The Dalles, OR / Coeur d’Alene, ID
It was a relief to leave the smelly, cramped hotel room and head out on the open road. We drove all the way up the Oregon side of the Columbia River, then across into Washington State. Massive agricultural tracts stretching out into yellow grassy prairie as far as the eye can see. We stopped at a rather dismal little town called Connell (not a lot of options in the vast green yonder). We ate burgers, grilled cheese and milkshakes from the Burger Factory at the town park – patchy grass under a tree. The redeeming factor for our Thomas the Train loving toddler were the stream of trains steaming by with their anonymous loads groaning on the tracks.
2:50 pm both boys and dog sound asleep. Our music is playing (as opposed to the awful Wiggles) and the road is clear. Perfect travel conditions.
8:00 pm we are in the sparkling little town of Coeur d’Alene. We move into the Lighthouse Room at the Flamingo Motel – which is a lot nicer than it sounds ! The town has a very eclectic mix of people – a guy in a Superman costume, an older woman in an old-fashioned Vaudaville costume (not kidding !), sharing the sidewalk with wealthy grey suits and trophy wives, aging hippies riding topless on Harley Davidsons, young turks flashing tattoos and spinning tires at traffic lights and of course types like us : kids, dog and camera slung over shoulder, not to mention baby-bjorn on front, stroller, diaper bag, blanket …….. and all that just for a trip to the Italian restaurant on Main street (Tito Marconis) for an early supper. B had a peanut butter and jelly pizza – a first ! Spike found the dirtiest patch possible to lie in under the table and now our impeccably groomed dog is decidedly dusty. And he found duck poo to eat along the lake.
What worked for us : Traveling with a toddler
Get a portable DVD player and a collection of his/her favorite shows. Thomas the Train or The Backyardigan lyrics will drive you a little crazy, but a happy traveler is priceless.
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