Today can be summed up in three words: driving, podcasts, bridges. Okay, four words: beer.

We purposely chose to take the long route. Yes, we could have shaved off an hour or two by doing the quick I-5 route. IT’S ABOUT THE JOURNEY, PEOPLE! So we traveled up 101 along the coast. It is a beautiful reminder that this coastline provides a landscape of ragged cliffs and vistas that should not ever be taken for granted.

To help keep the peace, we made sure we had loaded up on all the good podcasts. Through some quirk of fate, the kids have been exceedingly accommodating when it comes to listening to (and dare I say, even enjoying) the same podcasts we do. So we let the folks from This American Life, RadioLab and Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me narrate the drive. They kept us engaged, entertained, laughing and ultimately – enlightened. The resulting conversations about teen pregnancy, genetic discovery and the beauty and humor in creative invention (Stadium Pal from David Sedaris, anyone?) make me optimistic about the contribution these two will make to our future world.

One thing I continued to marvel at was the number and beauty of the bridges we crossed (I swear, we must have crossed 12-15 massive bridges). Once I got my act together, I started trying to get some like, super artsy angles and shots…with my phone…through the rainy winshield…while traveling at high rates of speed. Read as: set your expectations low. [I’m also, BTW, kicking myself for not getting a picture of the sign hanging in the window at the road-side gas station that advertised that they sold gold mining equipment. Dwuh?]

We arrived safely in Lincoln City, after a MANDATORY stop-over in Newport to enjoy some of the premium offerings of Rogue Brewing.

We have a handful of hours left to traverse tomorrow before we reach our ultimate goal – and some new territory while we are at it. This is a big part of this journey – to (as a family) see something new. We get to cross the mouth of the Columbia River tomorrow (the Cape of Disappointment always being something we have wanted to check out), then work our way up to our final destination of long-term exploration of Seattle.

Here’s to new adventures!