San Diego Adventure

This is only about 1 month late but I'm finally getting around to it!

We decided to explore San Diego for about a week over the fourth of July. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in La Jolla which was nice and roomy (and a good value), complete with a complimentary happy hour every night with unlimited drinks, which I couldn't partake in...and a full made-to-order breakfast. The hotel was definitely targeted for families. Collin loved the Koi fish in the pond and pressing the elevator button. I think he would've been happy doing that all day. He also had fun swimming in the pool and dipping his feet in the hot tub. The downside of the hotel was the location. While we could drive about 15 minutes into town, we were in the middle of a bunch of businesses and there was nothing close we could walk to. We also had to barricade the couch against the door to make sure Collin didn't escape.

La Jolla is beautiful and expensive. We drove around the bluffs and million dollar houses. We had some gut bomb pizza and I got my Mexican fix. We also walked by the ocean though didn't really hang at the beach too much. When you're used to Hawaii beaches where you can actually swim it just doesn't compare.

Tom and Virginia met up with us and we walked around the boardwalk in downtown San Diego and explored the maritime museum complete with submarines, old fashioned sailing ships and a pirate who gave him his own doubloon. We also checked out the USS Midway Museum, the longest-serving Navy aircraft carrier of the 20th century. It was massive and had lots of cool aircraft and sights for Collin to explore.







We got our moneys worth at the San Diego zoo and spent almost the whole day there! It was crazy busy (mental note, don't plan trips around the 4th) but still fun. Collin seemed to enjoy the flamingos and the koalas. The pandas were also out for us to see after waiting in a long line.





That evening, we ended up at a park where we feasted on double double animal style In-N-Out Burgers (plus a milkshake and fries). So not healthy but sometimes you just crave a cheap, good old fashioned burger!



The 4th was a nice change of pace (no crowds, no craziness!) and we met up with Collin's new buddy Saul and my friend Robin. Collin and Saul got along great and chased each other around, swam in the pool and followed Saul's older brother around.



Then that night we saw an awesome fireworks display at Robin's synagogue. The view was amazing with the fireworks coming from over the hill and literally felt like they were spilling down on us. I managed to get a few cool shots.





Finally we made it to Sea World. It was HOT when we got there. Poor Mike, who doesn't take heat well was dripping bowls of sweat while we waited for our first show. It was also crowded but the shows, while cheesy (I don't really need the story lines or music, just show me the animals doing tricks) were definitely worthwhile. We didn't make it to too many exhibits but Mike chased Collin around a giant kids area where he had to hoist Collin up a huge net. We stayed about four hours and then were ready to leave.

One of my favorite parts of our trip was Balboa Park, where the Zoo and a bunch of other museums are. It was really beautiful and we hiked around a palm forest, walked around the gardens and just took in all the sights. We went back there twice and I could've spent another full day there.





Unfortunately the last day of our trip wasn't so fun. Mike, who has seriously bad vacation juju when it comes to getting sick, ended up shivering and running a fever. You know Mike's not well when he wants to wear a hoodie and it's 90 degrees out. I was also feeling pretty crappy as I was hitting those lovely first trimester blahs. And Collin was a tornado running around and trying to kill himself in traffic. The highlight was back at PDX while I was trying to grab a bag and Mike looked like he was about to pass out, Collin ran through the big rotating glass doors. Luckily airport security stopped him. Ah yes, never a dull moment.

We made it home ready to pass out and it turned out Mike had strep throat which luckily Collin and I didn't catch. Besides that last day, our summer vacation was pretty fun, though not what you'd call relaxing with a 3-year old wild-man.

Relaxation Vacation

I love the tradition of family vacations. Most every summer growing up I can remember a different adventure with my family. From a relaxing cabin in beautiful British Columbia to exploring New York and D.C., it was always memorable and fun. I'm sure I'm washing over the bickering children and whines of "are we there yet," right mom?.

I wanted to start our own family vacation tradition. With a two-year old and trying to save up for a new house and all that future fun, we weren't planning any lavish adventures. Instead we decided to explore our own state.

Aside from Oregon's rain and gray, I feel lucky to live in such a beautiful place. The ocean, mountains, parks and natural beauty are never far. Neither Mike nor I had ever been to northeastern Oregon. The pictures of the Wallowas and Hell's Canyon looked stunning and it would be interesting to leave our little pocket of liberal blue Portland.

