Day 2

Mr. P: "This is the best hotel ever, dad. You did a great job."

Bayboh: "Molk? Molk?"

Shmoogie is huddled in a ball on the chair under her beloved froggie blanket.

At breakfast the waiter asks us, "Would you be better with coffee?"

Mile 362 Shmoogie writes "We had ice cream at a cheese factory," in her journal for yesterday and starts to think about what she should write for today. She refuses suggestion of "Mommy cried and I was cold," although that is a reasonably accurate description of our brief walk on the beach before leaving (it was also beautiful). Bayboh is also accurate: "Beach!" "Win(d)!" "Co(ld)!"

Mile 415 Shmoogie says, "I thought moving wouldn't be fun at all, but it's interesting!" The Oregon coast is gorgeous.

Mile 429 Crossing the Umpqua River. Bayboh has been asleep since shortly after breakfast. 

Mile 434 Elk viewing area. No elk.

Mile 442 Bayboh waking up, probably because I asked Shmoogie to pass grapes back to Mr. P, who utterly refused to acknowledge anything was happening, despite my increasingly loud whispers.

Mile 466 This.

​Also this.

There was water, too, but these little feet wanted nothing to do with that. 

​Mile 506. Crossing NE Rifle Range St

Mile 656 A huge tube, made of wood, held together by steel bands, and supported on concrete posts, is covered in moss and spurting water out of thousands of leaks. Built in 1949, it carries water from a dam 1500 ft to a hydro electric turbine.

​Mile 601. Crater Lake. Astounding. I sincerely doubt the deepest blue will come through in photos. Kids petulant about us trying to get them in photos, happy to play with snow (except when they get hit themselves), Bayboh in tears when I won't let him take the two pumice rocks he picked up, but at least the older two are a little wowed when I show them the rock and then put it in their hands. So light!

​Mile 606. Writing "If found please return! THANK YOU!" plus address in all the kids' National Park passports, having jogged back to retrieve one of them from the cancellation station.

Mile 615. Bayboh is playing with his socks, his toes, and a Duplo pig. Gleefully.

Mile 619. "How many minutes until we get to the hotel?" Shmoogie wants to know. We tell her we don't know yet, because there's no cell service here.

Mile 620 But, "See that number on the dashboard, where it says 620? We have to go 57 miles, so when it says 677, that's when we'll be there."

​Mile 620.9 "It still says 620." Yep.

Mile 621. "Now it says 621." Yep. "So that means it's been a mile?" Yep.

Mile 622. "Now it says 622." Yep. "This is gonna take FOREVER!"

Mile 626. Shmoogie is asleep.

Mile 640. We finally get cell service back, search for our destination, and find we are 107 miles away and it will take us two hours. Tearing of hair, gnashing of teeth.

Mile 642. Realize the map search was an error. We're headed where we thought we were all along. 35 more miles, about as many minutes. Shmoogie still blissfully asleep.

Mile 657. "Mmm. I was just taking a little nap. I think I fell asleep."

Mile 668. First anti-abortion billboard if the trip.  Was already feeling plenty of anticipatory stress about the SCOTUS decision coming on Monday.

Mile 671. Waffles. WAFFLES. For dinner.

Another successful day, also gone awry at the very end, this time with a frightening moment at the hotel pool, but everyone is fine and that's that.