One more summer trip to log on the blog, before we get to a humdinger of an October (humdinger in THE VERY BEST WAY)…
We had such a fun family reunion with our buddies at Hood River last summer that we declared it an annual event. We reconvened on the Oregon/Washington border this past August for another long weekend of eating, drinking, and playing; this time we stayed on the Washington side and booked a bundle of rooms at Skamania Lodge. Isaac was like an un-penned animal after four hours in the car and immediately set out to explore every inch of the wide open grounds.
Meanwhile, Shane and I explored the bar menu.
This place was going to do juuuuuust fine.
Our friends trickled in throughout the course of the evening and the gaggle of children grew and grew.
Isaac wanted so badly to be counted among the big kids.
His sister did a pretty good job of including him. Along with that blonde red-shirted boy, who had no affiliation with our group but made himself right at home!
Speaking of big kids…it still blows my mind we’ve got teenagers in the group. I mean, this guy’s not drinking age, but he’s old enough to pour for the grownups!
Wine and pizza and crispy Brussels sprouts were passed around…
And before I knew it we were talking under the stars. We never run out of things to say to one another.
I’ll give you one guess as to who the earliest riser of the bunch was on Friday morning!
I forgive you though, Isaac, for getting me up with sun. This golden light at 6:30am was pretty magical.
We strolled down the hill and toward town in search of breakfast, stopping every so often to take in the view.
We found yogurt and fresh mango slices at the supermarket and then took our fare down to the riverfront to eat.
This kid’s playground radar started beeping and suddenly we stumbled upon these couple of random slides.
And then we found Sister! (She and her Uber-Dad offered us a ride back to the hotel.)
We took over the hotel lobby late morning…
Played a little disc golf…
And then hit the pool, to Juliette’s utter delight.
Isaac’s delight, too! He’s loving the water more and more.
Strike a pose, ladies!
While the big kids perfected their cannon balls, I was happy to walk laps in the shallow end with Isaac in my arms.
Lucky kids.
I felt like I’d lived a full day by noon, but we were only getting started… We walked back into town after swimming to find lunch, then convened at a park to bat the volleyball around and play various lawn games.
At some point the fathers disappeared. I found them at the whiskey-tasting room next to the park and asked Shane if there was room in their circle for one more guy.
Isaac fit right in.
At some point we strolled up the street for ice cream, again completely overtaking the place – traveling in a pack of 24 is no joke!
There were plenty of times during the weekend when Shane and I had to divide and conquer, one of us hanging back on Isaac-duty while the rest of the group partied, but there were also plenty of times when Isaac folded right into the mix, thrilled by the presence of so many adoring playmates.
Tech break.
And then to the local fair! It was a quick little trip, but enough time to get our fill of tractors and farm animals.
We spread out at the picnic tables at Walking Man Brewing for dinner. The grownups drank beer and the kids played corn hole and all was right with the world.
How ’bout them Friday Night Lights?
Saturday! Morning! Sunrise!
Isaac and I spent more mother-son bonding time down by the river, this time finding a little dock to lounge on.
I filled my empty coffee cup with rocks from the shore and he tossed each stone in, one at a time, until the cup was empty and he asked, More? More? More?
We were here for awhile. I didn’t mind.
Finally, though, I coaxed him off the dock and into the stroller in search of breakfast.
We found a train on the way, which was very exciting.
We found smoothies and cinnamon rolls and espresso at The Cabin Drive Thru.
And we found this late riser! Glad you could join us, Jules.
The gang headed out on a hike late morning (sans Isaac and Shane) to Wahclella Falls.
Here comes the party bus!
The hike to the falls was a mild climb, but the kids hardly complained and the payoff was real.
Paparazzi children…so weird to be on the other side of all those lenses!
The more adventurous of the fellas couldn’t resist taking a dip. I wish I had audio of their high-pitched shrieks as they collectively dunked.
These two got along so swimmingly all weekend, despite the fact that they only spend 2-3 days together each year. Some friendships just work.
That’s how I feel about all these folks, actually. We just work.
(Back at camp, Shane and Isaac were partaking in their own form of bonding.)
Juliette, luckily, had plenty of fun uncles on the trail to fill in for Shane.
We cooled our dusty heels that afternoon at a little swimming basin in Hood River. VIVA LAKE LIFE!
This game made for some laughs and some very good action shots.
Give yourself a couple of years, Isaac…
We floated and jumped and lazed around for a couple of hours, collectively keeping an eye on each other’s kids.
Isaac wasn’t feeling great that afternoon, but the paddleboard did pique his interest.
We migrated a quarter-mile down the road to convene on yet another lawn for a picnic dinner.
Juliette and S were very into their cartwheel practice and suddenly the grownups were challenging each other to headstand competitions (Nance for the win).
And then there was much cajoling and cheering as the adults showed off their own cartwheel skills. Some people stuck the landing. Some really didn’t. In either case, we laughed a lot.
16 years of friendship and counting…
We high-tailed it back to Seattle on Sunday morning, as Isaac’s fever had spiked in the night and we were eager to return to the comforts of home. But man OH MAN, we left with boatloads of good memories. Cheers to Year 17.