I Can! I Can Stink at 9am! A January TR - 3/8 New TR Link!

[Leshaface]

Saturday, June 20, 2015


Newport, OR to Canyonville, OR - 3 hrs, 9 min


We left ASAP this morning cause we wanted to get some pool time in at the hotel at Seven Feathers.


The drive on the way there was amazing!





Highways lined with beautiful trees





And this cool tunnel





Tons of lakes





So this is something you don’t see everyday. Kids riding in the bed of a truck on the I-5! A major freeway, easily going 75! Stupid.








So no pics but pool time was not successful. I stayed in the spa because my neck was hurting and DH took DS into the pool and was terrified and would not let go of him at all. We thought seeing other kids playing and having fun would get him excited but nope. We left after about 15 minutes.


We did the buffet that night and it was delicious!











After dinner, we walked around outside to walk off the food we ate





We did the same thing again that night, I went down for a couple drinks and DH went down when I returned. I also got some time that night when DH went down to watch some Netflix since he had hooked up the PS4. So glad he brought it along!


Sunday, June 21, 2015


Canyonville, OR to Redding, CA – 3.5 hours


We had no plans for today other than eating at restaurant my friend had recommended. Again, I wanted to find a playground for DS to get some exercise from being in the car for so long and found a nice one in Redding





And back to the good Ol’ Cali heat that we missed so much





And went to Gironda’s Italian Restaurant that night for dinner





Where we were awarded with Parents of the Year award. Twice, actually! The first time from an older couple sitting behind us as they were leaving said, you guys deserve a parent of the year award. And I pointed at the iPad and said, “Actually, that should be given the award!” and they just laughed. The second time was from another older couple as we were leaving and commented that he was the quietest child they’ve ever seen and to keep it up! I was thinking, “Really?? You must have not heard him screaming for his fork for spaghetti earlier on, but okay!” and thanked them.


We headed over to walk the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay after the massive meal we had








Monday, June 22, 2015


Redding, CA to Home – 5 hours


Today was pretty uneventful, aside from FINALLY visiting a Dutch Bros!









So, so good! While our coffee was being made, we were talking to one of the broista’s about where we were coming from and where we were going and talked about the heat. She said the hottest it got in Redding last year was 114! Yuck. It’s supposed to be 108 on Wednesday, so that’s something fun to look forward to this week


When we got home DH and I talked so much about our trip and talked about how much fun we had. We both agreed if we were to ever do that road trip again, we would spend more time in Portland. In fact, DH is trying to find an excuse now to get back up there soon! Newport was probably the worst coastal town we’ve ever been to I don’t know, maybe we’re spoiled with our cute and quaint villages we have on the Central Coast but it was just not what we were expecting. Seven Feathers turned out to be such a great stop that we all enjoyed! But we really did have the best time and it was something that we had never done before. DH was so stoked off this road trip, that he’s currently planning our next Summer trip to the Grand Canyon apparently


Thanks for reading along!
​

 

[BagOLaughs]

Fantastic update!

Why do i always end up reading your trip reports before lunch. Those doughnut photos have made me so hungry! They looked amazing.

 

[Dugette]

Loved your road trip updates! Thanks so much for sharing! I'll be back later with more specific comments.

 

[jedijill]

What a fun trip! I've never been to Oregon or Washington and they are on my bucket list. We have a Voodoo Donuts here in Denver now but I've never gone there. Just doesn't seem as special as getting them in Portland!

Jill in CO

 

[afwdwfan]

Super uneventful day. Just driving up to Redding, about 5.5 hours from home. And the drive is so, so boring and dry. DS did so well the long drives BTW. No drives lasted longer than 6 hours.

I'm glad he handled the drives well. That always makes it a lot easier!

Oh and something crazy about Oregon. You’re not allowed to pump your own gas for whatever reason. I hated it. I felt like I was being lazy just sitting there watching them pumping my own gas.

You know, I noticed that too. I was in Oregon a few years ago. Pulled up to the pump, hopped out, swiped my card and started pumping my own gas. I probably had a gallon pumped already when some guy walks up behind me. I didn't know about the whole "can't pump your own gas" think so I'm thinking this guy's trying to rob me in a gas station parking lot.

Yeah, it is just weird.

(Central Valley is the WORST place to live if you have any respiratory problems! And people develop issues all the time, it’s quite disgusting here)

Well that's certainly a ringing endorsement of the place you call home.

And in the rare case that an animal charges your car, to stay put and not leave your vehicle. And we were left with a, “Have fun!”

Have fun and try to stay alive.

With our tickets, we were allowed to drive through one more time but DS was getting antsy and wanted to get out of the car, so thought it best to head to our hotel. BTW, I had found a deal through Living Social for $18 for 2 adults and since DS was under 3, he was free! The best $18 we’ve ever spent for sure and we’d definitely come back to visit.

I'm glad it was a good experience for you! Looks like fun!

