Our trip to Oregon this time was quite an adventure. We had bought a Dodge Durango from Sam's brother and after having it checked out and worked on we decided to take it to Oregon. It would fit a lot more stuff and would be bigger and more comfortable for us to drive. Little did we know. We barely made it past Ogden and it started to overheat. We stopped at a gas station and checked and refilled fluids. It seemed okay and we continued on. We started having problems again outside of Boise but we figured it was just not used to being driven so far (after all, it had sat in front of our house for a year) and we thought that after a night's rest for both us and the car we would be fine. So we stopped in Boise for the night and after a morning of swimming in the hotel pool we packed up and headed out again. We made it to Vale Oregon and the radiator hose blew. The car really overheated and we didn't know it at the time but it blew two head gaskets. Luckily we made it to a repair shop in Vale and they replaced the radiator hose. We grabbed some lunch at a local diner down the street and hung out at a park until the repairs were finished.
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| Who needs a playground when they have Daddy |
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| This had to be the ugliest fountain I had ever seen. And yes, it was working. |
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| Patience was running thin at this point. |
We packed up and were off again. We finally made it to Cottage Grove about 1 A. M. and Sam had to get up the next morning and head off to the Hood to Coast relay race with his uncle and cousins. He got to see Grandma Spady for about half an hour. Before he left, he and his uncle took the Durango to a repair shop to have it checked out. The next day the repair shop called and said that we had blown not one, but two, head gaskets and that it would take more time and money than we had to fix it. My day was spent trying to figure out what to do since the girls and I were supposed to leave Grandma Spady's the next morning and drive six hours up the coast to meet Sam at the finish line. I was extremely worried about breaking down in an unknown place with two little girls. We decided to risk it (with much disapproval from Sam's grandma) and the next morning I packed up the car and the girls and started my drive. We had a prayer with Grandma before we left and that gave me some comfort. I knew that Grandma Spady probably would not stop praying until she heard we were safe and sound and that also made me feel better. We took it nice and slow and I planned our route according to the few people that we knew along the way. Sam had another cousin in Corvallis so I figured that if we broke down anywhere near there at least I had someone I could call. Things went fine and we had very little trouble with the engine overheating. I know that our prayers were answered and Heavenly Father watched over me and my girls.
We met up with Sam and the rest of the team at the finish line which is right on the beach in Seaside. The girls just played in the sand and we got to grab some food and visit with Sam's uncle Joe and his cousins. Sam had a great time on the race and loved getting to know his cousins better since he really wasn't able to spend much time with them growing up.
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| Big Bad Joe and the Joggers at the finish line. |
Finally, it was time to leave and drive another three hours back down the coast to the house we had reserved in Lincoln City. The house was great and we had a wonderful time staying there. The next day we did a little shopping at the outlet stores there. We bought a kite at this great kite store and went and flew it on the beach. The wind was perfect and that kite never touched the ground. We would hold it up and it would just start to go. The girls had a great time, except for when a wave caught Lily by surprise and she got soaked. I'm a terrible mother because all I did was laugh and keep taking pictures.
Flying kites on the beach.
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| Watch out for those sneaker waves! |
Once we got her stripped down and dried off she was fine.
We had a wonderful time at the beach and aside from our brake lights also going out on the car, it was a great day. Sam fixed the brake lights and the next morning we packed up and started our very long drive home.
We stopped in Portland and walked around the temple grounds. It was beautiful and a nice break for all of us.
After a very long day and night of driving we finally made it back to Kaysville around 4:00 in the morning. We averaged about 45 MHP because anything faster than that would cause the car to overheat. One advantage of driving that slow is that you really get to see the scenery. We were passing this hillside and I glanced over and actually saw a bear walking along through the trees. I have never seen a bear outside of Yellowstone so I didn't quite believe my eyes at first. I pointed it out to Sam so he is my witness. Sorry for the travel log and the long post. This was quite a trip for us and one that we won't be forgetting anytime soon. We are extremely grateful that we were watched over and made it back home safe and sound.
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