Portlandia

With a whole 2.5 days off over Labor-Day weekend during my month-long stint in the neuro ICU (during which I work overnight every 4th night), Kyle suggested a last-minute get-away to Portland, OR.

It was a great weekend get-away, filled with fantastic Sam moments and perfect parent moments, too.

We had been prepping Sam for the trip. He's been interested in all moving vehicles lately, so we thought he'd be excited to ride the train. The night prior, our friend Pauline came over for dinner. Sam opened the front door and as she was walking up exclaimed, "Daddy and Mommy and Sammy and Pauline going on a train!" Clearly, he was really excited.

Here we are waiting for the Cascades train, a 3.5 hour trip from Seattle to Portland.

We arrived in Portland and dropped our things off. Using our new credit card points, we rewarded our consumerism with a little "free" night at the shmantsy  "Nines" Hotel downtown:

Then we found some lunch at a near-by food cart. They are all the rave in Portland.

We took Sam to a fantastic toy store and enjoyed watching him play with marbles and a ride-on motorcycle-like bicycle. We picked up a new fire-engine themed puzzle to entertain Sam during the trip.

When Sam got sleepy, we kicked the stroller back into recliner mode (have I mentioned how much I love our stroller) and he napped for over an hour.

Kyle and I browsed the aisles at Powell's Books and each found a new book. We got iced-coffee and settled into chairs at the cafe and read. In silence. For an hour.

Heaven. 

When Sam woke, up we walked him over to the waterfront and found a public fountain to play in. Sam was shrieking and laughing and splashing while Kyle and I enjoyed a beer from the nearby festival. 

Sheer joy.

We rented a surrey bike and pedaled a 3-mile loop around the Portland water-way. The weather was perfect.

The next day, we enjoyed a trip to the zoo. The exhibits on the Pacific Northwest were especially cool. We also sat on the lawn and watched a presentation on predatory birds that included the birds flying over the audience. It was particularly awesome to see a bald eagle fly right over us.


Later, we kicked back the stroller again for Sam to nap. Kyle and I found a perfect lunch spot outside a tavern under an umbrella. With the little-one quiet, we people-watched and read over beers and lunch.

Ahhh...