Matt was scheduled to be in Portland the week of Monday July 24th. During dinner the Friday before he noticed, "You seem to be deep in thought." I hinted BIG time about how I haven't been to Portland. Well, by the end of the evening he had changed his reservation to a Residence Inn, planned to drive instead of fly and extended his stay two nights. All this just so he could bring us with him. He told the kids after scripture study that night. Callie came and gave me a hug and said, "I will miss you mom." She thought Matt was just inviting the kids along. Hehe.
The only other areas of Oregon we have explored are Bend and Sunriver. Matt goes to Portland quite often so he was able to show us points of interest along the way.
On the other side of the Columbia River are the Multnomah Falls. This was worth a stop to see even though everyone and their dog was there, including a girl getting her Quinceanera pictures. We were able to take a short hike up to the bridge and stretch our legs.
Streetcar, Max, and the Trolley
Since Matt was in Portland to work and had a pretty full schedule, I took to the Internet to see what sights we could see to fill our days.
I noticed that right outside our hotel was a streetcar stop. On Tuesday we rode the streetcar (like Trax) to the Max (like the Subway), which took us to Washington Park where we hopped on the Shuttle (like a shuttle). The ride was an adventure in and of itself...for most of us. Grayson gets motion sickness if he even runs too fast.
It was sort of freaky to see how far we had traveled underground once we got on the elevator, which took us back up to street level. The shuttle took us all around the park and through neighborhoods that looked like movie sets, and finally to the Rose Garden.
Rose Test Garden at Washington Park
The peak season for roses is in the spring but there were still plenty of blooms. Nonetheless, the boys could not believe we were actually there to look at flowers. They stood over in the shade by someone's dog poop baggie. I asked, "You'd rather look at that?" They were united, "We would."
It was a warm day so I told the kids they could choose something from the roadside stand afterwards. In my British accent I asked, "Anything from the Trolley?" Grayson looked at the snow cone prices and asked, "This is a rip off, how much money do we have?" Ava and I dropped our jaws in unison at this odd question. We literally had to talk him into getting a snow cone. I ordered ROSE flavored. The kids tasted it and decided, "It tastes like Grandma."
I wanted to see the Japanese Gardens as well but unlike the rose gardens, they were not free. The boys were done looking at foliage anyway. I was glad Ava and Callie was up for any adventure though. I appreciated that.We walked around the city streets for a bit including a stop at the Mall and the Library. In general Portland is a much bigger city than I thought it would be. It is very walkable and friendly.
Graham loved riding the streetcar, the subway and the shuttle. He enjoyed looking at the map to help figure out connections. That night after dinner he wanted to ride it with Matt so the three of us rode the loop around the city. It looks like I spent my share of brain juice figuring out the map as well.
Cannon Beach
The GPS lead us to a charming cape cod town, "Arrived at destination." I couldn't see the ocean but knew we were close so I went with my instincts. I turned left and came to a clearing. We were awestruck that haystack rock was literally right there.
I drove down the road a bit and then saw a street that led to the sand beach where we found a perfect parking spot. Cannon Beach far exceeded our expectations. It was like being in a dream. The kids were so happy digging in the sand but I wanted them to know there were other things to look at. I said, "Down the beach are caves and up the beach there is a lighthouse, do we want to see those?" The kids all said, "No, let's just stay here." I repeated, "Not even the caves?" Callie piped up calmly, "We already said what we want to do." I love her honesty. Grayson also was honest about his opinion of the beach, "This was fine at first but now it's miserable and my shorts are all crusty." That kid.
The water was cold but the sand was warm and smooth. It was a very clean beach, free of kelp. It was not free of seagulls however. That morning Grayson needed something to do so I told him to pack us a lunch. At the beach I cut off a piece of sandwich for each one of us and set it on a napkin. Graham was too intrigued by the ocean and ran off. I looked over to see a seagull by his sandwich. Before I could bat it away that greedy bird put the whole thing in it's beak!
If you look closely you will see that the bird couldn't even close it's mouth. It probably choked to death since it wouldn't share a crumb with any of the other birds.
I lay down in the sand and there I stayed. I even dozed off. It was nice to not have to worry about a little one wandering into the water and Ava is old enough to be in charge for a while. I don't know that I have ever felt more relaxed in my entire life.
The morning that we left to Oregon it was so bright and early that I forgot the camera. This devastated Ava as well as me. Matt let us take his new iPhone 7+ to the beach so we were able to get some great shots. The passcode required for the 7+ is two characters longer than his old phone. Luckily it only took one try to guess what it is.
Take a minute and really take in the beauty of this place! It was hard to describe to Matt how beautiful it really was. I was glad we had taken his phone to show him pictures. He said, "Wow."
As we got back to the van we saw how lucky we were to have found a spot to park, the place seemed to be filling up in the late afternoon. I was enamored with the hydrangeas growing alongside the road. We took a pit stop and then got back on the road.
On the scenic drive back from the ocean I stopped at a fruit stand, they had such things as alligator and wild boar jerky. We snacked on freeze-dried green beans and sour watermelon drops, which were adventurous enough for us. I also bought peaches and cherries because Oregon is known for it's luscious fruit.
Pittock Mansion
On Thursday we toured Pittock
Mansion. Surprisingly, Grayson was the only one who wanted to go on the tour. The rest of us opted to walk around freely on our own. It was pretty cool to walk around the 16,000 sq. foot mansion complete with servant’s quarters. I love interesting floor plans and studied the brochure later. The kid's room had dolls on display. These made it feel like a haunted house to Graham. The grounds had sweeping views of the city. As Grayson took our picture a stranger offered to take it so that Grayson could be in it. We assured him that Grayson would NOT like to be in the photo.
