Portland and the 4th

This Fourth of July we headed north to Portland to visit our good friends Anna and Tyler and their daughter Maddie.  The drive was long- 10 hours with all the stops.  Thanks to Cairo, we stopped five times before we even left California... but, we made it.  Anna and Tyler recently purchased their first home and we got to be their first guests! The accommodations were very comfortable- it's always nice to stay in kid friendly environments.

This picture is a good reflection of Cairo's mood while we were driving to Portland.  On the other hand, Jonah was great!-

While we were there Anna let Cairo help her plant some flowers-

We also got to enjoy the local Farmer's Market, went for a hike in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, visited the Portland Rose Garden, toured some neighborhoods of Portland, and took some nice walks on the many local trails.  We also spent lots of time hanging around the house, relaxing, eating, and playing.  Cairo and Maddie had an especially fun time jumping on our blow up bed.  Can you say chaos?

Hiking in the gorge-  Everything was VERY green and breathtaking... and it is only a short drive from Anna and Tyler's.  We stayed for a picnic lunch and took in some scenery.

After our hike we drove a short distance to a lookout of the Columbia River- gorgeous!

Getting ready for a picture with three little kids is never easy... but we managed to get a decent one.

Our visit to the Portland Rose Garden was complete with running around, smelling flowers, and rolling down grassy hills.  What can be better?

Aside from having to stay an extra day because I got the stomach flu/ food poisoning (?), we had a great time.  Anna was really trying to sell Portland to us... and she did a pretty good job.  It is absolutely beautiful, there are parks and trails everywhere, it's a environmentally conscious city, it is super kid friendly, and fairly inexpensive.  If moving to Arcata doesn't workout, Portland has some really good potential.