We got back from our Oregon roadtrip on Monday evening. Tired from poor sleep and travelling, and lots of cleaning up, laundry, and unpacking to do as we try to get into our summer groove at home.
We started off our trip with a red eye drive, hopeful that the kids would sleep through most of the ride. Unfortunately, Jad is not a great car sleeper and was up every one to two hours. We made it up in one piece, but ended up arriving earlier than expected to our planned destination,
Wildlife Safari. Since the park didn't open until later, we had time to kill so we grabbed breakfast at McD and found
a nearby waterfall hike.
The hike wasn't planned, but it was great! The forest was beautiful and lush, and there were lots of plants and critters around to distract the kids from the distance and elevation gain. Though Kai was not feeling it anymore midway through, we made it and the waterfall at the end of the trail was a nice bonus.
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| One of the many fun little bridges along the hike |
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| The kids found FOUR 4-leaf clovers on this hike.. Nik and I had never found one in our lives! |
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| The upper tier of the 2-tier waterfall at the end of the trail |
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| The bottom tier was pretty too |
We then returned to Wildlife Safari. It was a fun drive-thru and the kids enjoyed spotting various animals on the drive. It was nice to see the animals in a "natural-ish" environment, though the park's cheetah breeding program recalled some of the cringey bits of Tiger King. The kids' favorite part of the drive was the "feed me" section where you could purchase a cup of pellets for $5 and feed animals through your car window. It was definitely fun to have a hungry elk or bird poke their head through your window. :)
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| "Feed meeeee..." |
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| The park had a small zoo to explore in addition to the drive-thru |
After a brief lunch stop at Costco, we then continued our drive up north to meet Nik's old friend, Ashley (from High School!). It was a brief visit, but we enjoyed their family's warm hospitality and feeding their chickens!
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| No mask at Costco! A milestone moment worthy of a picture :) |
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| Backyard chickens! |
We then checked into our Airbnb and met Joe and his family for a Chinese take out dinner while the kids reacquainted themselves. We were pleasantly surprised with how well everyone slept in our stylish basement rental throughout our stay in Portland.
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| Bed jumper approved |
The next morning, we had a waffle breakfast with Joe, Michelle and Ryan at their home. Any plans for the day were put on hold due to the unexpectedly (to this Californian :P) rainy weather. We did find a brief break in the rain to go out to a nearby playground where the kids weren't deterred by slippery slides or wet play structures. In the evening, Nik and I explored the hilly neighborhood near our rental and the kids enthusiastically hiked the neighborhood stairs.
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| Jad: "What's with this water falling out of the sky?" |
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| Bonding over screentime |
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| Stairway walks |
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| Many of the big hillside homes cover up the nice views of Portland. We eventually found an open spot with a seated viewing area.. so fancy |
We explored
Forest Park the next day and hiked along Lower Macleay, a relatively easy hike since Joe parked on the opposite end of the trail, so we only had to walk one way. We spent the afternoon at
OMSI, which was unfortunately not fully open due to COVID. They did have a good animatronic dinosaur exhibit and the kids enjoyed exploring the parts of the museum which were open. Before heading back to our Airbnb, we drove up to the
Pittock Mansion to take in the panoramic view of Portland.
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| Stone House along the trail |
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| "I have no energy..." |
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| Our dinosaur crazed toddler surprisingly did not want to take any pictures with the animatronic dinos. Maybe they were too realistic? |
Our last day in Portland was spent at
Westmoreland Park, where the kids played and climbed, and eventually hit a few balls with Nik and Joe. For lunch, we visited a nearby food truck pod and in the afternoon, we went to the
Portland Rose Garden. Dinner was homemade okonomiyaki by Joe.
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| Just a couple of monkeys monkeying around |
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| BBQ, fried wontons and fried chicken for lunch.. hard to go wrong |
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| No trip to Portland is complete without a food truck meal |
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| Not super impressed with the roses |
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| Ryan's lofted bed became the kids' fort |
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| Homemade okonomiyaki! The kids were fascinated by the moving bonito flakes and actually ate it! |
The next day we were off to the Oregon coast! To be continued in my next post...
