Birthday Trip to Oregon

 This year marked Callie's 14th rotation around the sun, and nothing says happy birthday like a package of Hot Pockets and some cookies. Both gifts were from the Abrahams, and the Hot Pockets were an inside joke that keeps coming up.

The main gift from Callie's parents was a trip, since even year birthdays are travel birthdays in the Bowes household. We had been talking about this one for a while, and we were all united in the choice. So in the second weekend of October we headed out to Oregon with the Abrahams. The focal point of the trip was watching Ella play soccer, but we had plans to pack a lot more around those two games.

The girls headed out first since the boys still had to teach. This meant that Kelly, Claire, Sarah, Callie, and Reese had some time to explore before the first game. They headed to Multnomah Falls as one of their initial stops. They followed that up with a visit to Kirk's parents house. They live in Portland, and Ella's game that night was against Lewis and Clark right nearby. After a warm meal and great company, we headed to the field.

It was so fun to see Ella on a bigger stage and playing hard for the Willamette University Bearcats. The girls did their best to be as loud as possible whenever Ella was on the field.

And when the game was over they even got to go down and snag a few pictures with her. It was pretty cool all around.

The next day, while waiting for Kirk and John to fly in, Ella took her visitors to see the facilities on campus. Reese and Callie thought it was pretty amazing that the girls soccer team have their own locker room and that each player had personal keys not only to the locker room but also to the field where they could go and play any time. And Ella was a good sport to take us around to all of the different places, not once but twice since she had to repeat the tour for her dad and John.

As soon as John and Kirk arrived, we all headed out for another hike. This time we hit the trails at Silver Falls State Park. Everything was so incredibly green, and it was great to have the band back together, walking and talking.

Nothing builds up an appetite like hiking, and the girls were ready to finally go to In N' Out for a meal, having waited for the two guys to arrive. Meanwhile, Kirk and John had already indulged at said establishment for lunch. This did not stop the plans for dinner, however. It took very little to convince the two dads to have a second round for dinner.

After a great meal, the true treat followed. The girls had driven by a local Mexican market and had taken advantage of the numerous fascinating candy options available. Reese was fired up to do a taste test of all the different sweets, and so after dinner we shared a variety of fruiteria delights. There were some winners in the mix, but also a few duds. Regardless, it was fun.

Day 3 brought, you guessed, another hike. This time, however, we had driven to the coast so that we could check out a trail Kirk had recommended. This trail was at Cascade Head Preserve, right outside of Lincoln City. A short hike through the woods brought us out to some grasslands along the ocean bluffs.

It was a pretty stunning view and we all agreed it was our favorite hike. In fact, it was so good that Reese actually got upset when we stopped to turn around. She wanted to keep going and Sarah had to go a little farther with her just to keep her happy. This might be an unprecedented moment in family history.

After the hike we headed into Lincoln City to check out the beach and have some dinner. The Oregon coastline is absolutely gorgeous. Windy on that day, but gorgeous. We walked around downtown a bit, had a great meal, and then headed back to our rental house near Salem.

The day after Lincoln City was Ella's next game against George Fox. Because it was also Kirk's dad's birthday, the whole family organized a tailgate brunch to enjoy prior to kickoff. We had already met Kirk's parents and one of his sisters before, but this gave us the chance to meet the rest of the gang. We had some great food, great conversation, and then got to watch Ella play. And our day wasn't even over after that. Next up was some wine tasting.

Our first of two stops was Winderlea Vineyard, which is one of Kirk and Kelly's favorites. The setting was beautiful, the wine was very tasty, and the girls were tolerably patient during the whole process. After Winderlea we stopped at Evesham Wood Vineyard. This was a smaller spot with another scenic view and good wine. A good time was had by all.

Monday marked the final day of our trip and we wanted to make sure we got a little more time in with Ella on campus. One cool spot is a creek that runs through the center of campus. It is shallow enough at spots that they have chairs in the middle that you can sit on. Most people do it in warmer weather, but Reese accepted a bribe of ten dollars to pose on the chair. 

This picture sums up the reason we traveled to Oregon and had such a wonderful time. We love both of the girls in this picture and feel fortunate to be part of their lives. Of course the 14 year-old has a pretty special place in our heart. It is hard to believe she is as old as she is.

The travel birthday tradition began in part as a way to avoid throwing a party every year, but it also fits a motto that Sarah and John have adopted over the years, "Experiences, Not Things." Callie won't remember the various trinkets we have purchased her, but hopefully she will always hold trips like these close to her heart. We know we do.