Day 3 - Medford OR to Renton WA

11.26.12

We were up around 7:00 am. on Monday. We left the hotel and got gas. It had been YEARS since the last time I've seen an attendant fill up our gas tank. I remember seeing that when I was a little girl. I'm not sure why this is still going on in OR but it's sure weird to see.
We were on the road by 9:00am. Golly! Oregon sure gets COLD! I am super thankful that my truck has heated seats and a self starter keychain. It's extremely convenient to have ... especially if you have little ones.

I love that there was fog throughout. Although this road trip didn't equal vacation time it was still exciting and fun driving through places/states we've never been before. I loved the scenery ... all the trees, foothills, farm land, lakes, volcanos, Fall foliage, and fog we experienced. Thankfully we didn't get any rain during our travels ... and I praise God for that because that would have been ten times more stressful and it would have slowed us down even more.

The good thing was that we would stop about every 3/4 hours so we could stretch our legs, change Riley's diaper, let the little guy run for a bit, and eat a light snack. Once in the truck the kids watched movies and when they got burnt out with that we listened to music, mostly Christmas music. We also talked about the scenery and also made a mental list of things to do once we got settled. Sydna wants to go to Forks and see parts of where the Twilight series was filmed but she's afraid to ride the ferry because of the movie DejaVu with Denzel Washington. Nathan actually didn't say what he wanted to do. He's the type that just goes with the flow ... and of course since Jacob has lived in WA when he was young, he wants to take me all over. I can't wait to do touristy things! It'll be so much fun!!!

This really annoys me. Whenever we leave the house for whatever reason I tell the kids to use the restroom because I just don't like stopping at places to go pee ... it's just gross. However Nathan NEVER seems to remember to do so before leaving the house even after I remind them. Well being on this road trip wasn't any different. He didn't use the restroom before leaving the hotel so obviously about an hour and a half he says he needs to pee. Jacob wasn't gonna stop and although I got irritated I also felt bad for him because it would have been another hour before we stopped so I had Jacob stop at a McDonalds. I'm just glad we found a parking spot, blocked half of it too {don't forget, we were towing Jacobs car}.
While we waited....... Sydna and I talked about how cold it was :)

We stopped in Springfield, OR for lunch. Jacob wanted to try Sizzler. We had never been to one before. As soon as we entered we noticed nothing but old folks. We got our food and honestly we regretted having had stopped here but we had already paid. Riley didn't want to eat anything, not even crackers. We left this place a little disgusted and vowed we would never go to another Sizzler again.

 

I did notice that all the trees have moss growing on them. I think that's neat and look super cool!

 

 

 

Driving into Portland, OR. You see the tram? I would totally be scared riding on it. I think at my old age I've become afraid of heights, lol.

 

Downtown Portland came up so fast and then the freeway curved to where I almost past it up ... this is the best picture I could get.

 

This is Mt. Rainier from Oregon's viewpoint. Awesome looking!

 

About to drive through the interstate drawbridge into Washington. I had never driven through one of these bridges before. I think they are neat looking!

 

 

Finally! ... Still had a bit of a drive to go.

 

 

My baby boy did as expected but he was still a good sport. As long as the kids interracted with him he did fine. Thank goodness for older siblings!! THEY are such lifesavers.

 

 

At our last rest stop of our road trip.

 

 

Then Nathan calls me over to see this....

 ... cause he knows I can't stand looking at anything that slithers. I get grossed out then I feel them all over me. Yuck!! Too bad I didn't have salt with me. Just kidding! I don't go around hurting/killing any living creatures .... even if they are completely disgusting looking. I had never seen such a big slug. Ugly!

 

 

We had Subway for dinner in a town just before Olympia, WA. Again, it was a very cold night. It seemed unreal to me. I couldn't believe I was experiencing this kind of weather {having left high 80's weather}. Knowing that the weather in Oregon is about the same to the weather in Washington brought a smile to my face but at the same time I was like "oh crap, we'll be needing a lot more sweaters, scarfs, and jackets". I also realized that it would be a challenge having Nathan wear jeans. He hates jeans.

 

Riley was happy as can be because I let him run around inside Subway. There was no one else in there but us so why not.

 

 

Sometimes I let these two sit together at a different table/booth ... because you know how much of a handful toddlers can be. Sydna and Nathan also need their time away from baby brother once in a while. I don't like to burden them with Riley.

 

It got dark an hour before arriving at the hotel in Renton, WA. Jacob wanted to stay there because he had to check-in on Tuesday and wanted us to come along so he could introduce us to his co-workers.

 

 

We arrived at the hotel at 9:20pm. Sydna thawing out in our hotel room.

 

After being on the road for three days we were so ready to move into our leased home the following day. Woo Hoo!