oregon fires outside of Yreka, California

 Peacock costumes on and ready to party!

Mini-golf in Tahoe

Phoebe even wanted to try the bungee trampoline... but after 2 jumps decided she wanted to get off.

Our afternoon at Lake Tahoe. The water (as always) was freezing!

 

Enjoying the urban views of SF

Afternoon at SF's Exploratorium. It was way cool. Can you tell who is in the sketch below?

What trip to SF would be complete without at least a peak at the sea lions at the Fisherman's Warf?