Let me set the stage. Kelsey hadn’t been to Oregon since 1998 when she was six years old. She’s now 16. Most of my family lives in Oregon and after a 10-year gap they all had expectations of seeing her … in the 20 waking hours we had scheduled for Kelsey to be in the area. We had a LOT of ground to cover. Ready. Set. Go!
The evening of our arrival we settled-in with my mother and then later that evening we visited with my aunt. So far so good. The next morning we met my uncle for coffee. Given that covered one side of the family I was feeling pretty good so why not up the ante? Let’s tour the Columbia River Gorge, hike Beacon Rock, visit Bridge of the Gods and go waterfallhunting!
Yes, that’s sounds like a crazy ambition if you realize that on the other side of my family I have aunts, uncles and cousins galore. However, my mother had gone to great lengths to organize a family reunion and my brother and his wife had volunteered to host everyone. All we had to do was show up … by 1:00 … and therein lay the true challenge. The map above depicts our path.
Did we make it by 1:00? No but thankfully our arriving at 2:00 wasn’t too unsettling for our hosts as we arrived when all the others arrived and WOW was there was a lot of family! Kelsey got to know lots of relatives and even I met several people I didn’t know. Amazing!
We had a wonderful time, especially with Geoff, Darlene and Paul who towards the end I’m sure were hoping we’d please leave! A very worthwhile reunion which everyone seemed to have enjoyed. Thanks mom!
Above my brother (L) and cousin (R) celebrate the first-ever results from the yet-to-be-fully-understood outdoor gargantuan grill. While they look pleased with themselves I don’t believe anyone had enough confidence to actually eat that first hot dog and hamburger. Perhaps by the time of our next reunion …
After a day like this you can imagine how tired we all were. Kelsey had to catch an 8:30 AM at PDX which was 30 minutes from my mother’s home. This meant another early morning but at least Kelsey could sleep in flight.
It was sad to see her leave. We’d been road trip buddies for over a week. Together we had seen and done some remarkable things and made memories which we’ll have forever. I was sad to see her leave but very happy that we’d had this time together. All I had to do was drive back across the continent and we’d be together again, me and all three of my ladies.
by 
