I have a friend in Nashville named Brandon. He was so encouraging over this past spring, as Towles and I began sharing our travel plans with friends. When he learned our itinerary would take us to Vancouver, he said, “If you can swing it, you have to see Malibu!” He was referring not to sunny…
Month: June 2016
Vancouver, British Columbia
Looking back now, our time in Vancouver is a little bit of a blur. We were there for two nights, and the afternoon we arrived it was raining pretty hard. We tried to rally and hang out at a playground in Stanley Park so the kiddos could burn off some energy from the drive, but…
Sunny Seattle
When we left Portland, we decided to drive to Seattle indirectly, by way of Cannon Beach. The trip was a beautiful one, lined with Oregon spruce, which eventually led to the cold, rocky coast. It was in the 50s when we arrived, and I thought the kids would be less than enthusiastic about such a…
Touchstones
When someone asks us how things are “really” going, I find it hard to say for sure. The kids seem to be rolling with the transitions from place to place pretty well. We encounter the occasional meltdown over fish sticks, wasted water (some of us are becoming very Eco-conscious), or the lack of elephants at…
Portland
We thought Bend, Oregon needed another day or two of exploration, but the road called and we were excited to head to Portland, where my (Andrew’s) cousin Geoffrey, his partner Anna and their beautiful four-year-old daughter, Elise, awaited us. Before departing Bend, we enjoyed one of our best breakfasts of the trip at Cafe Magie,…
Wine Country & Crater Lake
I know, I know. Napa Valley and Crater Lake National Park are two very different things, but in the interest of being efficient, I’ve got to pair them here. From San Francisco, Andrew and I indulged ourselves with a quick trip to Yountville, in Napa Valley. The kids could have cared less about the farming…
A Lesson in Hospitality
In Tahoe, a family from Berkley, lodging nearby, recommended we head to Fish. for lunch as soon as we arrived in the San Francisco area. Located in a small, quiet marina, Fish. was the perfect introduction to Bay-area seafood without the hassle of the city. The atmosphere was casual, and we ate outside by the…
Provision
After Las Vegas, our trip has seemed to shift gears. The kids are more settled in to this vagabond way of life. They’re interested in what’s next, but also in what is present. And we are all well aware of how we’ve been provided for throughout this trip. Starting in Kansas City, when we stayed…
Fear (Or, why this isn’t for everyone)
The night before we left Las Vegas, I lay awake. Everyone else was sleeping; the five of us were packed in to a double-Queen room with a rollaway, and although I’d initially fallen asleep between Claire and Peter, when I woke, I couldn’t escape the gnawing anxiety about our drive the following day. I grew…
A Big Preference
Sometimes you need to try something to know it does not suit you. And sometimes vastly different experiences create strong preferences. Our family learned we prefer what God made over what man made In just one day, when we awoke beside the South gate of Zion National Park, drove to Las Vegas for an afternoon…
Arches & Zion National Parks
We were all a little sad to move on from Denver, in spite of the adventure ahead, but on Monday morning, we shoved off for Moab, UT, about six hours west. The wonderful thing about being on the open road is the opportunity to see so much along the way – something people say all…
Denver
So far, Bessie has taken us from Nashville to Kansas City, Missouri, through the great, flat state of Kansas, to Denver for Memorial Day weekend with Andrew’s sister, Jenn, and her family. In the past, we’ve somehow only visited Denver in the dead of winter, so it was really nice to experience the city when…
Bessie Breaks Away 