off the oregon trail: thoughts after returning home

• I’m so glad I took Wednesday off—it would have stunk to get home at midnight and then be at work by 8.

• While in Bozeman, we couldn’t use any hair products because Sarah’s sister is allergic to scents. My hair behaved reasonably well, so I thought I might try going without any hair products for the rest of the trip. I changed my mind when we arrived in Cannon Beach and my hair went crazy. Duh! Bozeman’s low humidity is what allowed my hair to behave without artificial help.

• I think Steph and Nate would be perfectly happy to never, ever hear “Don’t Stop Believing” again in their entire lives. It was our unofficial trip song, and I had to belt it out every time I heard it! (Not the original Journey version—which I do enjoy—but the Glee version.)

• Looking back on the trip, it’s so amazing that we were all able to go on it together. What a gift!

• If I ever move to the mountains (Montana???), I’ll need a new car. My baby would never survive!

• I wish Nebraska had good hiking trails. Hiking is fun, but we don’t really have anywhere to hike around here. At least nowhere I'm aware of . . .
  

• Can I get a job reading maps? I think I would really enjoy it.

• It’s surprising how well my sisters did with each other on the trip. I’m not sure that they ever really fought. Surprisingly, Val and I were the ones with the issues on the way home.

• After all the coffee I had on the trip, I’m going to go through some serious caffeine withdrawals as I go back to my regular one caffeinated drink per day routine.

• I forgot to mention the coffee we had in Portland. It came from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and it was some of the best coffee I had on the trip. Look for a massive coffee/restaurant review post in the next few days.