Seven Feather Resort and Casino is where we were booked for the night and I was not at all excited about staying here. Had it been just DH and I, would have been no problem. But with DS? I had wanted to find something else, but DH fought me on it and won. Thoughts? Loved it! Totally not what I expected it to be. Very, very nice. Free from any smell of smoke and the workers were so hospitable and talkative. We walked past the indoor pool area on our way to the room, and it was FULL of kids. Babies, toddlers, older kids! Literally, it was like a family resort. I immediately felt comfortable seeing all these families.

I'm glad that he got to do some gambling and that the resort ended up being so family friendly.

You didn't mention anything, so I'll just assume that he didn't win enough to pay for the room...

And was it relaxing. They had a non smoking lounge (above pic) but no sports on so moved over to the Sports Bar where the Giants were playing and had a couple beers there. Definitely enjoyed getting some time to myself and hanging out I went back up to the room and down went DH.

Looks like a great way to unwind. I'd definitely prefer to do that than to go gamble.

This is outside the Casino Entrance and I sent this to DM

That's a big Eagle!

DM: Is that Eagle Real?

Me: Yep!

DM: Oh wow was Calvin intrigued?

Me: Mom that wasn’t real

DM: Oh you

Me: Mom that thing’s like 30 feet wide!

DM: I thought it looked LARGE but then I thought it was the photo

Your mom... I swear, she cracks me up!

DH had pushed him down by himself DS had started twisting but maneuvered himself out of it and came down okay.

So... did he want to go down by himself?

And I took this picture literally seconds before he fell and made a big, bloody mess of his knee

Rough day...

We did have to go to the First Aid Center to get it cleaned out and bandaged up but he was fine. I had gotten an Icee while they were in line for the Balloon ride and this was DS’s first one so of course, he obsessed over it and forgot about his knee.

Icee's make everything better. I'm glad that he was able to have some fun at the amusement park despite a few traumatic experiences.

I have a scary obsession for donuts. And all I hear about in Portland is Voodoo Doughnuts. This would be the perfect time to let DS sleep in the carseat while I made a donut run before checking into our studio

Well, I've never heard of Voodoo Doughnuts. But I'm never one to turn down a good donut!

I told him to give me 5 of whatever and 1 old fashioned (Cause it’s my true love)

They look awesome!!!!

ETA: The DIS just censored the name of the restaurant! LOL!

I noticed that. I wondered if it was you or the DIS.

I went to the patio area, drank a beer and read

Great way to end the day.

DH offered to walk over there and pick up breakfast for us, which I must say, I was shocked that he offered. But he wanted to get a little exercise in. Works for me! I told him what I wanted and asked him to make an additional stop at Stumptown for some coffee.

So he offers to go get breakfast and you're making him make extra stops for you???

He got back within 30 minutes with our breakfast and couldn’t stop talking about how much he loved walking around this area. He is sold on coming back!

Totally not how I feel about Portland, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.

But here is what sold on us staying here

Wow... amazing patio/view from the apartment in Seattle. You guys really did well finding that one!

Forecast was good that day so we bought tickets about 3 hours before the game and learned that we could take the Water Taxi over to the stadium from West Seattle, so we headed over to the dock area.

Great idea!

When we got off the water taxi, we realized we had made a big mistake. We hadn’t even thought about bringing the stroller and the park was close to a mile away. Honestly, not that far, but with a toddler it was difficult. We had to carry him the majority of the way and he’s a fat little guy, so when we saw this, we were relieved. And tired. And hot. And wasn’t sure how we would make it back

Oh, come on. He's not that big. Throw him on your DH's shoulders. It isn't that big of a deal and it is easier to maneuver through the crowds than having a stroller anyway.

His first Professional Baseball game!

He got bored an hour into the game and luckily I remembered to bring his iPad and they had wifi!

He made it an hour before he got bored???? I'm pretty impressed with that.

We went to a minor league game Saturday night and DS, who actually played baseball this year, and was full of questions made it about 2/3 of an inning before losing interest.

Which, coincidentally, is about 1/3 inning longer than most 4 and 5 year olds maintain interest in the game when they're actually on the field playing.

Apparently, he got bored too

That doesn't look like Candy Crush!

And the game had been pretty boring up till that point and when we were exiting the Marlins had scored

Wait a minute... The Marlins scored against the Giants in a game at Seattle????

I don't know how that happened, but it must have been a pretty exciting set of circumstances.

Once on the Water Taxi, I wanted to sit outside so we can get awesome views of the skyline as we pulled away from the dock

Definitely a beautiful view. Good call.

It was absolutely beautiful! Come to find out, it’s 135 acres. Much, much larger than I was thinking but we were so glad that we found this.

Holy crap, that's a big park!

The rest of the day was spend on Alki Beach, were we walked along the sidewalk and stopped at Tully’s to have some coffee

Ok, so clearly, your goal on this trip was to try as many coffee places as possible. Am I right???

