Bend, OR

Just arrived in Bend this afternoon but figured I'd better get to work right away. #somuchbeersolittletime #beertravel #beertourism #bend

A tip of this "Banished" (sent away to age in an oak barrel) Belgian ale from @cruxfermentationproject to the 1,000 people (only *some* of whom are hot, horny and ready to chat) who have chosen to follow along on our adventures as we slow travel through the Northwest towards Alaska with two small kids in an Airstream! Thanks for all the support!

One step closer to answering the question of what Gorilla does in the trailer while we're gone. We'd been worried that she was getting really anxious when we left, so today we tried a Kong filled with canned pumpkin that people had suggested and set up the laptop on the floor to record. This is just the first 15 seconds, but she sits facing the door for a another minute, jumps up on the back of the couch to watch us leave, hops down and sits on the door mat facing away from the door for a few minutes and then runs past the camera (and the Kong) into the back where she stays for the next hour and a half. From the audio, it sounds like she just jumps up on the bed (where the kids sleep). Tomorrow we'll face the camera the other way and make sure she's not brushing her teeth and using all the hot water in the bathroom. #airstream #airstreamwithdogs

The Bend Public Library has an amazing kids section with a huge play area and great kids program. As parents know, anything new and different automatically becomes a favorite toy, so Wynne loves exploring all this fun stuff. We're finding that we don't need too many toys in the trailer between playing outside and coming to places like this. #fulltimefamilies

After hitting Bluebird Coffee before the Bend Public Library and an afternoon stroll across Mirror Pond to that playground with the tugboat, past "The Lot" where food trucks park beside a covered eating area and over to 10 Barrel for an early dinner and a taster (didn't like the bitterness of the Apocalypse IPA but loved the Joe IPA and the Hop Rye'it, and the food was really good too), I'd say we had a pretty classic day in Bend, especially when capped with a sighting of the Cycle Pub, a mobile bar powered by 10 people sitting at bar stools with pedals at their feet making multiple stops along the Ale Trail. #bend #beertravel #beertourism

Gorilla Cam Update: Today we turned the camera the other way in the trailer to see where Gorilla had gone yesterday when we left her alone in the trailer. Of course, this time she went to the opposite side of the trailer and, again, was quiet and out of sight for the whole time we were gone. While it's slightly concerning that she seems to know just where to be in the trailer to avoid being surveilled, the bigger picture seems to be that she really doesn't seem all that agitated once we actually leave. So with that determined, we thought we'd move on to the next logical step. #kongstuffedwithcheddargoldfish #kidding!

We don't live on a farm anymore, so we have to develop her immunity somehow. #lifeontheroad #cleanenoughtoeatoffof

Not bad for inside the city limits of Bend and considering that Tumalo State Park is closed for renovations. Besides, we get a lot of nights camping in remote places. When we come somewhere to actually check out a city, we like to be as close as possible to the action, especially when always working around nap schedules and meals. The first spot we were given at the Scandia RV park was sandwiched in a line of huge 5th wheels, skirted with insulation and not looking like they were going anywhere. When we asked about the spots on the wide open back loop, they happily moved us, like it had never occurred to them we might not want to be shoehorned in immediately behind a Wendy's. The park is about a 10 minute drive to downtown Bend and all the brewpubs and parks on the river (I took a $10 cab out to one the first night) and easy walking distance to Walmart, Albertsons, Harbor Freight, a good Ace Hardware store and the Bend Outlet Mall. And there's a Toyota dealership across the street, so we'll drop the Sequoia off for a 10K service tomorrow. #airstream #liveriveted #bend

And here's where the magic happens. Wait, isn't that what you're supposed to say when showing off your crib? Anyway, people always ask where the kids sleep in our trailer, and the answer is, they (and we) have slept in just about every configuration there is - mom and baby in the back/me on the lounge/Wynne on the dinette, baby in the back/me on the dinette/mom and Wynne on the lounge, etc - and I tell people planning to travel with kids (or having kids in general!) not to get too attached to any one setup. The only thing you know for sure is that it's gonna change the very second you finally get comfortable with it. With our current set up, Wynne sleeps across the foot of our rear corner bed and the 8 month old is in this cool portable crib with a zip down side (key for not killing your back reaching in over the top) which prevents her from rolling into Wynne's nightly sleep Kung Fu danger zone and works great to take along for naps at a friend's house or nights out of the trailer. While we never thought the two of them would be able to sleep right next to each other, Mae seems to be calmed while listening to us tuck Wynne in next to her and Wynne usually has no problem sleeping through Mae's nightly wake ups. That being said, everyone's got their limits. This week, we've been trying to wean Mae off of a feeding that usually happens between 2 and 4 am, so Ann can get a little more sleep. That means, I get the job of going in there to comfort her even though she makes it very clear I'm not the one she wants to see. A couple nights ago, I was in there rocking Mae on my shoulder. When she was finally drowsy again, I whispered to her "Okay, Mae, I'm gonna put you back down now." Wynne promptly sat up out of what I'd thought was a dead sleep and said, "Why? She's just gonna cry again." I took pity on her and sent her in to sleep with Ann in the front lounge. Last night, we were in the same situation. I had tried to put Mae back down with no luck and was holding her quietly. Wynne just sat up and looked at me, grabbed her pillow, started collecting her stuffed animals and said, "I'm gonna go sleep with mom 'cause you're not sleeping in there."

Morning play session with the train tracks. We usually have a deep shag rug in front of the lounge but can slide it toward the back when we need to. Actually, that 29" x 51" rug is a really hard size to find. We got ours at Home Depot for $50 three years ago. As a matter of fact, after many shakeouts and beatings with the awning pole, plus a few attempted washes in storage bins and large washing machines, we finally decided to retire it the other day in light of the fact that Mae's recent attempts to crawl and dynamic rolls mean she can no longer be trusted on the couch. The local Home Depot in Bend had the exact rug in stock, so now we're (literally) good as new! #airstream #airstreamwithkids #liveriveted #fulltimefamilies

Pay no attention to the little girl holding her hands over her ears in the front row, lads. You sound great, especially that last number. You really kilt it! #stpaddys #bend #deschutesbrewery

Having the ability to FaceTime with the grandparents and a couple little friends back home makes it so when we see them again, it's like we never left. Still, despite the Retina display on the iPhone 6 connected wirelessly to a 4G LTE JetPack and boosted by a directional multi-band rooftop antenna making it feel like the other person is just across the table from her, I can't help but think she's gonna look back on this picture at some point in her life and laugh at how antiquated this technology was. Note: The GorillaPod with an iPhone clip makes it so we can buzz around the trailer getting stuff done while she chats away happily. #airstream #liveriveted #airstreamwithkids #facetime