Oregon

We were able to spend time in Oregon a few weeks ago, thanks to the kindness and patience of Mark's sister and her family.  Here are a few highlights.

We stopped about an hour shy of Portland and met cousins to hike to the top of this:

Multnomah Falls is gorgeous and gave us all a much needed break.

The Boy and The Queen asked if we were in the jungle.  Nope.  Just out of the desert.

The next day was predicted to be the coldest and rainiest of the week, so we spent the afternoon at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).  The Boy's favorite part was a model of how cars are crushed and recycled.

He also played Connect Four with Dad using buttons to control robotic arms.

Meanwhile, The Queen spent hours playing in the water.  Her favorite feature was the whirlpool.

Junebug had fun, too.

We started our Fourth of July celebration at a parade...

...before heading west to the coast.  We started at Cannon Beach.

The cold and the wind chased us inside a warm pizzeria for lunch.

We then headed to Seaside.  It was much warmer by then, so we hauled out the toys and blankets.

We had hoped to watch fireworks over the ocean, but as the evening wore on it grew colder, the crowd grew rowdier, and Junebug grew tired, so we decided to head back early.  Maybe another year.

Thursday was spent in downtown Portland.  I think just by being there we made our contribution.

 We sampled Portland's famous Voodoo Doughnuts.  They top these things with everything from cereal to bacon to candy.

I don't have any pictures of possibly the best bookstore in this world, but we did visit Powell's Books.  It takes up an entire city block and I could have spent hours in it, though the kids should not.  They were in awe and a little overwhelmed at first, but quickly threw themselves into the task of choosing a book for themselves.  We spent time looking and reading, then looking again to make sure we had what we wanted!

Next up was Jamison Square for a picnic lunch and cooling off as the afternoon temperatures reached into the 80s.

Our last day we decided to do the 4 T's.  It consists of a trail, a train, a trolley, and a tram.  We thought The Boy would be in heaven, and he probably would have been if it weren't for an upset stomach that decided to show up part way through the four mile hike.

 Great views at the midpoint of the hike.  Mount Hood is behind us between the trees, albeit it is hard to see in the picture.  Mount St. Helens is to our right, and is really hard to see since it is not in the picture at all.  It was here we realized The Boy was having some serious issues as opposed to just having a bad day, but at this point, it was faster to finish the hike than turn around and walk back to our car.  Poor kid.

 The train was next, but The Boy just couldn't enjoy it.

The trolley

When we reached the tram his stomach finally gave up.  Literally.  Twice.  After that he perked right up and thoroughly enjoyed the tram ride.

After that adventure Mark took a nap and we left Portland at 8:00 pm to make the drive home.  It took me three days to catch up on sleep, but it was a much quieter drive than the trip up!

A HUGE thank you to Katherine and her family for letting us invade their lives for a week.  We are so excited to come back!