The "Great" Week

In June we took a week-long vacation to Oregon. The morning we left I got my first positive on a pregnancy test. What a way to start the trip!

We began in Portland, visiting Nathan's Grammy. Annalee fell in love with "Gate Gammy" and wanted to hold her hand wherever we went.
It's so cute how they have the same look on their faces.
We also enjoyed spending time talking at Grammy's house. There was a little working door that her grandson used for sound effects. Annalee thought it was just right for her.

Our motel was the best deal I could find: 4 nights for $176. So it wasn't the fanciest out there, but in Annalee's opinion it was a 5 star resort.


It had all the important things!

While still in Portland we went to the smallest non-chain restaurants we could find. A Teriaki place we found one night was a real winner, once Annalee had added enough soy sauce.

And because Nathan loves getting his photo taken (not).Proof I was there.

On the top of our list of Portland sights to see was the Zoo. Nathan had volunteered there many years ago as a teenager. See, teenagers are so excited about being allowed around the animals that they don't care that all they get to do is clean up poop. At least, it seems like Nathan did a lot of that. He loved it. Ahem. Anyway, when you go as a visitor and you don't have to clean up poop, it's really cool. I was most impressed by the giant sea lion. Wouldn't want to meet him anywhere there wasn't a big, strong fence between us. He was huge! Annalee thought he was pretty cool too. There was a place around back where you could watch them swim underwater. Unfortunately, I was so busy being amazed that I didn't take a picture of him, just these two yahoos. I think Annalee's favorite thing was the aviary where you could feed the birds little cups of nectar (that you had to buy). A summer camp was there with us, and every one of the kids had a cup. When it was time to move on, they handed their cups over to all the regular joes. They had a goat petting zoo, of course, and Annalee was a little braver than she's been at our local zoo. But maybe it was because Daddy was in there with her. (Mommy's not that cool.) Nathan struck up a conversation with the Zoo Teens in charge of the goats and was disappointed to find that none of the goats were there from when he'd volunteered there . . . 16 years ago. Ahem.


The lion exhibit had a safari jeep halfway through the glass, so you could sit in it and pretend like you were about to drive over to the man-eaters. Annalee felt completely comfortable in the driver's seat. Her parents were not so comfortable.My camera battery died right about then, so I didn't get cool pictures of the statues Annalee climbed on or the African Aviary where we ate lunch (cheap at thrice the price) and watched the birds fly around. By that time we were all getting a little tired, so we flew through the penguin exhibit and then skipped the elk (hey, we live in Idaho) and the monkeys so we could get home. Every year when we go on vacation we get a Christmas ornament to remember our trip by, so we bought a zebra in the gift shop that had been carved from a petrified nut. We also bought some small plastic zoo animals in a clear container that Annalee is still enthralled with, to this day.

That night we went looking for a fun place to eat, one that wasn't something we have at home, and ended up driving around for 45 minutes, disappointed. Finally we settled on a cute little Mexican restaurant that we'd never heard of. It was all red brick outside, with white trim and roses. Inside it was so un-franchise-like we were enchanted. We were pretty much the only ones there on a weeknight, so we got personal attention from the owner. We got to practice our Spanish while we ate food that was fantastico. I don't remember what we ate besides the chips and salsa (perfecto) and this monstrous pina colada. Annalee drank about half of it. We liked that she was able to run around the dining room a little bit without bothering anyone (including us).

The next day we got to go to the beach with Nathan's cousin Tari and her 10 kids. They are so much fun! They knew this little place called Hug Cove, and it was gorgeous. I had been very dubious about going to the Oregon Coast because it didn't make sense to me to go to an ocean that was too cold to swim in. Annalee was pretty skeptical too.

But Daddy finally coaxed her up to the water.

She didn't play in the tide that much, but she thoroughly enjoyed picking up shells and drift wood and throwing muddy sand.
There were caves all over, and this beautiful waterfall that fed right into the ocean.
The weather was very nice: warm, with a slight breeze. It was really too warm to wear our jackets, but silly Mommy forgot the sunblock at the hotel! The breeze made the jackets just bearable.
In the end I was forced to admit that the Oregon Coast IS wonderful, even though you can't really swim. If we lived nearby I know I'd be taking my little explorer there every weekend! Only later did I realize that I hadn't taken any pictures of Tari and her family. I guess in the wonder of her first time at the beach, I only had eyes for Annalee. But thanks, Tari, we had a blast!

After the beach we drove to the tourist town of Seaside and window shopped. We had dinner at this adorable lighthouse-shaped restaurant, where Nathan and I ate the BEST clam chowder we have EVER had.

The next morning was our last one in Portland. We said good-bye to Grammy Arlene over breakfast at IHOP. It was so sad to break up this duo.
It was a long, hot, boring three hours to the town where Nathan's parents live, but we were rewarded at the end by getting to see Annalee's Great-Grammy Vera! This little lady is 90, and she just keeps going and going, despite breaking both hips (at the same time) and other medical problems. Even though Annalee hadn't seen Grammy since she was 8 months old, they became fast friends. We got to spend a whole day with Grammy while Nathan's parents took a day off of care giving. Grammy had a little trike that Annalee immediately claimed, and her daddy and I were both amazed to see her pedaling for the first time ever! Now we have to get one for her at home.

Nathan was so happy to get to see Taz the Wonder Dog again, who is now 13 years old.

He still runs around and fetches like a puppy!

A few days later it was time to go home. We were very sad to leave Grammy, Taz, Mom, and Dad
and the bear?
We stopped at our favorite Bed and Breakfast (a.k.a. my Aunt Michele and Uncle John's house) on the way home but everyone was disappointed (including us) that we could only sleep and eat and run. Next time, guys!

We also got to see my Grandpa Henle. Annalee sure saw a lot of great-grandparents!We made it home in pretty good time and celebrated my mom's birthday. Then the house collapsed into disordered anarchy . . . for about a month. Just in time for us to take another vacation!