Big Mission Western America Phase

Spent a few days in Boise, then a day at Anthony Lakes, then Missoula, then Portland then the Bay. Lots of driving and some flying in between. It was great to see family and some old friends. Good for the soul. (Thank you, Mr. Seger, for saying it well.)

And photos? Hmm... We are kind of waiting for pictures that anybody who happened to be with us might have taken. Thanks to Tyler Adams for sharing his pictures like the one on the right. Unfortunately, we took no shots of Boise. (We are counting on Grammy-cita for those! Thanks for the Idaho/Oregon adventures Grammy-cita and Gramps D!) But here are a few we took before our camera power ran out:

Missoula:

Pritchard's beautiful baby:




Thanks for all the good times, Nana and Grampa Bill! The kiddos loved the plethora of dinosaurs that had been arranged for their arrival.





Missoula's going big time!



The old Milltown haunts. Boppa's clerking days, back when it was Finky's Foods. Clerks describes the scene well. From New Jersey to rural Montana, it's all the same!



This is slightly different, too. Boppa's handywork in the background.




Here are the kiddos being very quiet at Jake's house.

Later, they were also being quiet, and managed to cover the Neal's entire upstairs with a fine layer of shredded styrofoam. Certain parents were so upset that we almost canceled our highly anticipated zoo trip. But, we overcame it. The zoo was awesome. Look, two large hairy mammals with offspring!

The only shots we got of the Gilders.



Gilds, and Bear. We didn't get Jo-Jo and gestating Jackson on film, but they were there, too. We crashed in their nest.



Given the strenuous nature of our itinerary, there was a lot of crashing in random places. Airport floors were particularly popular.





Checking out Voo-Doo Donuts in Portland. Pretty much a mandatory stop. Any place with slogans like "The magic is in the hole" and "Good things come in pink boxes" ought not to be missed. In addition to the slogans, their donuts are pretty tasty, too.







Fortunately, they have two locations. With our buddies, we weren't about to stand in line here!
We love donuts, but come on!



A line like that could lead certain family members to defect to the nearby Magic Garden.

Lots of cool, organic, and fun things going on at the co-ops and coffee shops in Portland. Here's Jake enjoying his local coffee co-op place.


The new beverage of choice is Kambucha. DeWayne was on it way back before it was cool. When it was still called immortality tea. Nothing like fermented fungus drinks brewing in the fridge!

Portland is awesome! We love it! If we had to live in a big city, it would definitely be Portland. Thanks to Jake, Megan, Lori, Jen, and Chris for letting us visit!

After Portland, we went to the Bay Area and visited friends. We also got to wander through Google land, which was interesting. Our picture taking during this portion of the adventure was non-existent. But we got to visit with Matty, Kevin, Mino & LB, Gilds, Jo-Jo, and Chi-Chi. Good times! We spent most of our time in Los Gatos, but also some time in Davis.

On a side note, the Toyota Sienna is pretty awesome. It was our rental vehicle during all the above adventures, and it was really great. I can see why minivans dominate the family scene.

Then, it was on to El Salvador!