We were stopping halfway to fulfill one of DH’s dreams on this trip…to eat at a Ruby Tuesday. There is a very small handful of locations across the West Coast and none near us, so when he saw the route we were taking today, he knew we would be stopping for lunch here.

Wow. You know, I guess you take some things for granted. We actually have a Ruby Tuesday about 5 minutes from where I work and I never go there for lunch. It's like the 5th or 6th best option.

We sent this to my brother who was very upset and asked us to save any leftovers for him

DH said he was turtle heading

The drive on the way there was amazing!

I love driving through the PNW. The landscape up there is just incredible!

Where we were awarded with Parents of the Year award. Twice, actually! The first time from an older couple sitting behind us as they were leaving said, you guys deserve a parent of the year award. And I pointed at the iPad and said, “Actually, that should be given the award!” and they just laughed.

You are so right though!!!

The second time was from another older couple as we were leaving and commented that he was the quietest child they’ve ever seen and to keep it up! I was thinking, “Really?? You must have not heard him screaming for his fork for spaghetti earlier on, but okay!” and thanked them.

Well, hey, he's a kid. Even though he screamed for a fork, he probably screamed for a shorter duration than 99.9% of other kids.

Today was pretty uneventful, aside from FINALLY visiting a Dutch Bros!

Yep, clearly trying to hit every possible coffee place known to man.

DH was so stoked off this road trip, that he’s currently planning our next Summer trip to the Grand Canyon apparently

I'm glad the trip was such a success! A Grand Canyon road trip looks like a great idea to me!!!

 

[Leshaface]

Fantastic update!

Why do i always end up reading your trip reports before lunch. Those doughnut photos have made me so hungry! They looked amazing.

I think everyone should put disclaimers on their updates when posting food! I hate when that happens, reading about awesome food and then I look at my crappy lunch and just get depressed

Loved your road trip updates! Thanks so much for sharing! I'll be back later with more specific comments.

Thanks Dugette!

What a fun trip! I've never been to Oregon or Washington and they are on my bucket list. We have a Voodoo Donuts here in Denver now but I've never gone there. Just doesn't seem as special as getting them in Portland!

Jill in CO

Jill! Run to Voodoo! Who cares if it's not Portland, oh my gosh, i'm jealous!

I'm glad he handled the drives well. That always makes it a lot easier!

It also helped that we had bought those portable DVD players that you hook up to the back of the driver and passenger seats. He was forced to watch different things other than Little Einsteins this trip

You know, I noticed that too. I was in Oregon a few years ago. Pulled up to the pump, hopped out, swiped my card and started pumping my own gas. I probably had a gallon pumped already when some guy walks up behind me. I didn't know about the whole "can't pump your own gas" think so I'm thinking this guy's trying to rob me in a gas station parking lot.

Yeah, it is just weird.

I absolutely hated it. My friend had let me know before hand and that they were not allowed to accept tips, but they had no issue taking ours

Well that's certainly a ringing endorsement of the place you call home.

If we had the means to move out of the valley, we absolutely would! Our surrounding cities got rated the highest particle-polluted area in the state, beating out LA!

Have fun and try to stay alive.

Knowing that our car could be bashed in by buffalos made it even more fun!

I'm glad it was a good experience for you! Looks like fun!

Would love to do this again when DS is older for sure.

I'm glad that he got to do some gambling and that the resort ended up being so family friendly.

You didn't mention anything, so I'll just assume that he didn't win enough to pay for the room...

You're right I forgot! He lost the first night and won it all back and then some the second night.

Looks like a great way to unwind. I'd definitely prefer to do that than to go gamble.

Absolutely! It's a definite win in my book.

That's a big Eagle!

Your mom... I swear, she cracks me up!

I had to call her after our text conversation cause I just couldn't believe that she thought that was real.

So... did he want to go down by himself?

He had no choice, poor kid! DH had asked the girl (like 16 or 17 he said!) if he can go down by himself and she said sure. It's not her fault but there's no way I would have done that to him. Imagine if he had stopped halfway down the slide and tried to get off at the sides! Oh wait, looking back at the picture, they have cushion pads at the bottom. He would have been just fine

Icee's make everything better. I'm glad that he was able to have some fun at the amusement park despite a few traumatic experiences.

Those experiences make for fun memories for sure.

Well, I've never heard of Voodoo Doughnuts. But I'm never one to turn down a good donut!

How do you visit Portland and not hear about them?!

They look awesome!!!!

Oh man, they tasted better than they looked!

I noticed that. I wondered if it was you or the DIS.

Promise i'm not perverted!

So he offers to go get breakfast and you're making him make extra stops for you???

I have to take advantage of these rare opportunities. Also, it was on the walking route we mapped out

Totally not how I feel about Portland, but I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.

So I need to know what happened on your trip to Portland! Did you have some bad experiences there?

Wow... amazing patio/view from the apartment in Seattle. You guys really did well finding that one!

I'm so glad we didn't stay in the city. Having that view of the Puget Sound was great!

