A Family Road Trip!

On Tuesday, August 5, MSH and I left Eugene heading north. Our plan was to visit quite a few family members, some of whom we had not met before.  All of these "new to us family members" are from his biological family.

After a quick stop in Portland to see daughter Emily and her family, we motored on up the Gorge to Spokane, where we had a great visit with his cousins Illa and Mary Beth, along with Illa's daughter-in-law and MB's husband.  These are cousins MSH grew up with in his adoptive family and whom we love visiting.

On Wednesday we headed to Montana to meet the "new to us" family members.  Thursday was spent with the 93-year old sister of birth mom (Marjory).  Aunt Charlotte was a fantastic host, not to mention FULL of stories about the family, her parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.  Two of her four children joined us for the day, and we felt welcomed and "at home" instantly.

On Friday morning we toured the Montana State Capitol building in Helena, followed by a visit to the cemetery where the birth father of MSH is buried.  We already had photos of the location and the military honors which took place for his funeral, but I wanted to actually stand there and see the spot where Earl was buried in 1992.

On Friday afternoon, we spent time with two of Earl's first cousins. He was an only child, but these two people remembered him and were able to tell us stories and share a few pictures.  So much fun!

On Saturday morning we returned to spend a few hours with Aunt Charlotte before heading to Hamilton area for Sunday events.  A bbq was held in the afternoon, hosted by one of the cousins and attended by 16 family members. A dozen of us met for dinner later that evening.

When a person has not met their biological parents, it is a HUGE treat to spend time with other people who knew them and can share stories and memories.  That's what this trip was all about!