From Gaijin to Gringo to Granola: April 2018

Monday, April 2, 2018

Day 3: Missoula MT to Bozeman MT (doh!)

Well, we are still in Montana. Today didn't exactly go as planned. The "light dusting" of snow on our car this morning turned into a full on, 1/4 mile visibility, squeezing the black out of your steering wheel kind of snow storm pretty much immediately as soon as we hit the highway. Our original plan of making it to Wyoming changed last night as we decided to stop at the Museum of the Rockies and then stay the night in Billings...but that quickly changed when we got on the road. Within the first 30 minutes we saw 3 separate cars in the highway ditches and by the end of the day that total would rise to 11! After some very slow and steady progress we eventually made it to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman MT and decided we were good for the day. Luckily, there was also a "C'Mon Inn" in Bozeman so we changed our reservations, threw on our suits and hit the pool and hot tubs. Have we mentioned that we love C'mon Inns? Best hotels in Montana if you are ever up this way! We need to make up ground tomorrow but the weather looks promising and we are optimistic. Rapid City or bust!

Maybe we should have stopped here.

Slippin and Sliding all the way to the museum.

"A real T-Rex!?"

"Big Mike"

Hot Tub #1 at C'Mon Inn

Hot Tub #3 at C'Mon Inn

Day 2: Leavenworth WA to Missoula, MT

The first long driving day in the car went relatively smooth. The boys started in Kate's car and after about 3 hours swapped into Erik's for the remainder of the day. All said and done we made it the rest of the way through Washington, the pan handle of Idaho and into Montana. As soon as we hit Montana we experienced snow through the passes and even pulled over just so the boys could play a little on the massive snow banks. The rest of the drive was uneventful as we make it to the "C'mon Inn," changed into our suits and spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the pool and the hotel's 5 hot tubs spread throughout the lobby. Tomorrow we plan to head to Billings (another C'mon Inn) after stopping at the Museum of the Rockies.

Snowy Montana Passes.

Snow bank at the rest stop.

C'mon Inn "waterfall"

One of the 5 main floor C'mon Inn hot tubs.

Day 1: Anacortes to Leavenworth, WA

Today we turned the keys of our first home over to our renters and set out through "the pass" on our way to Leavenworth, WA for the evening. Over the last 6 years we had the best intentions of making our way through the mountains to the Christmas themed town, designed like a Bavarian village, but have sadly not had the time or energy to make it happen. So, for our first travel day we elected to only drive 3 hours and explore this quaint little town. Fortunately, the weather gods were on our side and we had clear skies and 60sih degree weather. We were able to walk around all afternoon, taste an assortment of local beers and dine on traditional Bavarian cuisine (aka Pretzels and Brats!) all within walking distance of our Hotel. Leavenworth...check! Tomorrow we are off to Missoula Montana for a hotel with 5 Hot Tubs! Stay Tuned.

Yes, we had pretzels and ice cream at 3pm for no reason...road trip!

The main drag.

Family Selfie!

Setting sun on day 1.

"Make your best nutcracker face."

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Our Next Adventure

After over six years, three different Squadrons and two deployments it's time to leave Whidbey Island for a little bit and try something new. Over the past seven months we have been preparing for our move to Millington, TN and after months of planning (to include a deployment) we are finally on the road. We were fortunate enough to find a wonderful young couple to rent our house in Anacortes while we venture south for a few years. The boys have had their last days of school, Erik is growing a PCS beard and we are going to enjoy some qualify family time as we make our way across the country. Stay tuned for exciting Halvorson adventures as we embark on the 7 day, 2,400 miles journey to our new duty station.