Now, I haven't seen much of our country, but I am boldly going to claim that the northwest is one of the most, if not THE MOST, naturally beautiful stops that the U.S. of A. has to offer. And my sister-in-law and her husband are THE BEST hostess and host who have ever entertained me. They had sites planned and mapped out for us; some that we had previously talked about but others that were their own ideas. They were so kind to let us have free reign over one of their vehicles the whole time we were there. We enjoyed visiting with them and getting to meet and have dinner with some of their neighbors. And I am astonished at how well behaved Wendy is, Laurel, really! She's so sweet and kind natured, and she made me pine for my little one the whole time.
So without further rambling.....here are some of the pics that we took while on our trip:
Day 1 - We went to Multnomah Falls, had ice cream at this little hole in the wall but popular local joint, and the went to this gorgeous lodge and had coffee and tea on their deck over-looking the mountains.
The Falls:
Chillin' on the deck at the lodge:
Our view from the deck:
Day 2 - We spent the day in Portland. Checked into a fabulous b&b, The Lion and the Rose, and spent the day seeing the city and checkin' out the locals in Portland, well, gawking is more like it. Lots of different kind of people make up that city. I felt like we stuck out like a sore thumb!
We also went to the Rhododendron Gardens. These flowers are BEAUTIFUL and are in full bloom there right now. Some pics we took at the gardens:
Then, after going back to the b&b and taking a 2 hour nap (ahhhhhh!), we went to dinner at a fabulous grille in downtown Portland - yum!
Day 3 - We drove to Cannon Beach. It was about a two hour drive but well worth it. The weather was perfect and the beach was hoppin'! It is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, and the shops and restaurants on the strip are so darling. Some pics from the beach (oh, and ever seen The Goonies? Parts of it were filmed at this beach.):
That night we went to a fab. restaurant with Laurel, James, and Wendy, and snabbed a table outside by the water - perfect!
Day 4 - Sunday. We wanted to take it easy since it was our last full day in town, so we went to church, lunch, and then all took naps (ahhhhhh!). After naps we went on a long walk around their beautiful neighborhood and some hiking trails. Then they had their neighbors (who are some of the nicest people I have ever met!) and their little girl over for dinner. Here is a pic of Sean sampling some dessert:
I have to say, I had so much fun watching Sean and Laurel together. They are SO GOOFY and crazy and "get" each other in a way that I guess only siblings can :0).
Day 5 - We're leaving on a jet plane. Don't know when we'll be back again......we hated to gooooo!
Before Laurel took us to the airport, though, we went to Cafe Sip-n-Play. Y'all, we NEED one of these here! It was awesome. What a great concept! - sip on coffee and munch on a snack or lunch while your child plays in the center with tons of toys and other tots. It's super sanitary and geared towards family with a breast-feeding nook and lots of hand sanitizer everywhere. We enjoyed sippin' our lattes while Wendy plays:
Okay, well, this goes down as the longest blog post EVER for me, I think, so muchas gracias if you made it to the end.
AND of course NONE of this would have even been possible without the ever amazing MIMI, who has entered the blog world (check her out!). Thank you so much, Mimi, for watching Hattie for us for almost a week. From what I can tell, she had a blast, too!
Naptime is just about over and I have a TON to do to get the house back in order. Looking forward to catching up with everyone via blogs and email!
6 comments:
Oh my goodness, the pictures were breathtaking! I want a sip-n-play here in Houston, too!!!
When I was a camp counselor, one of our camps was right outside of Portland. I thought it was so beautiful. It was so peaceful just to walk outside amongst all the trees and flowers. I'd love to go back some day!
Glad y'all got to get away! Funny note: I had to go to Durham, NC for a business conference, and they had a really cute cafe called "Babymoon Cafe." Isn't that funny?!
AWESOME!! Patrick and I love it up there and I have to agree that it one of the most beautiful parts of America. You need to go to Vancouver, BC if you have a chance next time - breathtaking as well. We miss living up there, but you can't beat family, even if it is in the heat! :) Great pics too! Glad y'all had a great time and got in plenty of NAPS!
I knew ya'll would love Washington. It is absolutely beautiful!!! I'm glad ya'll had a great time!
The pics are beautiful! We will have to put that area on our list of travel spots. Glad y'all recovered quickly from strep. I'm sure that Hattie was very happy to see her momma and daddy...it's so important to have time away too though...good for you!
Wow, looks JUST like Houston! I mean, how could you tell you had left??
This may sounds weird but Seante looks like such a grownup in these pix. Walker said, "He's no longer the young wus. He's becoming middle aged wus."
Brotherly love.
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