Oh, come on. He's not that big. Throw him on your DH's shoulders. It isn't that big of a deal and it is easier to maneuver through the crowds than having a stroller anyway.

Tried that. He likes to throw himself backwards

He made it an hour before he got bored???? I'm pretty impressed with that.

We went to a minor league game Saturday night and DS, who actually played baseball this year, and was full of questions made it about 2/3 of an inning before losing interest.

Which, coincidentally, is about 1/3 inning longer than most 4 and 5 year olds maintain interest in the game when they're actually on the field playing.

I remember that story! That is so stinkin' cute though!

That doesn't look like Candy Crush!

Soon after we got back from WDW, DH found Clash of Clans. So now he's running two games. He's keeping himself busy OH and you'll find this amusing. He's been complaining about his wrists hurting and I mentioned it's probably all the stuff he's doing on his phone, so he's been cutting back and sure enough, less pain

Wait a minute... The Marlins scored against the Giants in a game at Seattle????

Two runs. But then we won the next game. I swear we're bad luck.

Definitely a beautiful view. Good call.

Holy crap, that's a big park!

It was a really nice park, can't complain about it. Still think that AT&T Park is better though

Ok, so clearly, your goal on this trip was to try as many coffee places as possible. Am I right???

Totally! One doesn't visit the PNW without hitting up coffee shops. This would have been a very fun trip for you!

Wow. You know, I guess you take some things for granted. We actually have a Ruby Tuesday about 5 minutes from where I work and I never go there for lunch. It's like the 5th or 6th best option.

We always visit when we go to PA. It's a ritual for DH, DB and me to grab some Yuenglings while eating there too. Sadly, no Yuenglings this trip. I don't know why, but we love RT and have always had great experiences there.

Gross part is, he probably would have ate it

It's these types of comments we make to each other, I worry about offending people on the DIS. Not you though

I love driving through the PNW. The landscape up there is just incredible!

It really, really is. Especially now with all dry land around us. I forgot to post this, but this is what we call home



Beautiful isn't it?

You are so right though!!!

I think all parents deserve to have some meals without much distractions from their kids. We were able to hold a conversation at dinner which was nice.

Well, hey, he's a kid. Even though he screamed for a fork, he probably screamed for a shorter duration than 99.9% of other kids.

Definitely true! But all thanks to the iPad

Yep, clearly trying to hit every possible coffee place known to man.

I needed something to cheer me up for the drive home. Oh who am I kidding, I needed something to allow me to be a normal human being in the morning

I'm glad the trip was such a success! A Grand Canyon road trip looks like a great idea to me!!!

It really was a big success and everyone seemed to enjoy it! Except for DM who hated that we left for so long (but she got an invite and declined!)

 

[afwdwfan]

So I need to know what happened on your trip to Portland! Did you have some bad experiences there?

I've flown in/out of Portland a few times, but the one time I spent a significant amount time in the city was about 8 or 9 years ago. I was in town for a conference for a week. We stayed at a really nice hotel downtown. I'd tell you what hotel, but it was long enough ago and I used to do so much traveling for work that they kind of tend to all run together. Anyway, we'd go out to dinner in the evening and come back to find homeless people sleeping in the landscaping around the hotel. Like literally right outside the door. I'd like to think I'm not totally heartless, but if you're running a nice hotel that hosts conference crowds, wouldn't you think they'd maybe try not to have that be the first impression some people see?

But that was just a minor detail.

I had 2 co-workers who had their laptops stolen from their hotel rooms.

We went to dinner one evening using the public transportation rail system they have there. We had a group of about 10 of us standing waiting for the next train when 2 guys rode by on bicycles and spit on us.

And one night, we walked from the hotel to a small, local micro-brew type place. There was nobody else in the place. Maybe a couple of tables with 3 or 4 people at each one. We had a group of maybe 10 or 12 and we couldn't even get any service. I don't know if it is place that is just used to catering to locals and didn't like seeing outsiders, or what the deal was, but it was pretty much awkward. I think we hung around an hour or 2 and managed to have 1 drink before heading to a chain place around the corner.

Just an accumulation of things, but in my experience, it wasn't the cleanest city I've ever been in and the people we had experiences with just weren't very welcoming at all. I know there are always outliers, but this was my experience and therefore, I really have no desire to ever return to Portland again.

Soon after we got back from WDW, DH found Clash of Clans.

I thought that's what it was.

Totally! One doesn't visit the PNW without hitting up coffee shops. This would have been a very fun trip for you!

Oh yeah, that's right up my alley!

Beautiful isn't it?

Looks like Kansas!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Welcome back! So glad you enjoyed your trip - and great job out of you son with keeping up the potty training!

New Jersey is the same way with gas and that you are not allowed to pump it (and they will yell at you if you try!) - funny thing is that I went to college in eastern PA that has a lot of people from NJ attend and some of them have literally never pumped their own gas and are so thrown off the first time the go to get gas in PA and have to actually do something themselves

We spent about 45 minutes which is 40 minutes longer than we had wanted to spend Reviews had made it seem like there wasn’t much to do but we really enjoyed it.

