PORTLAND ADVENTURES WITH THE JOHNSONS

Other than Jenny's wedding, and spending time with my extended family, our big goal for this vacation was to see Robyn and Stephen and Christopher as much as possible. I sincerely wish we'd had another night or two in Portland, but I'll take what I can get, and I was thrilled to get to see them as much as I did (getting to spend the afternoon with them on the coast in Newport was an awesome bonus). We arrived in Portland later than planned (due to our very long drive up the coast in search of the puffins), hung out at their house for a while, then went into the city for dinner at the Hopworks Urban Brewery, where we met our friends from Louisiana, Brice and Karen, and their son Sam (who is near the same age as Christopher). The next we went right back over to their house for breakfast, played at a local playground (our kids were very much in need of that energy expenditure!), then drove up to the northeast side of Portland to visit Multnomah Falls and the Bonneville Dam and Fish Hatchery. We finished off the visit with Chinese takeout back at their house, then left for California right around the kids' bedtime, making it halfway home before stopping for some sleep in Yreka (our planned stop in Ashland was cancelled due to the lack of hotel rooms, due to the Britt Festival). Saturday morning was ROUGH, with 5 hours of driving in 100 degree heat without air conditioning. Pretty sure my parents' Equinox needed a steam cleaning of those seats, in addition to fixing the AC...

If you have at all doubted the unending energy of Christopher from his CaringBridge updates, let me assure you that it's all true. In fact, I'm pretty sure he has more energy than both my kids put together. It's no wonder Robyn and Stephen are exhausted even on their "off days" at home from the hospital!

HUB had an awesome play area for little kids in their upstairs seating

Sam was a little shy (and I think our kids overwhelmed him a bit - imagine that), but was completely sweet and seemed to take a liking to Robyn (can't blame him there!)

Cora gave Auntie Robyn a workout...

James looks so serious here talking with Karen

I would not normally take a photo in a bathroom mirror, but I thought this reflection was pretty cool

Jay, Stephen, and Brice, chatting after appetizers, dinner, and beer (we went home VERY full and had some delicious stuff)

Poutine and the 10-beer sampler (which was a bit too much - had to give half to Jay just so I could drive home!)

Posing with the Adams Family (I always wanted to write that...)

With my bestest buddies!

Robyn was a hit with all the kids. James and Cora both wanted to hold her hand wherever we walked.

Late night play session at the hotel. These kids are so not on schedule...

Getting ready for the day. Teeth brushing on our suitcase.

Breakfast with Christopher. The kids were totally spoiled with whipped cream for their french toast.

That boy makes me smile so :-)

Playing with Christopher's play kitchen. My kids served me a second "pretend" breakfast, complete with tea and beer. Who do they think I am? Wait, don't answer that...

 Jean, these photos are for you. Phil's garden (that's Robyn's dad) hosts some AMAZING hydrangea. The pink was HOT PINK and the blue was so deep it looked purple. These photos don't do them justice.

Christopher didn't want to ride in his stroller on the way to the park, so Cora jumped in (see her head looking back at me?) and Christopher took the high road up on Jay's shoulders.

And they're off!

This toy was CRAZY cool! You could hang by your arms or sit up top (if you were little like our kiddos). There were some scared faces at first, but they loved it and wouldn't get down. We had to beg them (so they wouldn't throw up like one of the other girls at the park...)

Great view of Mt. Hood on the drive out to Multnomah Falls!

Kids passed out for 2 hours worth of stop-and-go bumper-to-bumper traffic (likely due to folks leaving town for the weekend, plus construction, plus your usual Friday afternoon commutes)

Out of traffic! And with a view of the Columbia River Gorge!

The kids hiked up to the upper bridge. And that's saying something, since Cora usually makes us carry her for anything over 50 yards...

Cool view...

...but perhaps not the safest of viewing areas...

 Christopher and Cora found a lamprey at the underwater viewing area at the dam

 After dinner, Christopher showed James some of his favorite videos on the computer. And you know what? There's just something incredible about seeing your kids happily in the arms/laps of your best friends... 

 At 8:10pm we hit the road and headed south. Cora lasted through one movie...

 The next morning was long and hot. Getting off the freeway and opening the windows was crucial...

