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Planning
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During the middle part of 2002 we were able to take two short trips, one to Leavenworth with Grandpa Chan and another to Mt. Rainier with a return along the Columbia and a surprise visit to Thomas the Tank Engine at the Hood River Railroad. We did want to take one family visit to our old home in Northern California before Josiah started school again. Some of the planning had to be done at the same time as putting together a play structure and planning for Josiah's 6th birthday party the Saturday before we left. We checked out the old '88 Camry in preparation for its longest trip since moving to Washington three years ago, and made some estimates for the amount of time we could actually drive between runaround stops. Andrew had also begun using the toilet, cutting down on the amount of diapers to pack, but since the boys flopped around too much to share a bed we still packed the playpen for Andrew to sleep in as well as the big stroller, which took up much of the trunk space.
Heading South
We left on Thursday afternoon, driving through northern Oregon as Winnie read a Star Wars book to Josiah. We stopped for supper at the Shaniko Hotel along U.S. 97, which had a pleasant and airy restaurant with good food and large portions. We stayed overnight in Bend, where Andrew promptly sang about little monkeys jumping on the bed while acting it out.
| Crater Lake was the next stop on the itinerary and we spent Friday morning and early afternoon there. Josiah wanted to dig like a dog in the sandy ash but took enough time to climb up to the edge and say "this is amazing", then go back to digging. We were also accompanied on our travels around the west side by members of a vintage car group driving their '30's vehicles around. There were also a few deer around our picnic area as well as the usual birds and chipmunks. Friday afternoon we spent driving into valleys of smoke left by the forest fires in the region. We had seen from a map that there weren't any fires between Crater Lake and Ashland, our intended supper destination. The occasional car coming in the opposite direction reassured us that there wasn't going to be a blockade ahead that would force us to retrace our path. We managed not to do any shopping or street-wandering in Ashland, primarily spending time in Lithia Park in the kids' area. We took a short drive across the state line to Yreka. Our motel was close to the Black Bear Diner where we had a good meal and our kids ran around without shoes and pretended to be black bear cubs. The sign on the wooden bear said "Take a Kodiak moment". Josiah was knowledgeable enough to distinguish between the different varieties and declared that it should be called the Super Bear diner because they weren't all black bears. We had hoped to get a good view of Mt. Shasta Saturday, but the haze from the fires left the giant snow-capped mountain only a faint outline in the distance. The trip through Northern California was uneventful and the highlight was probably the ball pit at the McDonald's in Corning. Because we made fewer stops, we managed to arrive at the end of a memorial service for a friend in Berkeley before picking up dinner. In the Bay Area
We arrived at Gilbert's father's place and were later joined by Gilbert's brother and sister-in-law from Sacramento. Sunday morning we went to our old church, Berkeley Covenant Church where Gilbert's sister's family now attend. After that, we had a combination birthday party for Josiah and Gilbert, and our boys got to check out their twin cousins for the first time.
| We saw a few, but not many, of our old neighbors as we walked near our old home on Behrens St. , close to Grandpa Chan's apartment. The biggest change was to the nearby shopping center, El Cerrito Plaza, which has added some large retail stores and restaurants, including Barnes and Noble. RR museum Monday we went to San Francisco and drove around with Grandma Chu, who decided it was too cold to go to the zoo. Instead, we spent time around her house and visited a few of Winnie's old neighbors. Tuesday turned out to be a much better day to visit the San Francisco Zoo. The feature near the front was the lemur exhibit, with varieties of the animals made popular by the TV show Zoboomafoo, although without having any of Zoboo's variety. Josiah also wanted to see the penguins and polar bears. Andrew liked going up and down ramps and stairs wherever they went until he got tired. The penguin exhibit was in the older part and was nothing compared to what we had seen in Sea World. The advantage of the old part was that there wasn't as much natural habitat for the big cats to hide in, so we got a better view of the animals than in the San Diego Zoo. There was also a playground and various other things for the kids to climb on, as well as a carousel. Wednesday we got up early to get on Amtrak at Richmond to go to the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento (Gilbert drove so we wouldn't have to worry about getting back, and so we would have a car to visit Winnie's cousin and Gilbert's brother). The museum's exhibits are still the same as when we visited before, but at $3 for admission it is one of the best values around. The kids liked playing with the toy trains, especially Andrew. He played and played as other kids came and went, just like he does at Barnes and Noble, except with a bigger layout. Josiah also liked the electric trains and being able to press the buttons to get them running. Thursday, we took a BART train ride to San Francisco and went to Chinatown and have lunch with Winnie's mother. Despite the long walk, the kids had a good time at the playground, as usual. We went by Gilbert's old office, though Andrew was too asleep to say hi to his former co-workers. Fortunately there was room on the crowded return train for Gilbert to teach Josiah how to be a commuter. We went out for noodles and, although he wasn't any more adventuresome with food, Josiah did try eating with chopsticks. Friday was spent with Grandpa Chan and had another visit to see the twins. Saturday there was a party for an early celebration of Gilbert's 40th birthday and another family gathering at Winnie's brother's house. Despite our overload of food, we still had time that morning for a scientific experiment; in a blind taste test, local store All-Stars Donuts beat Krispy Kreme. Sunday morning we took BART again and went (without stroller) to Chinatown to visit Winnie's old church. After riding back to Grandpa Chan's, we packed up and headed back. We made it to Red Bluff Sunday evening, then drove through Oregon Monday, with only a couple of stops, one at a logging museum in Collier State Park in southern Oregon, and also another Black Bear Diner in Madras (after having to detour off US 97 because of a truck accident). Having promised Josiah that he could play all day Tuesday (school started on Wednesday) if we made it back home Monday night, we were able to drive back to Kennewick in the dark with little complaint. |