trains planes and automobiles

We have returned. Tired but alive. Mostly in one piece, but swearing off travel for at least the next six months. Don't get me wrong---it wasn't that bad---but all of those people who tell you that traveling with an infant is easy are lying. Traveling is a headache no matter what, and when you throw a baby into the mix it just gets more complicated. Sooooooo many logistics.
In general, Sadie did just fine. I fed her on takeoff and landing to help equalize the pressure in her ears, and it seemed to help. She cried for about three minutes on the descent into Denver (the longest three minutes of our lives, no doubt), and for a few minutes as we idled on the runway prior to departure. What I learned from this experience: no matter how horrible it is to be stuck on an airplane with a crying baby, no one feels worse about it than the parents.
As if things weren't difficult enough already, our flight out of Denver was delayed two hours, meaning that we missed our connection in Portland. The one that was the last flight to Bend for the evening. So, although United offered to put us up in a hotel and get us on the first flight this morning, we declined. The thought of dealing with checking bags, security, and prop-plane turbulence was more than we could bear, so we got a refund on our tickets, rented a car, and drove the three hours to Bend instead. We finally crawled into bed around 2 am. Here, a picture of the happy family before holiday weekend travel got the best of them:

More pictures from our trip coming soon!