Day 5

Here's pretty much what we accomplished today.

When crossing into Idaho, it was windy, raining, and 49 degrees.  We opted to have the kids stay in the car for the picture.

At the Washington state line, there were 6 lanes of interstate traffic and the sign was in the middle of a very skinny median.  We opted to take advantage of Google Images for this little snapshot. 

We drove for about 8 hours today, which was the final long driving day before we reach Portland.  Tomorrow we have just a few hours and should be there by lunch. 

So far I have developed a few "loves" and "don't love so much" experiences.

I love:

1. that the kids have traveled amazingly well. I hate to say that too soon since we have lots and LOTS of hours left in this trip to make it back home.

2. that we have seen mile after mile of God's amazing creation.  The countryside really has been beautiful.

3. that we decided to drive the extra miles to add Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone to the agenda. 

4. that every hotel has had a pool.  This is what the kids look forward to every day.  I honestly think we could have driven 30 minutes from home and booked a hotel with a pool and our kids would have thought it was a pretty good vacation.

5. that we have had so much time together as a family.  We run so many different directions that this aspect of the trip has been priceless.

On the other hand...

I don't love driving in the mountains.

I don't love driving in the mountains for hours and hours.

I don't love driving in the mountains for hours and hours at 6% grade.

I don't love driving in the mountains for hours and hours at 6% grade right beside semis.

I don't love driving in the mountains for hours and hours at 6% grade right beside semis when it is pouring down rain.

I'm not sure my blood pressure is quite down yet.

For those of you who know us well, my oldest son and I are not huge fans of large hills and twists and turns.  Honestly, if I would have known how many DAYS and HOURS of mountain and curvy driving this trip would entail, I am not sure I would have gotten in the car.  Thankfully, I have been pleasantly surprised (shocked, really) at how well we have all done.  There were moments today when I felt like we were never going to drive on a straight road ever again, but we all came out unscathed 6 hours later.  The last 2 glorious hours were relatively flat and straight.  In fact, I think we said, "This is Washington??"

Looks a bit like home to me!