This weekend, Brenton and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. We had planned on staying home and resting, hiking, and touristing around town, but the weekend forecast was hotter n’ the blazes with no likelihood of finding a cool spot to relax. Like most houses in this area, our house doesn’t have air conditioning, so we used our anniversary as an excuse to jump in our [air conditioned] car and take a trip.This anniversary trip was, of course, decided on and planned in the span of about 5 minutes Saturday morning about an hour before we had thrown a change of clothes and some food in the car and headed south with no destination in mind.
After driving for 5 hours on some of the curviest roads I have ever been on through some of the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen, we arrived in Joseph, Oregon near the Hell’s Canyon Recreation Area. The attendant at the Joseph tourist information stand didn’t give us much hope of finding a vacant hotel room for the night. After calling a few hotels and being practically laughed at for looking for a room that night, I was starting to make mental plans for camping in the car (with no camping gear). I had seen a sign for a vacancy at what looked like a bed and breakfast about a mile outside of Joseph so we drove back and hoped for the best.
What I thought had been a bed and breakfast turned out to be a gift shop in an old train depot building (moved from its original location). The shop had one suite for rent–an old train caboose in the back yard complete with a kitchen, bathroom, and shower and room to sleep up to four. Brenton and I were thrilled with the unique accomodations.
We spend the night in a caboose. Early the next morning, we headed out to tourist the area and try a different route home that would lead us through Hell’s Canyon Recreation area and central Idaho. Driving north through Idaho, we were amazed at the constantly changing landscapes.
The route home was senic, with more curvy roads than the drive to Joseph. Twelve hours after leaving Joseph, Oregon we pulled into our driveway with just enough energy to go inside and crawl into bed. We slept like logs until the alarm clock went off too early this morning. We are already ‘planning’ another similar trip for 6 months from now.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
That sounds wonderful!! It is so much fun to just head out and not really have a plan. My husband and I used to do that every now and then. Have not tried it lately, though! Maybe we will! You have inspired me!
Glad you had fun.
Blessings,
Starr
Congratulations! (a few days late!) What a wonderful adventure! I am envious and so happy for you, and am awed that it’s already been 4 years! I love the picture and would love to see many more. Are they posted on your facebook? Love you!
@ Starr–I highly recommend a getaway. It’s good for personal sanity and for a marriage. Part of our motivation was that with this baby on the way soon, we realize that it will be harder to do spontaneous. We left with the attitude that we would just drive and enjoy ourselves and if we saw something interesting we would stop and look. With no real destination in mind, we weren’t rushed to get anywhere in particular. Let me know if you go so I can read about your adventure.
@Diane–Look for more pictures on the blog over the next few weeks. I have a few posts that are coming out of this trip. I don’t like publishing pictures to facebook because any photo posted on facebook you basically give them 100% copyright permissions to use however they want. It’s just my thing.
Yey for spontaneity! Babies sure do make spontaneous trips more difficult…to an extent. These days most people don’t get in the car and drive enough. I’ve made it a point since we moved to Oklahoma to stay off of the interstates and major highways, and I get to enjoy the countryside more. I didn’t know that Facebook gets permissions to your photos after you post them…that makes me a little nervous.