Heading north

The morning started early--we left home at 6:20. Three of the exchange students from Coquille/Myrtle Point spent the night at my house so their host families wouldn't have to bring them so early. We loaded into the church van and headed to Coos Bay to pick up the rest of the group at 7:00.

Our first stop was Eugene, where we took a tour of the University of Oregon campus. The campus is beautiful and the kids really enjoyed the tour. When it was over, we ate lunch on campus and then traveled another hour north to Salem to tour the state Capitol.

First we met with our state Representative, Arnie Roblan. We had about 30 minutes with him, during which time he explained how our state government works, how bills are introduced and passed into law, and he took some time to answer questions.

After our time with Rep. Roblan we took a 1-hour tour of the Capitol. The building is beautiful and the tour is very interesting, with lots of opportunities for great photos. Here we are in the Governor's office. This is actually his ceremonial office, used for media photos.

Next we headed back to Eugene for some mall shopping. It always amazes me that no matter what sights are available for the kids to see, they always want to shop. Julianne had fun spending some of her birthday money on some cute clothes.

We arrived in Coos Bay at 9:45, so I got home a little after 10. It was a long day, but so much fun!