Seems like it was great for your family and your son's age! And $18 for the entire time there, you can't beat that!

And in the rare case that an animal charges your car, to stay put and not leave your vehicle. And we were left with a, “Have fun!”

Be great if they said: And in the rare case that an animal charges your car - remember ... "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!"

Glad things worked out at the Casino and it had a very family vibe to it!

As far as the Eagle, I think your mom is just too used to Disney's Forced Perspective effect so she now has no perception of how big things are in real life

That amusement park looks fun ... I can imagine how freaked you got though when you saw DS come down the slide on his own like that!

VooDoo Doughnut is definitely on my bucket list. Though, I am not a fan of Captin' Crunch so not sure about that one. The Oreo one looks amazing though. And I think we need to all use "Great Odin's Raven" when we find some sort of snack food that blows us away

DH had done some research and found a great burger place called ****’s Kitchen

... how exactly is "****'s" sorted in the phone book?

Wow, those Waffles look amazeballs! And then the specialty West Coast local coffee to go with it? I could just have that for vacation and be happy!

The Pike Market is pretty cool (lots of neat artists, etc.) but parking around there is crazy and all the popular places have crazy lines. glad you were happy with you accidental lunch option!

Funny how you presented the apartment you were staying in as it looked fine, but nothing super crazy special .... and then you showed the patio! That is amazing! And the water taxi looked fun too with lots of nice views.

Did your son like the baseball game? (at least for the first hour he was into it) ...we go to a few games a year and Peter does pretty well (I think he likes the cotton candy and stuff like that more than the game) but Olivia tends to really get into it, even though she seems to retain about 2% of the information about how the game is played that I have told her.

And the game had been pretty boring up till that point and when we were exiting the Marlins had scored. Boo!

Well, considering they are from Miami, the Marlin's scoring in the game you watched is pretty exciting! .... unless, perchance, you meant the Mariners

Too bad you didn't get to the Space Needle or Chihuly Glass Museum ... though, to be honest, they are probably better to do sans kids. especially the glass museum, to get the time to appreciate the art. I know I would have been a nervous wreck if we brought Peter when we went!

haha, Ruby Tuesday's is one chain we have a number of ... but there are other chains that we would hit up on vacation that we don't have so definitely understand the desire to eat there for you

That aquarium looks fun - especially the tunnel part

Bummer about pool time not working out

I also got some time that night when DH went down to watch some Netflix since he had hooked up the PS4. So glad he brought it along!

... I'll take "Things I didn't expect to say for $200 Alex"

The second time was from another older couple as we were leaving and commented that he was the quietest child they’ve ever seen and to keep it up! I was thinking, “Really?? You must have not heard him screaming for his fork for spaghetti earlier on, but okay!” and thanked them.

... sometimes I think I am overly sensitive and the kids aren't really causing the ruckus I feel they are causing and people don't mind as much as I fear ... but it is nice to hear that from people that they think you are doing a good job with your kid! Probably something we don't do enough as a community.

Glad you enjoyed your trip so much! Well, Arizona is a good place to head to avoid the heat .... Actually I remember doing the Grand Canyon as a kid and thought it was neat but we didn't do any of the trails down into it very far or anything so got a bit bored after a while

 

[Leshaface]

I've flown in/out of Portland a few times, but the one time I spent a significant amount time in the city was about 8 or 9 years ago. I was in town for a conference for a week. We stayed at a really nice hotel downtown. I'd tell you what hotel, but it was long enough ago and I used to do so much traveling for work that they kind of tend to all run together. Anyway, we'd go out to dinner in the evening and come back to find homeless people sleeping in the landscaping around the hotel. Like literally right outside the door. I'd like to think I'm not totally heartless, but if you're running a nice hotel that hosts conference crowds, wouldn't you think they'd maybe try not to have that be the first impression some people see?

But that was just a minor detail.

I had 2 co-workers who had their laptops stolen from their hotel rooms.

We went to dinner one evening using the public transportation rail system they have there. We had a group of about 10 of us standing waiting for the next train when 2 guys rode by on bicycles and spit on us.

And one night, we walked from the hotel to a small, local micro-brew type place. There was nobody else in the place. Maybe a couple of tables with 3 or 4 people at each one. We had a group of maybe 10 or 12 and we couldn't even get any service. I don't know if it is place that is just used to catering to locals and didn't like seeing outsiders, or what the deal was, but it was pretty much awkward. I think we hung around an hour or 2 and managed to have 1 drink before heading to a chain place around the corner.

Just an accumulation of things, but in my experience, it wasn't the cleanest city I've ever been in and the people we had experiences with just weren't very welcoming at all. I know there are always outliers, but this was my experience and therefore, I really have no desire to ever return to Portland again.

