Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Road Home

We decided to take the scenic drive home along the coast. Joshua and I enjoyed the scenery while our wee ones slept. (Oh wait, I was sleeping too...) We stopped for lunch in Astoria where Matthew enjoyed a hike with Daddy to the top of the Astoria Column. Jane and I stayed in the van (which you can see in the picture). Someone was asleep.


Matthew was such a trooper in the van. We told him he could watch a video after we crossed the bridge. Hey, we wanted him to at least see some scenery. The second we got on the bridge he cheered. "Horray! I can watch my tv now!" What a nut.
It was such a lovely weekend getaway. I am looking forward to more "bacations" with my sweet family.
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Portland

Matthew was a well behaved two year old at the hotel. Joshua had him stand on this "stool" to wash his hands. My smart little guy figured he could use it for more than just hand watching ... He carried it all over the room to help him reach and see. Here he is, and I quote, "looking at the world outside."
Saturday morning we headed out bright and early to Bob's Red Mill. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast from their scratch bakery. (Although I did discover that I don't care for corn grits. Oh well, it was worth a try since it was marked as "Bob's favorite" on the menu.) I exercised serious restraint in their bulk grain section.

Matthew watched the waterwheel.

And Jane slept.

Next stop: Portland Zoo. We have passes to our local zoo, but seeing other animals like hippos and giraffes was quite a treat. Here are the fellas (and someone else's little girl) petting the goats.
That afternoon we ventured out into downtown Portland. There is a ginormous bookstore that Joshua had never seen. We loaded up the kiddies onto the light rail and had fun for about 30 seconds. There were all kinds of crazies on the train, and once we got off it was more of the same. Busy downtown are not for us, nor is a bookstore with an antsy toddler. So much for that ... back to do some swimming at the hotel.
Oh yeah, and Janie slept. Through the zoo, through the train, through the bookstore, through swimming ...Posted by Picasa

Bacation!

Our first vacation (or bacation if you ask Matthew) as a family of four was to Portland, OR. We got there on a warm and sunny afternoon. Doesn't Janie look so pretty?
After a quick stop at the hotel to unload, we took a short scenic drive to Multnomah Falls. Matthew LOVED seeing the waterfall.
Jane slept.
We had dinner at the restaurant overlooking the falls, then headed to a fish hatchery down the road to meet Herman - the 10 foot, 70 year old sturgeon. We were all exhausted after a long day of travel, so back to the hotel we went and off to bed.