Author Archives: amcandrew

After reading The Hobbit last year – and because we are reading The Lord of the Rings this year – we decided to go as Tolkien characters for Halloween. We were a little unsure about what trick or treating during Covid would look like, so when we discovered that our dear friends were also goingContinue reading “Halloween 2020”

After 90 days covering 9,000 miles through 11 states and sleeping in 24 different beds, we made it back to Austin. We are thankful for the opportunity to visit so many incredible places and meet so many wonderful people. We are short term renting in Austin at least through the end of the year, andContinue reading “Return to Austin”

The drive from Denver to Oklahoma City was long and tiring, but the kids did great. We left first thing in the morning and had breakfast at Ruby’s in Limon, CO about 90 minutes outside of Denver. We then progressed through Kansas where we stopped for ice cream at Dairy Queen in Salina and aContinue reading “OK City”

We bid farewell to Victor, ID and the Grand Tetons and drove down to Green River, WY to spend the night on our way to Steamboat Springs, CO. Jim and I planned to tent camp, but once we saw the site (which was also surrounded by I-80 and a busy railroad track) we rented aContinue reading “The Boat”

We spent four nights in Victor, ID, which is just over the border and pass from Jackson Hole, WY. Victor was significantly less expensive than Jackson, but it was also significantly farther from Grand Teton National Park than we expected. For that reason, we spent a lot of time at the RV resort’s pool, soContinue reading “Grand Tetons”

You can’t drive through Montana without visiting Yellowstone National Park, so we headed down to West Yellowstone, MT to reconnect with Jim’s parents. Yellowstone has four entrances, with the west entrance closest to a real town (West Yellowstone). We rented a cabin at Yellowstone Cabins and RV in town. Despite visiting after Labor Day duringContinue reading “Yellowstone”

We enjoyed slowing down in Bozeman for a few days. Bozeman is similar to Austin, although much smaller. As we rolled into town, we lunched at The Farmer’s Daughter restaurant. I ordered the kiddos grilled cheese sandwiches off the kids menu and they came out with huge salads. Jack willingly ate some of the saladContinue reading “Bozeman”

We only decided to spend Labor Day weekend in Helena because we needed to delay ourselves a few days in order to end up in Yellowstone the weekend of the 12th. However, Helena was an absolutely delightful place to visit, and I am so glad we ended up here! Our Airbnb was located in aContinue reading “Helena”

After leaving the Hodge’s cabin, we drove across Eastern Washington and stopped in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho for lunch. We continued on to Victor, MT, which is about 40 minutes south of Missoula. Our friends, the Watson family, moved here last summer and have been busy fixing the property up since then. We met the WatsonsContinue reading “Watson Family Farm”

Our last stop in Washington – and the Pacific Northwest – was a cabin in Ronald, WA owned by the Hodge family. Tom and Sydney Hodge, and their children, were good friends of the McAndrew family when they lived in Redmond, WA 30 years ago. I am thankful that these friendships endured over the lastContinue reading “Hodge Lodge”