2nd Day in Portland

My second day in Portland started with an early morning run. We had eaten ourselves into a food-induced coma the night before and I wanted to try and work off at least some of the calories consumed. Here is what you should know about running in Portland: there are hills.

Big hills.

Living in the mid-west made me forget.

Koo's town home is situated on the top of a huge hill so our run consisted of running down the hill, down from there to the little town and then down some more to the river.

Running back up about killed me. I am a wimp.

As we were limping up the last hill to Koo's place, my youngest brother Matt pulled up. Matt is now living in Oregon as well and drove up to spend the day with us on the coast. We ended up spending the entire day exploring various beach and eating things like fried scallops and fresh fish tacos with lots of lime and cilantro.


For all you Twilight fans, this is a the beach where they filmed the movie. The drive to the beach is just beautiful - the woods are almost unbelievably green with the tallest trees I have ever seen all dripping with soft moss. There were a lot of surfers in full bodysuits braving the cold water and we came at just the right time to see starfish and anemones.


We were all soaked by the time we moved on and I kept thinking about how much my kids would love seeing all of the little sea creatures we found. From there, we headed South stopping at random beaches to explore.


The above lighthouse had recently been damaged by some drunken idiot with a shotgun who decided to use it as target practice causing over $1,000,000 in damages.


This one may have been my favorite beach because of the rocks. As the surf rolls out, it pulls the rocks on the shore back towards the water making the most amazing clattering sound. I collected a pocket full of shells and sea glass for the kids as we explored. There is a walking tunnel from this beach to another sandy beach on the other side of these rocks.


We stopped at the Tillamook Factory twice - once for a self-guided tour and cheese sampling and then again after lunch for ice cream.


We never found any sea lions, but the shore is really spectacular. Rocky and rugged and often cold but so very beautiful!

First Day in Portland

(written in Oregon)

I am on vacation.

I am on vacation with no children and no responsibilities.

It is just as wonderful as you are imagining.

My flight was a nightmare. The flight was overbooked and because of thunderstorms in Denver, we sat on the runway for almost an hour waiting for clearance to take off. There were about a dozen small children on the flight including two in my row. It was not relaxing. They made me check my carry-on and then lost it. I had about 15 minutes in Denver to get from one tarmac to another and make my connecting flight. The good news is I made the flight – the bag news is my bag did not make it to Oregon.

It’s day one in Oregon with my baby sister Kirstin (who I have always called Koo). I borrowed some clothes from her roomate and we are ready to see the city. You should know that Koo also very much appreciates good food and is an excellent cook so not only did we sight see all day, we ate our way through the city. We started with chocolate croissants, fruit and orange juice before leaving the house and heading downtown to the waterfront and Saturday Market.

I am reminded of Vermont – lots of unique, laid-back people – music, artists and food. We wandered around to the many vendors and I bought myself a pretty little ring made out of white brass and aluminum can. It’s orange and I love it. We decided to try a combination plate from the Polish food cart that Koo recommended. We split a plate of sausage with bacon, pirogi, cucumbers and tomatoes with potatoes. There was a really great band playing in the square, a confusingly large number of people wandering around dressed as pirates, another group of break dancing on the other side of the square as well as a lot of homeless panhandlers.

Aren't those bibs adorable?

After the market we tried to walk off some of our morning calories and ended up at the Lan Su Chinese Garden. The garden is right in the middle of the city and was only completed in 2000. All of the materials including more than 500 tons of rock were imported from China. I was mesmerized by the walkways. The whole place is like a little oasis in the middle of the city – lovely.

After the gardens, we explored some of the shops in the city and ended up at Koo’s favorite chocolate shop – Cacao. We sat down and tried some of their truffles and a shot of cinnamon drinking chocolate.

Best. Drinking. Chocolate. Ever.

Really – if I lived there I would consider getting a job in the shop just to learn how to make it. The shop is expensive, but really, really delicious.


After walking off a little of the chocolate by more window shopping and a visit to Powells (the largest bookstore in the US), we hopped back into the car to go to Washington Park to visit the Rose Gardens. The roses in many places were past, but it was still really beautiful. All of Oregon is so lush and green and it seems like everything will grow here. We saw a girl celebrating her Quinceañera and a bride with a very unique bouquet. There is an outdoor amphitheater and just acres and acres of gardens.


Just a short walk above the rose garden is the Japanese Garden - my favorite of the three gardens we visited today. It is simply beautifully planned and just gorgeous.


Still here? The day was perfect. We ended by going out to eat at a tapas restaurant and had the most delicious meal (somewhere I have the menu) - very cheese heavy. I think I ate more this day that in the entire week proceeding it! That was just day one.

My Little Family

Before I start the photo heavy vacation posts, I thought I'd share these shots of the kids the week before they left. I have been talking to them every night on the phone and it sounds like they are having a great time along with their two sidekick cousins Phoebe and Jacob. My cousin Cassie and her three boys stopped by one day for a couple of hours to play, they have been walking Poppy the dog several times a day (I bet she is sleeping well), they play at the park behind the house, walk to Reed's Dairy for ice cream, go to the local Idaho/Canine Museum (that's what Max called it), eating Mom's great food and today they are going fishing. Thank you Mom and Dad.

Vacation

Dear blog friends:

As many of you know, I've been on vacation. One week off - no work and all play. I was a tourist, I ate more food than I have in a month and gained 3 pounds (totally worth it) and spent time with almost all of my family. It was lovely and I am going to tell you all about it - soon. I am back to work today though my own children are still on vacation. It is strange to be here without them, but they are having a ball with their grandparents and cousins.