When did Merry-Go-Rounds get old and the Ferris Wheel scary!

I’m not sure what happened, I’m still trying to work it out, but I’d really like to know when did a Merry-Go- Round get old for my children and a Ferris Wheel, (and it was a small one) get scary for me!

Literally as we reached the highest point and went ‘over the edge,’ I was forced to close my eyes, (discreetly I might add) and regulate my breathing. I didn’t make a big deal about it, I even pretended to enjoy it, in a wavering voice, forced smile kind of way-“yes kids this is great.” The fact I even had to pretend made me sad. All I could think about at the time was, “we better get to Disneyland soon before this problem gets any worse or I won’t even be able to go on ‘It’s a Small World,” and the ‘Teacups’ ride you can forget altogether! I did think about my Mum and an incident that involved a suspension bridge, vertigo and two very unsympathetic daughters- I get it now Mum, I’m sorry I thought that was funny!

We are currently staying in Hood River, which is situated in The Columbia River Gorge region. The river cuts a line between Washington State and Oregon. It’s a outdoor lovers paradise- Disneyland for grownups as I’ve heard locals call it. If you love the outdoors, chances are you’d love it here. Hood River is especially popular for Windsurfing and Kite Boarding- not my thing but mountain biking and hiking definitely are. This region has it all. Mike was here for 5 days before he had to head back to Spain to work. We took on a couple of waterfall hikes together. Our second was 4 miles or 6.4kms, which I thought was huge for the kids. It wasn’t without complaint, but they did it and they loved it…in the end. Actually, before the end, which made it all worthwhile. The waterfall seems to inspire them each time and the trip back is usually a lot easier. We usually have lunch at the falls too, which, we’ve learnt the hard way, makes ALL the difference.

This morning as I was packing up ready to take on another waterfall hike, I worded myself a little differently. I was somewhat apprehensive about the possible barrage of protests I might hear if I said we were hiking, so when they asked me what we were doing I simply said- ‘going on an adventure.’ Based on some advice in the kid friendly guidebook I’ve borrowed, I mentioned fairies and trolls, suspension bridges and rocks to throw into rivers. What I can say is, apart from the long drop stench and flat refusal from Lilly to use it at the beginning of the walk, there were very few protests for the entire time- not none, but very few. The GPS thingy on my phone mapped us as doing about 7kms all up, which again, I’m blown away by. They spent a good portion of the walk, running and despite a few challenging moments, it was incredible. I drove home chatting to myself, (as I do) feeling very proud of everyone’s efforts, theirs for doing it and mine for taking it on in the first place. I know there are days when it’s just too hard but I also feel that the hard yards do payoff eventually.

It’s an endurance game this parenting lark and I feel like I’m in the perfect place to train for it! 

A snippet

For the last several nights I've been working on a post, but we are on the road and I've not managed to get it finished. It may too have something to do with the fact that my goal of regular posts hasn't happened. We are over 3 weeks into our journey and almost in Hood River. We have 3 weeks in that part of the world, so here's hoping the posts will be a little more up to date.
In the meantime, here's a snippet of the first week or two of our journey.

Sitting on the chairlift heading up to Blackcomb Mountain, we are discussing the possibility of seeing a bear. It's later in the morning and the chances are unlikely but not impossible. I suggest this to the children and Seb just sort of gives me one of his 'looks'.  "Mum", he says, "if you say we will see a bear we will, if you say we won't then we wont". I ponder this for a second as I hear the words both Mike and I say regularly to them, regurgitated in our sons own special way. 

"Yes buddy", I reply, "you're probably right". I leave it at that, there's nothing else that needs to be said.

"Yeah, " he adds,  "so we'll see one today and yesterday if you say so."

"Maybe buddy".

We didn't see a bear on the chairlift, but that's not really the point. We might have, and the mere fact that a 4.5 year old can believe in the power of words is pretty fantastic. 

It's most likely simple regurgitation, but it was in context and perhaps, maybe, just maybe some of the things we are trying to reinforce in the kids, are registering… I think so, I hope so. 

Well, so much for regular updates. We are now 3 weeks into our adventure and already heading down towards the US. Our first few days were spent in Vancouver with a lovely family in a place called Deep Cove. Mike sailed with Damien on the Mayhem and their fabulous home was a great place to ride out our jet lag. The weather wasn't great- lots of rain and quite chilly but we managed to see some great things. Walks around Stanley Park, a visit to a farm, Grantville Market Place, a great afternoon turning over rocks to find crabs in Deep Cove and a trip to Vancouver's fantastic Science centre. 

We arrived on a Monday and Mike had to return to Spain on the Friday, so after dropping him off, we headed up to Whistler to stay with my dear friend Caroline. 

We spent 5 nights/4 days in Whistler and it's truly a place I think I'd be hard pressed to design any better for the way I'd like to live my life. We hired bikes for the kids and all went riding the lake trail, caught the peak to peak gondola and played in the snow, swam in cold lakes, ate berries from the local market, played in parks, changed our plans after being swarmed by mozzies, ate icecream, celebrated Canada’s 147^th birthday and Caroline and I got to ride together from their front door on some fantastic trails- TWICE! The weather was amazing, the kids got along for the most part and we had a great time. I feel blessed to have had this time with my dear friend, to meet her family and to see her happy. 

More to come on the last few weeks shortly, including the Calgary Stampede a Waterslide hotel, and what the kids really like best!