Visit to WA - Day 2 (by Thomas)

The next day started out a bit later than the first. We had had a long day on the day before, so my family wanted to be sure the Craigs didn't feel like they were run ragged. However, they were still on Texas time, so they were up and about long before they were due at our house. In any case, they arrived at our house and we proceeded to pack ourselves into our vehicles. My two younger sisters (Hannah and Sierra) were coming with us today, so they rode with Mr. Craig, Rebecca, and I, while my mom and dad took our car for the drive up the Columbia River Gorge.





My sisters had already gotten to know Rebecca a bit the day before, but now they really started hitting it off. By the time we reached our first stop at Multnomah Falls, Rebecca had already braided both of my sisters' hair! =) We got out of the car and my mom commented that it must be a magical one...."My daughters get in and when they come out, their hair is braided!"

The falls was mistier than I've ever seen it. We could feel the spray clear down near the freeway. We stopped at the water downstream of the falls for our traditional photo shoot, and Rebecca and I felt like celebrities again. As we walked up toward the falls, it got wetter and wetter. Rebecca commented that it was almost like walking through a "mister." We got some more shots with the falls in the background, including one of my favorite pictures of us.

After that, we hopped on the two-lane scenic highway that ran along the gorge....such a beautiful day and a pleasant road to drive! It was very curvy and up and down and altogether fun. We all enjoyed the drive immensely. We had a couple close calls...one was an RV on a narrow bridge that wasn't close enough to their shoulder, the other was a sherriff waiting to pick off any speeders. Both times, it was a very good thing that we were "pleasure-boating" along and not in any hurry. =)

At this point, those of us in the Craig's car (Mr. Craig, Rebecca, and I) noticed that we were desperately in need of gas. Talk about a bad place to run low! We prayed and just kept going.

We made it to Crown Point with no problems. The view was absolutely incredible as always. We took a couple more pictues and pressed on, looking for a gas station. After several false alarms and a bit of worrying later, we finally arrived back at the freeway for a much needed fill-up. We headed home, changed clothes, and drove on to church.

It was so much fun and made me so proud to introduce Rebecca to all my friends. She was obviously very nervous for most of the time we were there and practically didn't let go of my arm, but eventually started to relax. After meeting a LOT of people and eating shared meal together, it was time to go home. For the rest of the evening, we basically just relaxed. We sat and talked, watched a movie, and generally enjoyed each other's company. All too soon, it was time for the Craigs to head back to their hotel.

The next morning, May 19, was another emotional parting. My mom teared up probably more than I did at the airport. I had resolved not to let myself tear up until Rebecca left because I didn't want to make it any harder on her to leave than it already was. We said our mournful goodbyes, and that was it. I totally would have lost my composure as soon as I turned away, but I fished my cell phone out of my pocket and called back a friend. Still, if my mom had said a word, I think I would have lost it.

And so that was the wonderful WA visit. Rebecca pointed out that one reason it was so special was because it was really the first time we'd had together since we'd formally been "together." We'd had just a few hours before I left Texas, so that entire weekend in WA was so very special.

Now we had to resign ourselves to over two months of electronic communcation again. Once again, it took some time to adjust....but webcams, telephones, and IM really do help a lot, and we were back in the swing of things pretty quickly. =)