The drive to Joseph, a little town of the Wallowas where our cabin was located was about six hours away. Not too far, but the memory of Collin shrieking on our last long plane flight and longer car trip to Canada rang through my head so we decided to break up the trip and stop in Pendleton (about 4 hours away). Collin had a rotation of snacks and toys at his disposal and lucky for us napped for half the car ride.

We arrived at the Rugged Country Lodge, a motel off a strip of highway. Now, I'm not a four seasons travel snob but I do like to stay in nice places and can't remember the last time I went to a "motel." However, once inside the room was clean and seemed nice (especially in comparison to the other places in town). Collin jumped on the bed and played with the remote. They also had delicious oatmeal cookies.



We went into town and discovered Pendleton which aside from its rodeo claim to fame doesn't really have a whole lot to offer. We got ripped off at a couple stores, did have a decent meal and tasty beer at a local brewery and ended up at a small park where Collin could swing and play. Pendleton is also near two prisons and the park definitely reflected that demographic.



Bedtime was early that night and we discovered Collin outgrew his pack and play (he leaped out of it) so there went that. He ended up in between us bouncing up and down until he was finally exhausted and fell asleep.

The next day we had a pretty tasty breakfast with homemade biscuits and gravy and went back to do a little more exploring. We went to an overpriced two-room museum but there was an antique fire truck that Collin got to sit on and a caboose so that made it almost worth the $12. We also stopped and got a Pendleton blanket (Pendleton's other claim to fame) which with 90 degree weather was hard to appreciate but I know once winter hits we'll be happy with our cozy wool blanket.





With the first leg of our trip over we headed to Joseph which ended up being about three hours away with construction. The drive coming in was beautiful with snow topped mountains, lush valleys and the surrounding Wallowa Lake. Our cabin was a few minutes from Joseph, a cute artsy town that expands about five blocks. We were within walking distance to the lake and in the cabin's backyard was an actual babbling brook. Talk about soothing. We were also in land of no wi-fi or cell phone service and we could hook up to the Internet via a modem (which my laptop doesn't have). Mike and I both looked at each other in disbelief, "dial up?"

Our bear themed cabin was nicer than I expected with two bedrooms a good sized kitchen and living room. We also had a deck with a BBQ. Walking inside I instantly felt relaxed. I couldn't answer my phone! or check my e-mail! I could've done a yoga pose right there.





It was also great to stay in a place where we could eat in most of the time because Collin is at the unpredictable stage of restaurant dining. He's usually the kid that starts screaming or throwing things unless he's happy with his meal and the service is fast.

As soon as we walked outside a deer approached us.



And then another. And during our trip we probably saw at least 10 of them crossing roads, wandering into the backyard and munching on flowers. We were warned not to feed them which obviously many people ignored. But we would not be the stupid tourists that feed the deer and end up getting attacked by one. Which happened quite frequently apparently. Once they realized we weren't going to feed them they left, still they were so graceful to watch.





During our stay we walked around Joseph and the lake, drove out to see some amazing views and went to the playground where Collin could throw barkchips and swing to his heart's content.





We also did a small hike into the Eagle Cap wilderness. Poor Mike was the primary backpack Collin wearer. That thing causes me to become a hunchback with spurts of pain so until we find something more comfortable for both of us to wear it will be Mike's duty. According to the guidebook it was an easy four mile round-trip hike which ended up at a lake. We set out and with a kid strapped to his back, Mike got to experience the obstacles of balancing over slippery rocks and logs.







We had some nice views but Collin was not the best passenger. He wanted to walk for maybe 10 minutes and part of the time wiggled, screamed and slapped Mike across the face. When we reached our destination he was in toddler heaven with a beach full of rocks and a body of water for throwing them in. Mike skipped rocks and Collin dunked huge ones to his delight.

"Throw rocks? Daddy throw rocks?" he said over and over.



On our way back, Collin passed out on Mike's back. And all the memories of him slapping Mike's face melted away...



On the way back we stopped at a viewpoint of Hell's Canyon. Awesome. Collin ran through flowers which I noticed had a sign saying it was a protected area do not walk off the trail. Whoops. He also smelled really bad afterward. Like he walked through skunk flowers. Someone would be getting a bath when we got back.







We also decided to take a three hour train ride on the Eagle Cap Excursion Train. My logic being Collin loves trains, this would give us a chance to see the view and hopefully relax. Big mistake mama. After a stressful morning of searching for the cabin's keys--finally found shoved into the VCR by a certain toddler, we headed to the train which was about an hour and a half away. I was expecting a little more of a family friendly experience but the train, decorated with doilies and fake flowers was about 95% full of old people, many in cowboy hats. Many probably not used to a high energy two-year old running around.