Yeah, i'd never want to return again if I had the same experience. And the spitting?!? That is just disgusting. What awful humans. And you all were just standing there when they did this? I'm so sorry that happened to you and your coworkers. That alone would make me not want to go back.

Funny story I had with a homeless person once. Back in 2007 in San Francisco, we had the great pleasure of running into the infamous Alan Freed while trying to get to our hotel after a night at a Giants game. He's a massive scam artist (didn't know it at the time) that was telling us that his car was stuck in a parking garage and he needed some money to get it out so he can deliver stuff to other homeless people. Of course, I didn't buy into it at all, but DH starts to pull his wallet out and gave him 2 dollars. I grabbed DH telling him lets go and the guy was like, "You think 2 f****** dollars is going to help at all!?" DH stopped to actually see if he had anything more on him. I was livid at the entire situation from all sides Words were flying between both me and 'Alan' and I was being dragged away by DH to our hotel right around the corner and 'Alan' started to follow us into the hotel, when security came and physically took him across the street and kept him away from the entrance. We were at a nicer hotel so they tried to keep it as - hate to say it - clean looking as possible.

So we never got to Downtown Portland but where we stayed in Southeast Portland was very nice. And DH said that as he was walking that morning, all the people that were walking on the streets were incredibly nice, exchanging, 'Good Morning's' and whatnot.

I thought that's what it was.

Please don't tell me you know from experience. Are you still playing that Frozen game?

 

[KathyM2]

Wow..thanks for sharing!! That looks like the perfect road trip!! I too have a love for donuts...wow...that voodoo donuts looked fantastic. Funny that what you call "old fashioned" Is that...vanilla with chocolate icing? Here old fashioned is plain. That waffle place looked fantastic too...as did so many of your meals! And that place you stayed in Seattle looked so beautiful!! I love that city - haven't been there for about 20 years...would love to go back!! Your DS seemed to do really well in the car and on the road! I know, the ipad certainly helps...we have those too for road (and plane) trips Ooops about the stroller forgotten ...we did that a few times...although...eventually you DO get to the point where it isn't necessary...but sometimes it's easier to just bring it lol. It reminds me of how I felt when I stopped carrying a diaper bag around...you feel like you are missing something...it was weird to be without an "in case of every type of kid emergency" bag lol. I think that also, Casino hotels - even in Vegas - have started catering more to families...that's what it's gonna take to get the dads there to do more gambling lol

 

[dizneeat]

What an awesome trip. Thanks for sharing. Those hotels/rentals look just awesome. We really like to stay in a "flat" if we can. Nothing like feeling like you have your own place. That one place close to the water is especially beautiful.
Your DS is such a great sport going along with it all. And all your photos are just great. I need to reread again later, as I need to go and mark a pile of geography tests.

 

[afwdwfan]

Two runs. But then we won the next game. I swear we're bad luck.

I meant to Quote this one, but I must have forgot. You didn't catch what I was saying though.

The Marlins play in Miami...

Yeah, i'd never want to return again if I had the same experience. And the spitting?!? That is just disgusting. What awful humans. And you all were just standing there when they did this? I'm so sorry that happened to you and your coworkers. That alone would make me not want to go back.

Yeah, we had gone out to dinner. And I'm sure we visited a bar or 2 afterwards. But we were standing on the platform waiting for the train and just talking when they did a ride by spitting. I mean, we kind of had to stand there for a little bit before we figured out what just happened.

"You think 2 f****** dollars is going to help at all!?" DH stopped to actually see if he had anything more on him.

Ok, if I were to even take the time to throw him a buck or 2 to begin with, I'd have gone off on him at this point, and definitely not looked for more money!

But congratulations on your brush with infamy...

Please don't tell me you know from experience. Are you still playing that Frozen game?

and I don't play either of them very often anymore. I've found a new time suck. Jurassic World. You hatch, feed and evolve dinosaurs. Then you fight against other dinosaurs.

 

[BibbitybobityLu]

When DS was younger (around the age of Toby in the movie) I would always sing, "You remind me of the babe" and then throw him up and sing, "Jump magic, jump!" Now my brother is doing the same thing with his Son. Ah the love of Jareth is upon us


Also, I always wished I was whisked away at a school dance like he did with Sarah!

I LOVE Labyrinth. I used to watch it all the time when I was little!
I love that song!

"You remind me of the babe"
"What babe?"
"The babe with the power"
"What power?"
"The power of voodoo"
"Who do?"
"You do"
"Do what?"
"Remind me of the babe!"

Arg! That ball scene! Yeah I'm with you on that! I have that song on my iPod!

But I will admit watching it as an adult I was very distracted by his....errr...Bowie bulge!

People are jealous that they can't do this. Haters.

He sure could work those crystal balls!
Also he was working contouring well before Kim K! Just sayin'!

Oh and something crazy about Oregon. You’re not allowed to pump your own gas for whatever reason. I hated it. I felt like I was being lazy just sitting there watching them pumping my own gas.

