LiG Memories: The Nomad Years (2016–2018)
A Bridge Between Homes
There are chapters in every long‑loved story where the ground shifts a little, not in a frightening way but in that unmistakable “life is changing” way. For LIFE is Good, the years from 2016 to 2018 were exactly that. A stretch of time when we weren’t quite settled, not quite rooted, but still unmistakably ourselves. And while the adults were adjusting to new logistics and new layouts, the kids seemed to take to it immediately. Every new hotel became a fresh world to explore, a place full of elevators, hallways, fountains, and hidden corners that turned the whole weekend into an adventure.
These were our Nomad Years, the years we packed up our traditions, our banners, our fairy godparent magic, and our entire unschooling village and carried it from one temporary home to another.
Looking back, it’s clear these years were a bridge. A bright, colorful, cookie‑scented, atrium‑echoing bridge between our long years in downtown Vancouver and the next place we would eventually land. For eight years, the Red Lion and Hilton held our traditions, our laughter, our late‑night conversations, and the steady rhythm of families returning year after year. Leaving them meant stepping into something unfamiliar, yet we carried all of that history with us as we crossed into this new chapter.
The Nomad Years asked us to stretch a little. They asked us to trust that the heart of LiG was strong enough to travel. And as we moved from Vancouver to Portland to Tigard, from glass elevators to towering atriums, from warm cookies to made‑to‑order breakfasts, we discovered that the community itself was the constant. The place changed, but the feeling did not. The joy did not. The belonging did not.
2016 — The Doubletree Year: A New View, A New Weekend, A New Adventure
The first step onto that bridge came with a date shift no one expected. LIFE is Good 2016 moved from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend. As much as I think of LiG as a Portland metro event in my mind, this was the only year we were actually located in Portland. In fact, it was our first year back in Oregon after eight years in Vancouver, Washington. Returning to Oregon felt both familiar and new, and the Doubletree welcomed us with warm chocolate chip cookies at check‑in, a small gesture that softened the strangeness of gathering in September instead of May.
The hotel itself became part of the story. The glass elevator was an instant hit, a vertical joyride that turned even the most mundane trips between floors into an event. Kids rode it with the same enthusiasm they brought to the pool, the funshops, and the fountains across the street in Holladay Park.
Thursday night brought something brand new for LiG: our first ever pool party, complete with Trivia by the Pool. Families gathered around the water, laughing, guessing, splashing, and starting the conference with a sense of play. On Sunday night, we were treated to Rhys Thomas and his Jugglemania & Gollyology Show, a blend of circus arts, science, and pure delight that had kids and adults wide‑eyed and giggling. One funshop group even ventured out to the PSU Farmer’s Market, enjoying fresh food, sunshine, and the feeling of exploring Portland together.
And then there was the Snoop Dogg moment. The Doubletree was close to the Moda Center, and during our stay, Snoop Dogg performed there. He was also a guest at our hotel. We knew because the unmistakable scent of weed drifted off a balcony one evening, and the entire LiG community shared a collective, amused “only at LiG” moment.
The weekend unfolded with all the familiar rhythms. Presentations, panels, funshops, cosplay, the Talent Show, Better‑than‑Prom, and the Monday picnic. Even in a new location, surrounded by late‑summer sunshine and the hum of a busy city, the community created the same sense of connection and joy that had defined LiG from the beginning.
2017 — Embassy Suites Tigard: Finding Our Footing Again
In 2017, we returned to Memorial Day weekend and moved into the Embassy Suites in Tigard. The shift changed the feel of the conference in ways both practical and profound. For the first time since 2007, every family had a suite as their guest room. Parents could decompress while kids sprawled out on the sofa bed. Teens could gather in clusters without blocking hallways. Families could eat, rest, and reset with more breathing room than we had in years.
The hotel was built around a large central atrium filled with greenery and light. It was beautiful and also a little nerve‑wracking. Those balconies climbed many stories high, and every parent felt that instinctive tug of vigilance. So we did what unschoolers do best. We made the space our own. Colorful unschooling‑themed banners were hung from the balconies, transforming the atrium into a vertical gallery of joy, philosophy, and creativity.
The shared meals at the Embassy Suites made a surprising difference. The made‑to‑order breakfast each morning and the evening reception each night created a natural gathering place twice a day. Families and teens and kids crossed paths, shared tables, swapped stories, and built friendships in a way that felt effortless. Those meals stitched the community together.
The Monday picnic moved to Beaverton City Fountain Park, a little further away but worth the drive. Families had a chance to cool off in the water features and enjoy a relaxed final gathering before heading home.
The 2017 schedule reflected a community settling into its new temporary home. The Big Six Panel, mental health discussions, SSUDS and SSUMs, tween icebreakers, art and gaming funshops, improv, tech sessions, and of course the Talent Show and Better‑than‑Prom. It felt like LiG again, simply in a different shape.
2018 — Embassy Suites Tigard, Year Two: Growing Into the Space
By 2018, the Embassy Suites felt familiar. Not permanent, not home in the way the Red Lion and Hilton had been, but known and comfortable. The schedule expanded with confidence. We introduced escape room funshops for both younger and older attendees, and they were an instant hit. Kids and teens worked together, solved puzzles, and celebrated their victories with the kind of enthusiasm only unschoolers can bring to a challenge.
There were film challenges, Raspberry Pi setups, mysticism and minerals, writer’s round tables, and a John Hughes Film Festival that felt like a love letter to teenhood itself.
The atrium, once a curiosity, became a gathering place. The balconies, once a worry, became a canvas. The suites, once a novelty, became a welcome standard. And the breakfast line became a daily reunion.
The 2018 program echoed the same themes of connection and continuity that had carried us through the previous two years. Even in a borrowed space, the LiG community kept growing, learning, laughing, and weaving itself together.
A Bridge, Not a Detour
It’s clear that these three years weren’t an interruption in the LIFE is Good story. They were a transition. A bridge between the long, beloved years at the Red Lion and Hilton and the next chapter waiting just beyond the horizon.
We learned something important during the Nomad Years. Home wasn’t the hotel. Home was the people. Home was the way we showed up for each other. Home was the community we carried with us, floor to floor, city to city, year to year.
The Doubletree gave us cookies and glass elevators. The Embassy Suites gave us suites, balconies, omelet lines, and shared meals that brought us together twice a day. But we gave those places meaning.
And soon, after crossing this bridge together, we would find our final home.
Join Us for the Final Chapter
As we look back on where it all began, we are also preparing to close this beautiful circle. I would love for you to join us for the final chapter of the LIFE is Good story at this year’s conference, a celebration of community, connection, and nearly two decades of learning in freedom.
Recent Blogs
