Sunday, December 21, 2008

Roadtrip to Oregon!


We are in Ashland, Oregon tonight!  We have been driving for two days, and as you'll see, we are enjoying the drive.  Tomorrow we will continue to Portland to my sister Tracy's house.  Kelly did better last week with chemo.  We realized how important one of her premeds is.  It is the only one of her anti nausea meds that is pill form instead of IV.  The last couple times she took it, she threw up right after.  So this time, her nurse had given me one of the  pills to take home, and she took it before she got to the Infusion Center, before she could start feeling nauseous.  It really helped.  She did pretty good, right until she sat up to go home.  So she had a rough evening, and didn't feel very well the next day, but on Friday she was determined to go to school and she did.  She even walked to Chronic Tacos after school with Megan and some friends. (They had early dismissal, so they went out to lunch.) Our whole family went to a Christmas party that night for the staff of our dance studio.  All the girls (and adults!) had a fun time.

Then early the next morning, we left for Oregon.  We were excited to get on the road.  We had decided to take the scenic route instead of just going up I-5 the first day.  It was a beautiful day and we drove along a lot of the California coast.

The coast along Big Sur is just stunning.  We hadn't done this in a several years, so it was great to take this drive again.  This is definitely one the of prettiest drives we have ever taken.

Shannon and Murphy at one of our stops along Big Sur.  We stopped at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and went for a walk overlooking this waterfall to the beach.  Did I mention we brought Murphy?  He is doing great on his first big car trip.  

We stopped along the coast where these gigantic elephant seals were sunning on the beach.  See the two big blobs on the beach?  They were huge!


This is the sunrise view from our hotel we stayed in the first night. After driving through  darling  downtown Carmel just as it was getting dark and the Christmas lights were coming on, we stayed on Monterey Bay and had an ocean view room!  It was beautiful.  It would have been a nice place to stay longer.  We could hear the seals barking in the harbor from our room.  This was a very nice hotel that doesn't allow pets.  Good thing Murphy is small and fits in an empty piece of luggage.  He was very well behaved.  Kevin didn't realize Murphy would be traveling with us when he made this reservation, or we would have chosen a hotel that allowed dogs.  Tonight in Ashland, we are in a hotel that does allow dogs.

The second day, we took a scenic drive from Monterey to San Francisco.  We drove around a little bit, but it was raining, and we wanted to get to Ashland before dark because we knew the weather might be bad ahead, so we didn't stop anywhere.  It was fun to see the pretty townhouses lining the streets of San Francisco.

This is  Shannon and Murphy taking a walk on one of our stops.  Notice his Christmas sweater.  It was quite chilly for this little Southern California dog.  He is a bit of a wimp.  He is really in for a shock when we get to Portland.  It is much colder there!

We saw our first snow close to Mt. Shasta!  It was snowing pretty hard for a while.  Luckily, that didn't last too long.  There is a lot of snow in Portland and we are excited to see it, but it is nice to not drive through it too much.  (Kevin and I both grew up in snowy climates, but we are sure not used to driving in it anymore.  We are so spoiled by our Southern  California weather!)
We are very excited to get to Portland tomorrow!  It will be so nice to be with family for Christmas. Diemers and Radfords, we are really looking forward to seeing you too!  We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas!

10 comments:

violetismycolor said...

Hi...came across your blog. I live in Portland and am just warning you about our horrid weather. It's been snowing for a week now and is supposed to snow for another one. This is incredibly unusual for us. Just have chains for your tires and drive slowly.

Diane Calhoun
my blog at: http://valentinois.typepad.com

Anonymous said...

Drive Safe guys!!
It's rough going up here in the Portland/Vancouver area.
The snow is pretty, but it's getting on my nerves.
Talk to you when you get here!
Hugs and Please be safe!
Amy.. Kasey's mom

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous photos!! Thanks for updating along the way to Oregon! It's fun to see where you've been!

Enjoy being together! Wish we could be there playing in the snow with all of you!!

Love,
Aunt Jenny, Uncle Bob, Kylie and Ryan

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pics!! I'm glad you're all enjoying the long drive and beautiful scenery. Stay safe and enjoy every minute of your white Christmas!

Christmas hugs from Fairy Candy

Anonymous said...

Wow-gorgeous pictures! What a fun drive! Stay safe-it looks and sounds like it's going to get much rougher ahead. Once you get there though it sounds like it will be beautiful! Enjoy your time with your family. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Love,
The Silvestris

Gabby's Mom said...

Hello Kathy, Kevin, Megan, Kelly, Shannon and Murphy! Your drive looks beautiful and hopefully you will have arrived at Tracy's by the time I post this - I hope Murphy enjoys playing in the snow! That's always a lot of fun when dogs experience the snow for the first time; at least Mr. Murphy can stay all cozy and warm in his sweaters!

Love,
Pat

Tracy said...

We are anxiously awaiting your arrival! Everyone pray for safe travels for the Laudes and all that are traveling today! Can't wait to see everyone!!!

Love & Hugs!
Aunt Tracy

Anonymous said...

Hi Kelly and Family!
I received your Christmas card today - I LOVE the picture! :) Thanks for the link to this website; it'll be nice to see how you're doing. Hope you have a safe rest of your trip and have fun! Looks like you'll be having a white Christmas. :)

Christine D :)

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone, it sounds like you are having a great time. It's been a long time since I've gone away for Christmas. It's so exciting to go away to a snowy place for Christmas. I love the photos. Stay warm and have a wonderful holiday!

Anonymous said...

Hello, Kelly and Family,

Just want you to know that I'm praying for a safe journey for you and wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy healthy New Year! (Love the pictures of your trip that you've posted!)

With love,

Wylene