Taste of Oregon

That's pretty much what Jaydee and Kendra got, last weekend. We flew out of Omaha, Friday night and returned last night. By the time we got to our hotel, it was midnight. Needless to say, a bit late to do anything. The combination of time change and jet lag wasn't allowing excess energy, anyway.

Saturday, Terry picked us up and we went to Seaside, OR to see the coast. The hour + ride is through a small mountain chain (don't remember the name, though) making it a pretty drive. When Jaydee was preparing to go swimming, I kept telling her it probably wouldn't be warm enough to do that. Boy, was I wrong! The temps were between 65-70 and the sun was shining brightly. She not only "jumped in" (for lack of words), but Kendra even kicked her shoes off, rolled her jeans up and walked in, too. That was when Kendra's phone decided to "jump in," too. (disclaimer: it has become a part of her body, so I didn't even think about it being in her shirt pocket.) After the initial panic, and assurances that we would try to get her another phone while still in Oregon, she went back to the water and the shell collecting mission they were on.

Since we hadn't planned on the girls getting all wet, we stopped at one of the (many) little shops and bought souvenir sweats for them. Seaside is really geared towards the tourists. There are a bunch of little shops along the main street. Some of them are pricey boutiques, some gift shops and some bargain shops. While the girls were changing into dry clothes, we realized it was getting close to sunset. To kill time, we stopped at an ice cream shoppe, then walked back to the beach to watch the sun set. Jaydee took some real good pictures of the sun setting on the ocean.

The girls wanted to buy some trinkets for their friends, so we stopped in a gift shop. This place was so packed with things, I became claustrophobic after a while! We grabbed supper at "Pig N a Blanket," which is a local IHOP-type chain, then drove back to Portland. It was still a little to early to go back to the hotel, so Terry showed us some places to really see the city lights. One was on Mt. Tabor. We would have walked to the summit, but we didn't have a flashlight. The other spot is called Rocky Butte. Until it was closed down in the 70's, a prison was housed within this butte. Now it's a viewpoint of the city. When Terry was explaining this, Kendra didn't hear "used to be," and thought the prison was still operational. Jaydee got wind of this and started teasing her about prisoners coming after her. (kids!) If the wind wasn't so biting cold, we would have spent more time there.

Sunday was Jaydee's birthday. Originally, we had planned on letting her go skiing on Mt. Hood. Last month's record snowfall has created avalanches and flooding, so her second choice was to go ice skating. Terry's niece Whitney and her friends, Gina and Heather, took Jaydee and Kendra skating, then shopping/mall-ratting. After playing cards with Terry's mom, Bobbie and sister, Chris, we met up with the "teens" and played a round of putt-putt golf. Word got out that it was Jaydee's birthday. Chris and her cousin Tammy, bought a cake and added decorations to it. We wrapped the day up at a local pizza favorite, and surprised Jaydee with the cake and some birthday cards.

Monday, I had planned on being "on our own," since Terry had to work. I knew where the bus stops were, and Terry could help with any necessary planning. If we got downtown, we could take the light rail/MAX to see other parts of the city, too. Instead, Chris, Kim (Terry's other sister) and Whitney said they would drive us around. Before we left the hotel, Terry called to say there were enough drivers, and he managed to get the day off. While we waited for Terry to get ready, we found an AT&T store to replace Kendra's phone. The rep. informs us that the cheapest phone was $149, but if we bought a pay-as-you-go phone, and brought it back to the store, they would install a SIM card for free. (This would connect the phone to the already existing line.) Since that didn't take long, we walked next door to the pet store. Four teenagers ooohing and aaaahing over puppies is just the funniest thing to watch! lol

After we got everyone together, we decided a late lunch was in order. There's this little diner, I think it was called "Pancake & Steaks House." This is the type of place a WW person could spend all of their daily points, and then some, on one meal. Everything is made from scratch, including the omelets, when they crack the eggs right in front of you. The fries and hashbrowns are from raw potatoes, and the hamburgers are fresh-not-frozen. Of course portions are big enough for truck drivers, too.

While we ate, we were trying to decide what to do next. The zoo was a suggestion, but it closed within the hour. (would have been a "cheap date," too...they were having a food drive, and it just cost a can of food to get in.) The boardwalk was a short distance from where we were eating, and the sun was just going down. The lights reflecting on the Willamette River are always a great sight to see. A good way to walk off the big meal we just ate, too! After the boardwalk, we wrapped the day up at Clackamas Town Centre (mall.)

Tuesday, was the trip home. Both flights from Portland to Denver, then Denver to Omaha were uneventful. The Denver to Omaha leg was a bit bumpy, but all in all, it was good. All three of us got a lot of reading done on the flights. One flight attendant called us the "reading row." lol

Great weather. Lots of fun, sun and smiles. Couldn't ask for much more in a trip!