2006 Summer Vacation

We've heard several people tell us what a wonderful time they've had on trips they've taken before their baby's were born. So, a few weeks ago, we decided to pack our stuff and head to Portland for one last trip before our baby is born! Since subletting didn't work out very well for us last time, we decided to ask our friends in Portland if anybody was going on vacation and needed a house sitter. The response was overwhelming, and if we had the time, we probably could have house-sat at 6-7 houses from the beginning of July through August. Unfortunately, even though we are self-employed, we also have to work. :-) A big thanks to Karen, Ed, Andy, and Marie who opened their home to us last week!

While we were there, we had a great time visiting with family and friends! But this trip, we also made it a point to take a few days to be tourists at the beach and Mt. St. Helens. When we weren't being tourists, our vacation schedule often included spending some time in the morning with my parents, lunch with a friend, an afternoon of relaxing, and dinner with more friends! It was a busy, exhausting schedule, but Susan did great!

Oh yeah, we also took some photos during the trip! Sometimes, it really is fun to just put the camera in auto mode to capture some fun memories for ourselves!

And here's a travel tip for anybody who wants to travel using United Miles. They normally advertise that you only need 25,000 miles for a ticket, and that's true, but we found that you really have to book months in advance to only use 25,000 miles for the "saver" coach award. "Standard" coach awards require 40,000 miles, and we found the availability was pretty good on those. But the real nice thing was that the "saver" first class tickets were also 40,000 miles, and they were available. Susan really appreciated the extra room, and I appreciated that they gave us extra snacks!