There was one young family behind us with a boy about Collin's age to our relief. Of course as the train ride went on, the little boy was the nice quiet type who sat out the window pointing to the scenery unlike our child. Collin wiggled, screamed, quickly grew bored of his snacks and after finishing off a lollipop wasn't too fun. We took turns running up and down the rows and passing between cars. At least we didn't get any dirty looks, mostly just amusing glances and about five people remarked on "her beautiful golden curls."

Our one short stop was pretty random and full of long grass with an okay view of a river. We were warned to watch out for snakes. The whole train ride ended up being about four hours, we didn't get to appreciate the view because we were chasing Collin. The novelty of being on a "choo choo" wore off pretty early on in the trip. Oh well, we won't be doing any train rides again until Collin's a lot older unless it's a short city ride on the MAX.





We planned to take the tram up to Mt. Adams which apparently leads to a beautiful view but unfortunately it was closed for repairs. It just gives us another excuse to come back here. It was a little sad to leave our cabin. It was so relaxing and a perfect break from the city and work and life. Still Mike and I are definitely city people who love our 3G service and instant access to the Internet.

Our final stop for the trip was a little two day visit to Walla Walla, Washington which also broke up the trip nicely. Since we both love wine, we decided it'd be a fun little side trip. The drive to Walla Walla was full of golden fields of grain or maybe it was wheat...I'm not exactly Miss Agriculture. Lots of John Deere and farm equipment for sale, RV parks and welcome signs to towns that expanded about a mile.

A few hours later we hit Walla Walla and stayed at the Best Western which had a pool, big plus for Collin. Our room was spacious and we were hoping since we had pretty good luck with Collin sleeping on his big boy bed at the cabin that he'd sleep on the roll-away. We went off to venture the small city of Walla Wall and it was pretty cute. It definitely seemed like a wine/food town with not a whole lot of other stuff going on aside from some nice shops, mostly boutiques with clothes way out of my price range ($400 for a tunic!). We stopped at wine bar and Collin sucked on a lollipop while we did our first tasting and bought some nice whites. Dinner was tasty though Collin didn't appreciate his homemade fettuccine and we ate pretty fast. Luckily he slept on his bed and we all fell asleep about 830.

The next day we explored the Fort Walla Walla Museum which turned out to be pretty cool.



There was a pioneer village set up with genuine artifacts and period pieces set up in homes, a school house, a doctor's office, even a tee pee. Collin liked the covered wagon but was pretty peeved he wasn't allowed to climb on it. They had horse powered carriages that farmers used for agriculture in one section, an old prison cell, antique cars, and more. Collin's favorite part was definitely the kids play fort.





We met with a friend of Mike's from college for lunch who lives in town and after unsuccessfully trying to get Collin down for a nap decided to drive out to some vineyards for tastings. As soon as we started driving Collin promptly fell asleep. So we drove around for an hour and discovered a faster, scenic way to get back to I-84. After about an hour we stopped at Waterbrook, a commercial winery with a beautiful site. One of the owners (I think) was really friendly and offered to put on cartoons for Collin to watch on a cushy couch. Collin happily obliged and was content. Mom and Dad sampled wines. Most of them were pretty tasty and there were some good bargains so we ended up with a mixed case.

After our week long trip was over we headed home and the drive went pretty fast. While Collin isn't the easiest kid to travel with, I'm glad we got to experience northeastern Oregon and one of many family vacations. It was a good reminder that although I love to travel and want to see the world, there's still a lot to see close to home.

Vacation! And an Ode to Cheerios

We haven't been on an official vacation since Hawaii last Thanksgiving, so we were definitely ready for some time away from home.

Our friends, Katie and Rob had their wedding on beautiful San Juan Island so it was the perfect excuse for us to plan a trip. We didn't exactly get off to a relaxing start, with the four and a half hour drive consisting of bursts of screams. But as long as Collin stuffed his chubby cheeks with cheerios he was sort of content. We missed the first ferry and had to wait another three hours in Anacortes, WA with no place to go. After buying an absurdly expensive peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the cafe, Collin threw pieces of it on the ground and acted like it was poison. He proceeded to fall headfirst off a bench onto the hard floor with bloody lips, sending me into a panic and wondering where the nearest hospital was. Luckily it sounded much worse than it was. He was happy five minutes later with not even a bruise.

