Moviemaking in Bozeman

We made this movie in Bozeman, with Helmut's great friend Rudy's grandkids.



We just happened to show up at Rudy and Carol's house for a night when his daughters and grandkids were all there. It was really fun to meet Carol, Rudy's wife, and all his family. Vigo and little Rudy really hit it off. Vigo was very sad to have to say good-bye to him.

Getting Ready for a Sad Good-Bye

We're leaving Portland this afternoon, on our way to Bozeman, Montana, where we'll visit Helmut's friend Rudy. Vigo is extremely sad about leaving Portland. The other night he had a long, long cry over leaving his friends here and in Boston. He's thinking in very final terms, saying that he knows he'll never see any of his friends again and not quite believing me that he will. He misses his friends back in Somerville. There's a general air of sadness today and it's going to be a tough good-bye.

We're All Enjoying Portland

We've been in Portland for several days now. Vigo is really enjoying the kid companionship. The other day Di-Ann and Erik were getting ready to take the kids to a nearby park by bicycle. Vigo insisted that he did not want to ride on the trail-a-bike, and that he definitely could ride a bike even though he hadn't really ever ridden alone without training wheels before. So, we got out a bike, adjusted the seat, and he took off up and down the sidewalk to practice before the ride to the park.

And he was absolutely right. He can ride a bike.

Later this afternoon, we're going to all head out to Astoria and camp in a friend's back yard. Astoria is on the mouth of the Columbia River. It's crowded with sea lions, who gather there to munch on the salmon who come in and out of the river. It's a beautiful place. Vigo's excited about it.

We're planning to be off for the next leg of the trip this weekend.

Laguna Beach

It turns out the car repair is fairly minor. Erik, Vigo, and Sam are spending the day at Laguna Beach. The garage had a shuttle service for them! It looks like they'll camp there overnight and then be able to take off in the morning toward San Francisco. It'll be quite a long day of driving for them and for me, but I can't wait to see them tomorrow night!

Car Trouble

If you've been reading the travel log, you know that Erik and Vigo are having an amazing trip. Vigo is proud to be a junior ranger. Yesterday they were at Legoland in Carlsbad, CA. Vigo told me that he spent a lot of time in Miniland, which is a Lego replica of the United States. He found it disappointing, though, that Miniland did not include a mini Legoland, which would include a mini Miniland (and so on).

Unfortunately, after Legoland, they started to have some car trouble. I don't know any details, but Vigo informed me this morning that the check engine light is now flashing. Right now they are waiting for the Mazda dealership to open in San Juan Capistrano.

I have a ride to San Francisco early tomorrow morning. I'm sharing a car down with three other people and splitting gas and driving. Hopefully, Erik and Vigo and Sam will be able to make it to San Francisco aroudn the same time as I do. We're going to be hanging out with Erik's sister Birgit and her boyfriend Sam, who live there. Then we'll all drive back up to Portland together.

Missing

Vigo and Erik are still having a great time. Be sure to click on their travel log link and follow them there. Vigo calls at least once a day to talk to me. I think it makes him feel like I'm sort of there in the car with them for a few minutes. Vigo says that he misses all of his friends a lot. I think that he is missing time with other kids and that Erik is missing time with other grown-ups, but they're also both having a wonderful time.

Stock Car Racing in Arkansas

Vigo and Erik woke me up early this morning with a call from the road. They haven't had any internet access for a while, but maybe tonight they'll update their trip log.

The big news was their evening at the North Central Arkansas Speedway, which Erik had already mentioned in the comments here. They accidentally went to the wrong booth and got pit passes, so they really got the full stock-car tour. Vigo was excitedly reporting lightening-like sparks coming from some of the cars. He was loudly demonstrating the different explosion and revving sounds they heard at the track.

The other big news of the call was that Erik forgot his shoes at the camp site, so he's in dollar-store flip-flops now for the rest of the trip. His shoes were pretty old and ratty, so it's no big loss.