Campfire Time

Dash Point is the first campsite that we have been able to have a campfire.  All the boys were excited about this.  Garrett and Gannon love roasting marshmallows simply to roast them.  They could care less about making and eating s'mores.  Gannon of course wanted to eat the graham crackers which he can't have so he was allowed 1 for a treat.  Dave loves the campfires to relax and enjoy a cold beverage after the boys go to bed.  I like the heat of a campfire, but not a big fan of how you smell after especially when we don't have laundry services for a week and I'm not drinking until after the half marathon this weekend.  I did enjoy the campfire with Dave for a bit. 



Dash Point Nature Walk

Our campsite for our stay near Seattle was about 25 minutes from downtown at Dash Point State Park.  The park was beautiful and had hiking/walking trails all over.  By our campsite there was a trail head that lead to the beach so after dinner we went on a nature walk to check it out.  What a cool trail with steps, bridges, and a creek.  Although it was sunny it was a little chilly and if it had been warm the boys would have loved to get a little wet in the Pudget Sound which was the beach that it connected to.  They enjoyed getting the feet wet in the high tide.  If you didn't know you were 5 minutes away from a Nordstorms you would never know by the scenery. It was so beautiful it felt like you were in the forest.

Final Adventure in Portland...the Tram

There is a hospital at the top of Portland and they needed more office space and the solution was to build more at the bottom by the river.  To connect the hospital and the office they build a tram!  The tram carries employees, visitors, patients, and tourists up and down.  It was a quick ride and Gannon was so confused why we would visit a hospital.  He wanted to know if he was going to get his teeth cleaned...no buddy, just looking.  Five minutes later we rode back down. 

Last adventure for Portland and we are off to a new place tomorrow. 

Jetboat and Williamette Falls

When researching activities for the day and not wanting to drive too far on an "off" driving day we decided to book a jet boat tour on the Williamette.  The jet boat takes you on a tour of the river under the various types of bridges and to the Williamette water falls.  Garrett loved the speed of the boat and Gannon would duck and take cover every time boat would go super fast.  He didn't want his face to get wet and after a few times it became a game, he was giggling laughing as his face was buried into me.  I had to explain to him that when the guy was "telling a story" he wasn't going to go fast.  He caught on and knew when to take cover.  Our driver/guide was great to not get us too wet and I'm pretty sure we have our boys to thank for that. It was a fun two hour adventure.

We packed our lunch and after the boat ride we had a "tailgate" in the parking lot.  It was a super fun adventure.

First Donuts Ever....

Voodoo Donuts is a legend in Portland and has been on TV for their wacky donuts.  We saw in when we were down for the Saturday market, but the line was huge.  Today being a Monday we thought we would swing by to check the line and come to find out it wasn't bad.  We decided to wait and check out what all the hype was about.  Garrett and Gannon have never had a donut so they weren't too sure what to expect, but a donut with M&M's - who can you go wrong.  That was Garrett's choice, Gannon picked one with lots of sprinkles, Dave had a glaze with fruit loops, and I had to go for maple bacon that I'd seen on TV.  These donuts were yummy!  Garrett and Gannon both ate about half their donuts and I think were on a huge sugar high when they were done!  Fun breakfast.  Taking the chalkboard picture today was when Dave realized I was on the wrong day!  Oops we'll be back on track tomorrow.

Aunt Eleanor and Family

When Dave's Mom heard of our trip she said we should make sure to stop by and see Dave's Great Aunt Eleanor who is 93 in Vancouver.  We were puzzled because there was no way we were going to be able to see them, Vancouver was not close to any of our stops, thinking British Columbia.  Well, Vancouver, Washington is only about a 10 minute ride and over a bridge to their place!  Eleanor's son Tom and his wife Kate were so great and invited us to come visit and have dinner.  Dave hadn't see his Aunt Eleanor since his Grandmother passed away 20 years ago.  It was such a nice afternoon to visit and Kate was great with the boys, having tons of toys ready for them to play.  Tom and his brother Steve have done lots of family history research so it was fun to hear lots of stories about the family and learn more about Dave's family. 

Dinner, dessert, and visiting with Tom, Kate, Steve, and Aunt Eleanor was an amazing afternoon.

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Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

OMSI, as it's called, it such a cool museum.  We could have literally stayed here and played all day.  After four hours Garrett and Gannon were still thrilled to explore and play.  There were lots of hands on exhibits throughout the museum and we even saw a Cardboard Rocket show.  The Cardboard Rocket show was a 30 minute show in a dome theater about a cardboard rocket that travels thru space to all the planets.  At each planet it would stop and give a little education on each one.  Gannon was in heaven watching this show and he was screaming, "I want to see it again" when it was over!  Poor guy, it was really cute.  Mommy had to try out a few pushups in the Health and Wellness exhibit. We found the kids exploration area toward the end of our visit and the kitchen/store area was the boys favorite.