Okay this would freak me out! All I would be thinking about would be Urban Legends! Don't sing Total Eclipse of the Heart whatever you do!!
"Turn around bright eyes...."

Maybe I watch too many movies......

Such a cute family photo!

Anyway she went on with the precautions about rolling up the windows if animals started walking toward you and if animals stand in front of your vehicle to stay put until they move or a worker helps escort you. And in the rare case that an animal charges your car, to stay put and not leave your vehicle. And we were left with a, “Have fun!”

"Have fun, try not to die!"

But on a serious note did you see that woman who was mauled to death by a lion in her car on one of those safari things in Africa?!??!? Freaking scary.

DS took the Icee along for a ride You can kind of see him sucking it down. He rarely looked up once that was in his hands!

Just wait till he's 21 and discovers vodka icees....they really do make everything better....and sometimes worse

I have a scary obsession for donuts.

That Butterfinger one looks soooooooooooooooo good!! *drool*

DH had done some research and found a great burger place called ****’s Kitchen.

So how do you pronounce that?

DH brought his PS4 along with him for down town time (it’s his vacation too, I guess! LOL) so while he played and ‘watched’ DS

Hey that is some quality multi-tasking dad-ing there!

ETA: The DIS just censored the name of the restaurant! LOL!

But here is what sold on us staying here

Wow! That's a view!

Apparently, he got bored too

So this is something you don’t see everyday. Kids riding in the bed of a truck on the I-5! A major freeway, easily going 75! Stupid.

Parents of the year award right there

He is such a cutiepie!

Sounds like you had an amazing trip!

 

[Leshaface]

New Jersey is the same way with gas and that you are not allowed to pump it (and they will yell at you if you try!) - funny thing is that I went to college in eastern PA that has a lot of people from NJ attend and some of them have literally never pumped their own gas and are so thrown off the first time the go to get gas in PA and have to actually do something themselves

I was going to ask what other states do this. Is there a reason why you're not allowed to? Do OR and NJ have irresponsible citizens that will have gas fights?

"Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!"

Hmm, they should offer additional coverage at the kiosk before driving through.

As far as the Eagle, I think your mom is just too used to Disney's Forced Perspective effect so she now has no perception of how big things are in real life

You're so, so right!! This ain't Disney mom!

I can imagine how freaked you got though when you saw DS come down the slide on his own like that!

I was taking that exact picture on my phone when I noticed something didn't look right and moved my phone and saw he was by himself and saw DH still standing at the top! For a second I thought he had accidentally gone down by himself but nope, it was all DH.

VooDoo Doughnut is definitely on my bucket list. Though, I am not a fan of Captin' Crunch so not sure about that one. The Oreo one looks amazing though. And I think we need to all use "Great Odin's Raven" when we find some sort of snack food that blows us away

I have never tried that cereal before, but have heard the saying it cuts the roof of your mouth but it was delicious on a donut! And it was definitely Ron Burgundy quote worthy

... how exactly is "****'s" sorted in the phone book?

With a D Yikes, can you imagine it with other four letter words?!

Wow, those Waffles look amazeballs! And then the specialty West Coast local coffee to go with it? I could just have that for vacation and be happy!

Amazeballs is the perfect word for this meal.

The Pike Market is pretty cool (lots of neat artists, etc.) but parking around there is crazy and all the popular places have crazy lines. glad you were happy with you accidental lunch option!

No one told me how crazy it was going to be. I'd much rather push a stroller around WDW on the busiest day of the year than deal with that mess.

Funny how you presented the apartment you were staying in as it looked fine, but nothing super crazy special .... and then you showed the patio! That is amazing! And the water taxi looked fun too with lots of nice views.

Isn't that cool!? Loved it.

Did your son like the baseball game? (at least for the first hour he was into it) ...we go to a few games a year and Peter does pretty well (I think he likes the cotton candy and stuff like that more than the game) but Olivia tends to really get into it, even though she seems to retain about 2% of the information about how the game is played that I have told her.

He knew what it was, but had no idea what was going on. He liked looking around and seeing the ball being thrown (Barely!) I think that's great that Olivia get's into it. Bringing her up right on America's fav past time!

Well, considering they are from Miami, the Marlin's scoring in the game you watched is pretty exciting! .... unless, perchance, you meant the Mariners

Oh my gosh. You just made me realize my big mistake. It was the Seattle Mariners that the Giants were playing against. My mind was on Giancarlo Stanton I guess Need to go change that.

haha, Ruby Tuesday's is one chain we have a number of ... but there are other chains that we would hit up on vacation that we don't have so definitely understand the desire to eat there for you

We hate chains but this one we love. Oh wait, I do love BWW though.

... I'll take "Things I didn't expect to say for $200 Alex"

Glad you enjoyed your trip so much! Well, Arizona is a good place to head to avoid the heat .... Actually I remember doing the Grand Canyon as a kid and thought it was neat but we didn't do any of the trails down into it very far or anything so got a bit bored after a while

I told him Arizona in the Summer, really?! He was like, "Oh yeah." Perhaps a Winter vacation trip??

