Oregon, July 2012

Clearly I am quite far behind on this blog...Today I will make an attempt to bring this more up to date!

I will have to come back to Grandma Perry's 95th birthday because I do not have the pictures I want for that post, so we will move on to Oregon.

Mike had a conference in Portland Oregon and we decided it would be fun to take the girls there. 
Here is what we did:

DAY 1:

Jansyn's first airplane ride (Deryn's 3rd).  We have many "cloud" pictures which I will not post, but here are a couple from the airplane.

 Once we arrived and picked up our rental car, we headed for the Portland Aerial Tram.  The ride up provides a nice view of the city.  The tram stops at a hospital at the top of the hill.

This is the view from the hospital balcony....  It's beautiful!

There was art work, sculptures, and a garden area to enjoy at the hospital.  Here is Jansyn sliding down the stair railing ..... She is copying her FATHER  :)  I think he is just a kid at heart.

DAY 2:

After dropping Mike off at his conference, the girls and I headed for Cannon Beach.  It was a beautiful drive - we are not used to so much green!  Deryn was excited because she got to sit in the front seat and navigate for me.     The water was a little colder than I would have liked, but it was fun to watch the girls play in the water.  They had fun jumping over waves and looking for sea shells and sand dollars.   I was torn between playing with them and taking pictures.  I was never brave enough to get completely wet like they did - way too cold for my liking.   It was the first time any of us have ever played in the ocean, and Jansyn's first time seeing the ocean.

 Here is an action shot of "wave jumping".  Looks like Jansyn' is kneeling on top of the wave!

And of course, who could resist cartwheeling in the ocean .... clearly not Jansyn!

Haystack Rock

To end day two, we went to see ICE AGE 4.  We loved this movie!   Movie tickets were a bit more expensive in Oregon ... $10.50 per ticket.  Can you say OUCH!?  I probably should have just bought the movie for that cost. 

DAY 3: 

Tuesday morning we went to the Zoo, and forgot the camera ..... oops! 
That night we were excited to take the girls to Multnomah Falls.  Mike and I hiked this several years ago with his family when we went to visit his grandparents.  It was fun to share with the girls how quickly Grandpa Harmon hiked this trail leaving us all behind huffing and puffing.  I am proud to say the hike was a little easier for me this time around. 

The trail takes you to the top of the waterfall overlooking the Columbia River.  In this picture you can see the bridge and the parking lot below.

DAY 4: 

We signed Deryn up for a girls science workshop at the conference Mike was attending.  She was not as excited about this opportunity as we were.  That is where she spent day 4 and 5 Wednesday & Thursday).

Jansyn and I went to the Pittock Mansion because she has always wanted to see a real mansion.  This mansion was owned by the man who owned the Oregon newspaper.     We spent a good two or three hours here.   We walked through the mansion again, and again.  She was so fascinated and excited by everything!  We took a bunch of pictures, but I will only post a few here.

 Jansyn loved these pink goblets at the breakfast table (yes there were separate rooms and tables for breakfast and dinner).  She was also quite fascinated with the many cabinets filled with figurines, dishes, etc. 

That night we hiked the Beacon Rock trail.  This was on the Washington side of the Columbia River.

 The trail was built by the man named on this plaque.  He wanted to make it possible to climb to the top of the rock.  He later sold it for $1.00 to the state of Oregon. 

 Scaffolding like this is the trail he made to reach the top of the rock.  Deryn is the very small person on the trail in blue.  She does not love hiking and she did not love this activity, but eventually she made it to the top.

 The view from the top....

 Jansyn & Mike kissing their biceps.... they are on the highest tip of the rock and feeling very strong for making the climb! 

DAY 5:  

This turned out to be a very lazy day.   We took Mike and Deryn to the conference center and then Jansyn just wanted to relax.  I spent the morning doing homework while she watched her favorite movie.  After lunch we played games and read.   

That night we went to see a place called The Grotto.  It was a beautiful, primarily outdoor, place of worship.  There was also a church.

 

DAY 6:

Time to leave.... Mike's conference ended at noon.  While he worked, we packed.  Then we headed for our last stop - a tour of a real submarine.

 Inside the submarine in one of the control rooms.  We got to look through periscopes here.

Finally, we grabbed some pizza and then hoped to pick up a donut at the famous Voodoo donut shop.  We did not realize it would be so popular and the line so long... we did not have time to wait.....

 so, we ended up with cupcakes from Cupcake Jones instead.  I must say my red velvet, cream cheese cupcake was delightful!

According to Deryn, the going rate of fun for this vacation was 70%.   She estimated 30% of her vacation was not fun because she was at the conference learning about science.