We picked up Passenger F (my dad, Fred) today, so the whole crew is assembled for the trip beginning on Friday. In the mean time, Dad is visiting with Maria and Elli and we might take a short ski trip Wednesday afternoon. I'm surprised at how quickly the time has passed and that we will be heading to Logan Friday morning.
When I was 9 (at least, I think I was 9), I went backpacking with my Dad and Grandfather to the Three Sisters Wilderness in Central Oregon. I was a little young to remember the details of the trip, but I think we spent five days hiking and camped four times. I have a couple of vivid memories, including cutting between the Middle and South Sisters to trim a day off the trip when we realized we hadn't taken enough food along. That felt like a *real* adventure. Even 34 years later that trip is one of the highlights of my childhood. I had a copy of the Star Wars novelization that I read by the fire each night (it was 1978!). The blue, external frame backpack I carried had terrible shoulder straps. Dad taped some faux-sheepskin to the top of the straps to keep them from digging in to my bony shoulders. Being outside for what felt like an extended period opened my eyes a little to the wider world. I will try to track down a picture from that trip to post.
The poetry (or symmetry?) of a three-generation vacation stuck with me, so I'm glad Dad was able to come along to Portugal. It won't be quite the same, as we won't spend a ton of time with Jonah (he's traveling separately with the players, and has a room with a player). But in a lot of ways, this trip feels the same. I hope it stands out later to Jonah. Honestly, I hope it lives up to the expectations he's built up around it. From what others have told me, it should.
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