As was stopping for cups of ice...

Yup, hot enough to melt a crayon in the dash...

GOING ON A PUFFIN HUNT

Our last morning at the beach was a bit hectic with a quick run to grab the 6th car parked off-site at the casino (only 5 cars were allowed in the rental house driveway), cleaning the house, and packing cars. I missed saying goodbye to Jamie, Tyson, and Ally because they left really early and I unexpectedly slept in, but we got hugs from everyone else before they loaded into their vehicles for their respective long drives home.

The kids were so adorable snuggling together (they shared a bed 3 out of the 4 nights we were at the beach house) that I couldn't resist a few photos before waking them up.

Our first stop en route to Portland was Pacific City, where we took in their gorgeous beach view (in the rain...), then headed into the Pelican Pub and Brewery for brunch and beer.

So, I wouldn't normally think "beer" when I think "brunch" (mimosa, sure), but it was almost 11:00am anyway and we were, of course, interested in sampling their award-winning brews. We decided that ordering the Scottish Style Ale Pancakes (with hazelnut butter and blackberry syrup) would be a good pairing. And we were right.

Of COURSE we ordered a side of bacon!

As we traveled north on the VERY slow and winding highway 101, we checked our BirdsEye app to find out where the latest sightings of puffins had been. Turns out Canon Beach, our goal destination, was where we needed to go. Unfortunately finding parking near the famous beach where portions of Goonies was filmed was extremely difficult, but after a bit of frustrated turn-arounds and loops, a pair of birders appeared at the top of the stairs, gave us their parking spot, and told us exactly where we needed to look on haystack rock to see the pair of puffins. Cha-ching!

It was colder and more rainy here than anywhere else we'd been. The kids were NOT impressed. So, being the awesome parents that we are, we tucked them into a wind break under the lifeguard stand and told them to sit tight for 5 minutes while mommy and daddy ran out to the rocks to sight the birds and grab some photos. We are lucky to have such patient kids...

Getting my pair of Tufted Puffins. And a pair of Harlequin Ducks. And some Surf Scoters. Not bad for 5 minutes of work (and 3 hours of driving - it's cool though, at least the kids got their first solid 2-hour nap of vacation).

BOWLING AND MORE BEACH

On our last full day at the beach house we took family portraits, then went out for ice cream (which we used as bribery to get our kids to look at the camera and smile...), and then took Eli and Addy bowling for the first time.

After the portrait session, climbing the pelican statue out front of the beach house

My GIANT ice crream from ColdStone, demonstrating the fact that it was indeed bigger than Cora's head. I did not finish it, though James and I gave it a valiant effort!

Cora fell asleep in the car on the way to the bowling alley, so we rolled with it

She woke up 3 rounds in and was super happy to join in the fun once she noticed her cool shoes

PawPaw/Bampa helped the kiddos with every round. Such patience...

We had fun introducing our niece and nephew to root beer (their first soda ever). They approved!
(We let James and Cora have root beer on pizza Fridays and sometimes on Saturdays too. Sugar is fun!)

The kids' final scores. For the record, they all beat me...

James somehow scored himself a free pinball game

Back at the beach house, coloring in the new Do-A-Dot books that Grambot gave them.

Spinning around on the Spiderman toy that Robyn and Stephen brought to the beach

Ally helped her mama make some of the best dip we've ever tasted, recipe below. Jamie says it also goes well over chicken or fish, or even just served over rice. We thought it was amazing with tortilla chips!

Last kid standing with the coloring books. Our girl really loves seat work.

Addy snacked on shredded cheese while her parents made delicious tacos for everyone for dinner!

Then it was back to the beach for one last wave-chasing adventure

This piece of seaweed (kelp?) was covered in live worm-like things that were moving in and out of their shells. It was totally disgusting. And the kids, of course, were fascinated by it...

Tyson, Cora, and James in one last pose at the gorgeous beach at Roads End

Back to coloring, with her cousin Addy

Doing the marshmallow dance (she really did eat horribly throughout vacation...)

Our family reunion, with 19 of us under one roof, was pretty darn awesome. We got to spend time with my cousins, who I hadn't seen in 5.5 years, meet little Ally, and do some fun activities (despite the crummy weather). Wonder where we'll go next time...