Green Family Summer
About Us
The Wilsons
Nope. We are not named "Green."
We're the Wilsons, and you already know the part about traveling across the country on this Green Family Summer. If you thought you missed some of that, please have a look at the blog: www.blog.greenfamilysummer.com .
We've been traveling together since before the two of us became four. Sherri and I spent many weekends backpacking in the Cascades as we became friends, and often left work early on Friday to get up into those mountains before the rest of Seattle could catch us. We would only come down on Sunday evening, just in time to make a big meal of scallops and prawns in garlic and wine with focaccia, washed down with a bottle of Washington's finest vintage. That was after the chocolate-banana shakes and deep-fried mushrooms at the dairy shack out on Route 2, of course.
It was one of those Sunday night dinners which ended in a challenge. It was something on the order of, "Well, if you really mean it that you'd give it all up to travel, then why don't you?" We would quit our jobs (Sherri was at Boeing and I worked in a Seattle recording studio) and travel for nearly a year, backpacking in every wilderness area our little pick-up truck came across. We lived on bean burritos, open windows, and a squirt gun in lieu of air-conditioning. We made it through relatively intact as a couple, and have been together ever since.
When the kids came along, Sherri was adamant that they would learn to travel and, in so doing, would learn about the world in a way most people miss. After moving to a small college town in Ohio, we began to make our summers into rambling road trips on our way to visit the James Family cattle ranch on the Columbia River. That brings us to here.
We Wilsons enjoy music, the outdoors, forest restoration work on our farm, travel, meals with friends, PBS, Slamwich
, popcorn, the screend-in porch, Independent and foreign films, home improvement, walking around our town, and Donkey Coffee on Sunday morning. We're aware that there are few things better than dinner with our friends (affectionately known as "the gang") over a small campfire, with ample warm conversation and cold beverages.
Nope. We are not named "Green."
We're the Wilsons, and you already know the part about traveling across the country on this Green Family Summer. If you thought you missed some of that, please have a look at the blog: www.blog.greenfamilysummer.com .
We've been traveling together since before the two of us became four. Sherri and I spent many weekends backpacking in the Cascades as we became friends, and often left work early on Friday to get up into those mountains before the rest of Seattle could catch us. We would only come down on Sunday evening, just in time to make a big meal of scallops and prawns in garlic and wine with focaccia, washed down with a bottle of Washington's finest vintage. That was after the chocolate-banana shakes and deep-fried mushrooms at the dairy shack out on Route 2, of course.
It was one of those Sunday night dinners which ended in a challenge. It was something on the order of, "Well, if you really mean it that you'd give it all up to travel, then why don't you?" We would quit our jobs (Sherri was at Boeing and I worked in a Seattle recording studio) and travel for nearly a year, backpacking in every wilderness area our little pick-up truck came across. We lived on bean burritos, open windows, and a squirt gun in lieu of air-conditioning. We made it through relatively intact as a couple, and have been together ever since.
When the kids came along, Sherri was adamant that they would learn to travel and, in so doing, would learn about the world in a way most people miss. After moving to a small college town in Ohio, we began to make our summers into rambling road trips on our way to visit the James Family cattle ranch on the Columbia River. That brings us to here.
We Wilsons enjoy music, the outdoors, forest restoration work on our farm, travel, meals with friends, PBS, Slamwich
, popcorn, the screend-in porch, Independent and foreign films, home improvement, walking around our town, and Donkey Coffee on Sunday morning. We're aware that there are few things better than dinner with our friends (affectionately known as "the gang") over a small campfire, with ample warm conversation and cold beverages.Jeff Wilson
Jeff Wilson is primarily known as a host on HGTV and the diy networks. His affable persona and friendly, laid-back delivery have taught all kinds of people how to build decks, install flooring, build fences, and even build a guitar. In nearly 200 episodes for these networks, he helps to de-mystify home-improvement and empower people to "do-it-themselves." Jeff also works as the national spokesman for Thompson's Water Seal, where he helps to teach people about great outdoor living. He has recently been tapped to host the long-running and popular PBS series, Smart Travels, where he'll bring his sense of humor and adventure to international travel. Jeff studied music in college and still loves to play classical piano or jazz standards with Sherri on the alto sax. He loves traveling with his family, and enjoys cooking, working on their Appalachian farm, and brewing beer. Jeff serves as producer, editor, writer, and narrator for the Green Family Summer video series, as well as chief writer for their blog. See more about Jeff at www.jeffwilsonregularguy.com.
Sherri James Wilson
Sherri James Wilson grew up in the Pacific Northwest, living through the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens as a teenager. Her love of the outdoors grew into an interest in photography, and through that into her role as videographer for the Green Family Summer series. When she's not "on the road," she works as an artist and small-business owner with her business, www.bluemoonbottles.com. She uses reclaimed wine bottles to make a wide array of recycled art, including tumblers, pendant lighting, and even one-of-a-kind coffee tables. Sherri's creativity extends to her love of classic jazz, and she plays alto sax and piano. Ironically, she's most at home when "on-the-road," even having studied the business of travel in college, and wants to be sure her two smart, strong daughters have the chance to see the world and love travel as she does. Sherri serves as chief videographer for the Green Family Summer Video Series, as well as photographer for the Green Family Summer blog.
Winter Wilson
Winter Wilson has been traveling since birth. Not only has she been part of the Wilson family summer travels for those ten years, but also went along on TV shoots when her Papa, Jeff, had to work out of town. Her curiosity, imagination, and sense of adventure are rivaled only by her fashion sense -- she's completely at home in camoflage pants and a candy-striped shirt. She's an accomplished musician, playing the piano and trombone, and enjoys collecting things she finds as she travels. When she was three, the family moved from her birthplace in Tennessee to Ohio. Since Winter always associated travel with camping, she very excitedly exclaimed, "Yea! We're gonna move to Ohio and live in a tent!" Winter serves as big sister, commentator, and cheif ice-cream eater in the Green Family Summer Adventure Series.
Sylvie Wilson
Sylvie Wilson's first trip came at the ripe old age of five weeks when her family moved to Ohio. Within the first few years of her life she spent lots of time heading to shoots with the family or hiking (in a baby backpack) in the Wilson's favorite places. Sylvie is an accomplished artist and writer, winning the regional Reading Rainbow Young Authors contest in first grade, and now studies piano. Having inherited her father's gift of gab, she now is the Green Family Summer's chief protector when they hike in bear-country, where her constant story-telling warns the bears of the family's presence. She also fills roles as assistant ice-cream eater, little sister, and snuggly-pajama girl.