We stayed on San Juan Island for a couple days, had a fab time at the wedding (beautiful bride and groom, amazing setting, delish food, full bar, dancing). Plus I had an excuse to dress Collin in an argyle sweater vest. Collin behaved himself, happily gobbled up the food, then passed out in his portable crib inside while mom and dad partied a little. Of course Collin's 6 am wake up call still applies so it's hard to get motivated to stay out past eleven...

From San Juan Island Vancouver BC June 09

We then headed to Vancouver, B.C. for four nights and I scored us a great deal at a luxury hotel, complete with full kitchen which is handy with a toddler who needs milk and isn't always the best at restaurants (of course they don't tell you parking is $30 every night and should you want to use the Internet that's another $15 a day). Plus because we went over the magical border, phone rates, data usage, etc. skyrocketed so no Internet for us. There was also poor service in the San Juan's-- without access to Internet for three or four days, we were beginning to get the shakes. We did find a few free wi-fi spots...Mike and I casually stood at the entrances to cafes with our iphones in sync, scrolling down to check emails while we satisfied Collin with a cup of cheerios.





The weather in Vancouver was beautiful, between 70 and 75 degrees and the air smelled crisp. The streets just seem cleaner in Canada, the people friendly (except for a certain part of town that was overrun with porn shops, peep shows, and Heroin zombies). We walked a lot. Probably an average of five to ten miles a day. Through neighborhoods that sometimes looked a lot like Portland, other times reminded me of New York, and also went through the biggest China Town I've seen. Hopefully trecking all over the city, made up somewhat for all the food indulgences. Ah yes I can't mention my vacation without describing the eating. We found a hole-in-the-wall falafel place that was authentically delicious, sampled Japa Dog--a Japanese style hot dog stand right outside our hotel with mile-long lines...concept sounds a bit weird but my bratwurst marinated in soy sauce with radishes and green onion was quite tasty and I suddenly understood the hype. We also had amazing Indian take-out. Mike and I tried "poutine" basically French fries, with cheese curds and gravy. Sounds a little gross but actually addictive (and yeah terrible for you). I'm surprised it hasn't caught on in the U.S. Granville Island had a huge market which was basically my version of heaven...food glorious food, everywhere. Fresh baked bread, pastries, meat pies, fruit pies, jams, honeys, chutneys, chocolate, all local, all fresh. They had a Kid's Market which was also pretty cool. Lots of unique wooden toys and cute Olympic logo clothes for kids--overpriced of course.

We explored Stanley Park and the Aquarium with an awesome display of tropical and ancient looking fish. Collin played on the swings at the playground and we left without seeing the children's train and petting zoo because we were entering Collin melt-down phase. We also went to a cool suspension bridge park where Mike got to meet his boyhood dream of climbing up a giant tree house. The park was in the middle of a Canadian rain forest and complete with gorgeous views of the greenery and water below. We also had some grown-up time--again cheerios were the saving grace and went wine tasting about an hour outside of Vancouver where we picked up some nice bottles, all under $15.











Although Collin had his thrashing, high-pitched shrieking moments, for the most part, he was a flexible traveler. He dozed in his stroller, napped and slept fine in his portable crib in the hotel. He didn't seem too thrown off by schedule changes though we've never been regimented about any of that. He managed to stay out of trouble in the hotel rooms after some quick furniture rearranging. He probably consumed a whole box of cheerios and also loved the packs of yogurt with muesli which sadly they don't sell here.



On our trip home, we spent 90 minutes in line to pass the border. Collin and I played on the grass while Mike inched along. And of course there were cheerios...



After a humorless custom's agent questioned us, we headed to see my childhood best friend, Jodi, her husband Brent and their adorable kiddos Tucker and Bella in Blaine, WA. The three of them played in the wade pool and Collin chased after their two friendly Labs. Jodi and I reminisced about how we used to play with dolls and here we are with families of our own...life is crazy like that. After dinner and a nice break, we headed back to Portland. The timing was perfect with Collin's bedtime so he slept nearly the whole way back. Thanks to some speedy driving, we shaved about an hour off our trip and made it home in four hours!









So no more cheerios for a while...Though Collin won't remember this vacation, we'd like to think his view is expanded--even if he found the pebbles on the ground more fascinating than any of the sights. We'll carry the memories for now.