We are heading to the Oregon coast next week.  This is noteworthy because one of the many impacts of the draconian Covid reign of terror imposed by WA state, the CDC and our local school was that we couldn’t leave the state during the school year without quarantining afterwards.  We don’t usually go to Oregon during the summer because a nice house on the coast will easily run you $1000+, though we made an exception during my pregnancy with S.  So, we haven’t been down to OR since summer 2019, and while that was a wonderful trip, it’s just not the same when I’m not feeling 100% due to pregnancy.  I’m really excited to go back again finally and feeling great.

Now that S is 2, we’re planning to be a bit more adventurous and drive a bit further, so we’re heading all the way down to Waldport.  It’s a 5.5 hour drive, and I’m cautiously optimistic that S will handle it well.  I guess we’ll see!

In other news, I’m kind of going vacation crazy, at least in my head.  Part of this is due to the lifting of Covid restrictions, and part is due to the fact that I’m going back to work, so we have more money to travel with.  After the spring break trip, our next excursion will be spending August on Smith Mountain Lake.  It’s possible that it will be very, very hot, but for now, I’m pretty excited about that.

H and I are talking about a ski vacation next February.  We’ve been on one ski vacation, to Whistler before the kids were born.  This time, our requirements are as follows:

• All-day ski lessons or childcare available for 3 year olds
• Lots of green runs available on the mountain
• Direct flight from SEA + < 2 hours of driving, or 1 stop with <1 hour of driving
• Base altitude no higher than ~8000 ft so we don’t get altitude sickness

So far, this seems to leave Northstar (Tahoe), Aspen Snowmass / Buttermilk, Park City (daycare only, no ski lessons for 3 year olds), Steamboat, Beaver Creek, and Whistler.  We’re not that excited about Tahoe, and we don’t really want to go back to Whistler.  Any recommendations?

Last but not least, we’ve always planned to take a trip to France in the spring of Isla’s 5th grade year.  Normally, the school takes a field trip with the 5th graders to Normandy and Paris, but they have already indicated this will be canceled for the fourth year in a row next year.  I see no reason to let that stop us.  Furthermore, Isla’s best friend and her wonderful family are moving back to Paris.  Therefore, we’re talking about a 2 week vacation in late June to Paris and the French Alps.  This is a very long way from reality, but thinking about it brings me great joy.  For now, though, we’ll just try to survive our 5.5 hour drive to Waldport.