 

[disneybarbie]

Thanks for sharing your road trip! It looked great - randomly.. I read Kristin Hannah novels which are usually based in the PNW and that beach house you stayed at looked just like the ones described in her books!

DS is getting so grown up

Emma x

 

[Leshaface]

Wow..thanks for sharing!! That looks like the perfect road trip!! I too have a love for donuts...wow...that voodoo donuts looked fantastic. Funny that what you call "old fashioned" Is that...vanilla with chocolate icing? Here old fashioned is plain. That waffle place looked fantastic too...as did so many of your meals! And that place you stayed in Seattle looked so beautiful!! I love that city - haven't been there for about 20 years...would love to go back!! Your DS seemed to do really well in the car and on the road! I know, the ipad certainly helps...we have those too for road (and plane) trips Ooops about the stroller forgotten ...we did that a few times...although...eventually you DO get to the point where it isn't necessary...but sometimes it's easier to just bring it lol. It reminds me of how I felt when I stopped carrying a diaper bag around...you feel like you are missing something...it was weird to be without an "in case of every type of kid emergency" bag lol. I think that also, Casino hotels - even in Vegas - have started catering more to families...that's what it's gonna take to get the dads there to do more gambling lol

Yep vanilla donut with chocolate! How funny!

Can I just say, i'm soooo looking forward to the day where we won't have to worry about the stroller. However, I do like that I have a cup holder for my drinks .

Our neighbor takes his kid, who is 5 I think, to Vegas all the time, staying at Circus Circus. You're right, he says it's definitely catering to more families and trying to make a family destination spot. But in order for that to happen, they need to get rid of the nudie cards

What an awesome trip. Thanks for sharing. Those hotels/rentals look just awesome. We really like to stay in a "flat" if we can. Nothing like feeling like you have your own place. That one place close to the water is especially beautiful.
Your DS is such a great sport going along with it all. And all your photos are just great. I need to reread again later, as I need to go and mark a pile of geography tests.

Yes you guys try to stay places other than hotels too! It really is the best way to vacation sometimes. I feel like i have way more privacy doing this.

I meant to Quote this one, but I must have forgot. You didn't catch what I was saying though.

The Marlins play in Miami...

Yep. Noticed that when I was reading Phil's comment and didn't even think about it with your comment. My excuse? I had Giancarlo Stanton on the brain

Yeah, we had gone out to dinner. And I'm sure we visited a bar or 2 afterwards. But we were standing on the platform waiting for the train and just talking when they did a ride by spitting. I mean, we kind of had to stand there for a little bit before we figured out what just happened.

That's just disgusting. Well if this were 2007 and I was there, I may have gone off on them

Ok, if I were to even take the time to throw him a buck or 2 to begin with, I'd have gone off on him at this point, and definitely not looked for more money!

But congratulations on your brush with infamy...

DH can be way, way too nice But that's why i'm around to balance out all that niceness

and

Oh my.

You hatch, feed and evolve dinosaurs. Then you fight against other dinosaurs.

I literally, LOL'ed in my office. And i'm still laughing!!!


Is this anything like Tiny Monsters?

 

[afwdwfan]

Is this anything like Tiny Monsters?

I have no idea, and I don't intend to find out!

 

[Fastpassminus]

That road trip looked incredible. We have NEVER attempted a real road trip with DS because well... He gets a little ... high strung in the car. After 2 hours he starts yelling " I am TRAPPED I am TRAPPED!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!

He also insists we listen to disc 2 of the Lion King Anniversary soundtrack OVER AND OVER

Yeah so like 2 hours is my LIMIT.

But your trip looked incredible. Your DS gets bigger and cuter each day!! Those donuts looked awesome and the game looked so fun. I loved the view of that place in Seattle. So gorgeous.

That little zoo looked like a great time too.

 

[Fastpassminus]

BTW my friend recommended this guy... next time you need a babysitter .....

 

[MEK]

OMG - Love your summer trip! How fun! sound like a lot of driving, but that's the type of vacation my parents used to take us on when we were young. We went all over New England and loved every minute of it.

How did you find your rentals? Did you use VRBO? I swear by that website, but I am shocked that you will able to get one and two night stays. That patio was gorgeous.

Beautiful scenery. I would love to drive up the west coast. Next May we are tentatively doing 2 week California trip starting in San Fran and ending at the Mother ship (DL) or San Diego. We want to see the coast, the wine country, and Yosemite. We are doing this with one other couple. Any input would be appreciated it.

Calvin is so super cute in all his pics. Just adorable!

Wait - your DH drove out of his way for a Ruby Tuesday????? Am I missing something? They are all over the place here and, I will admit, I haven't been to one in awhile, so maybe I need to retry it.

Thanks for the awesome update!