First we toured the chauffeur's home and then walked up the hill to the mansion.
A grand staircase might seem the perfect spot for a photo but you can see that because of the backlight it simply isn't.
Wunderland (no that is not misspelled)
That afternoon, when Matt was done with work, I
realized we needed to do something that the boys especially would enjoy. Ava
opted to stay at the hotel while the rest of us spent some time at a Nickel
City-type place called WUNDERLAND. Compared to the heavenly feeling of driving up to be beach this was like walking into Hell. Matt said, "It isn't that bad!" Good thing I enjoy being with my family. Grayson found a game where he could really
rack up ticket points by getting the ball in a milk jug. He got five in a row and earned an extra 500 tickets. This was the highlight of the trip for him. His words. He was very generous and shared his tickets with the younger kids. Graham got a gumball machine that he was over the moon for. Callie was just as thrilled with new sidewalk chalk. We walked across the street and enjoyed a Mexican meal on the patio. Well, most of us. No matter where Matt moved his chair the sun was still in his eyes.
Callie decorated a rock for the Ronald McDonald rock garden outside our hotel.
Marriott Residence Inn
It
was such fun getting away and exploring a new city. We made dinner
at the Residence Inn most nights and it was nice gathering around the table to
tell Matt about what we saw and did. When he came in from work I said, "It isn't every work trip you get to come back to the hotel to find stuffed shells coming out of the oven." The room was set up like an apartment with long hallways. It was our home away from home. There was a restaurant downstairs that we ordered food from sometimes. We thought the bbq chicken pizza would be tasty, it wasn't. It literally tasted like ketchup on bread. Maybe the maid enjoyed it.Callie is still at the age where her observations make us chuckle but she is getting old enough that she doesn't like us laughing at her. She brought her little doll tent on the trip. Ava took a video of her changing in it. The video shows it bulging and tipping and you can hear Callie, "I think I am going to break my tent!" I came into the living room one evening to see that the boys had brought the Wii and were playing video games! Home away from home.
Our hotel was on the waterfront. A couple of evenings we walked along the water. We saw a guy on a wave runner who looked like he was traveling 110 miles an hour.
In honor of Mallerie I observed, "He's coming in way hot."
Outside the hotel I used Callie's chalk to write a note on
the sidewalk for a homeless person. "Heavenly Father loves you," I wrote much to the kid's
surprise.
There are homeless people everywhere in that city. As we were getting
off the freeway I saw one who was missing his pants. He was only wearing what
looked like a ladies flesh-colored cami and....he was bending
over. I couldn't believe my eyes and ribbed Ava, "Look at that."
She laughed, "Oh myyyy. I wish I didn't see that." In hindsight I
wouldn't have shown her but in the moment I needed to be sure that I was seeing what I was seeing!The little kids found joy in swimming every spare second they could. The workout room overlooked the pool so I was happy to use the elliptical while I watched them and the Price is Right at the same time. I saw someone win a DOUBLE SHOWCASE. Of course we were all over the free breakfast every morning. Matt said he thinks it's the best hotel breakfast so far. It sure was tastier than our first nights dinner. I chose poorly when I ordered up the Family Chinese meal from the deli at Safeway while we shopped for groceries. Afterwards Matt tried to push the cart out to the car but it had some kind of magnetic force field and wouldn't let us get past the front entrance.
On our last morning Matt was fiddling with the lock on his new TUMI suitcase. He bought it from Giuseppe after Mallerie took the last of his luggage for her mission;) The suitcase is fancy and includes a combination code to get in. Matt decided to set the combination but ended up locking himself out after he had already packed all his clothes and shoes inside:/ Luckily I had seen a TUMI at the mall and we were able to drive there and get his suitcase opened up. As we were walking back to the car we passed a quaint stationary store Ava and me picked out a set for Katrina's birthday. When Ava and I were at the mall a couple of days earlier she wanted to clothes shop. I sent Callie with her so I could stay with the boys. She mouthed, "Come with us!" She came back shortly after and said, "It is no fun without someone to shop with." Ah that was nice to hear. I would have much rather been with her than in the toyshop. Trust me.
Shoshone Falls-More Falls!
We broke up the trip home into two days by staying the night in Boise. On our last day we saw the Shoshone Falls. Wow. How have we never been before? Super impressive.
Katrina looked at this picture and said, "Mom, you both look 15." I'll take it;)
We had lunch at Golden Coral. This is a regular stop for the Gouldings on their way to Rexburg. We have heard about the chocolate fountain and had to see it for ourselves. Ava took this picture to ask Alivia, "Guess where we are?" In this photo I am also giving the thumbs up. That is what we would all give our trip. A big THUMBS UP.
We also got to see the new temple in Twin Falls. I thought Matt was taking a picture of me so I smiled when in reality he was taking a selfie with the temple in the background.
Golden Spike
To continue the Golden theme, we stopped at the Golden Spike in Promontory Utah. Graham just finished studying Utah history in 4th grade so it was especially interesting for him. The Visitors Center was closing in about 5-minutes when we walked in. I saw an employee discreetly remove the cover from the donation box as he saw us. All we really needed to do was use the bathroom. That place is in the middle of nowhere!
As we neared Brigham City we could see that the freeway was at a dead standstill. Matt said, "Should I get off? Last chance!" I said, "Sure, do it!" We drove through quaint Brigham City instead. Last minute decisions seemed to be the theme of this trip from start to finish!
