12 - Roll on Columbia, and Roll on Home

Wednesday morning we wished Ry a Happy 3rd Birthday, expressed our gratitude to Sarah for taking such good care of us, shared hugs all around, and headed east to see the Columbia River (and Washington on the other side!) Now we could have just driven over the bridge on I-5 into Washington and gazed at the mighty river. But what fun is that? Instead we drove out I-84 to find the Vista House. It had been a few years since the last time I was there, and I didn't remember how WINDY it is up on that bluff. Carly and I giggled as my hat blew off and she struggled not to blow away too! We laughed at the thought of her holding on to the railing and flapping in the wind like a flag.

See she's holding on tight!

The view of the river was worth the effort it took to stay grounded!


We discovered we were very close to Multnomah Falls, so why not drive a little farther east to see it too.




Enjoying a mango smoothie before a trip to the gift shop.


One more stop before leaving the big city --the Portland LDS Temple. The grounds were closed so we tried to get a picture from the street. Carly was very disappointed that she couldn't walk around the grounds or go inside.



We left Portland around 1 PM and planned to be back in Redding by dinner time the next day. Overnight in Grants Pass, say goodbye to Granny Barbara, stop in Mt. Shasta to fill our water bottles in the headwaters of the Sacramento... Home Sweet Home!

11 - More Favorite Photos

Here are a few more... all but one of these shots was taken by Sarah with her new digital Canon EOS.

10 - Just Hanging Out - A Little Down Time

On Tuesday afternoon we decided to stay cool by staying inside. The kids watched movies while Sarah tried to get some work done. It was nice to just hangout awhile after the last few days of "touristing."

Snuggling up to watch a movie



(This last one taken by Sarah. I'm thinking Ry adores his mom.)


Ry & Kelly built a Tinker Toy "Christmas Tree"



By that evening, Carly was a little more than homesick. So we agreed to get her home a day early. One more day in Portland to see the "Mighty Columbia", a night in Grants Pass, and then home to Redding. Eight days is a long time to be away from home when you are 7 years old!

9 - A Morning in Downtown Portland: Part 2

Tour Guides: Sarah, Sue, and the boys
Tourists: Carly and Kelly

No trip to Portland is complete for me without a visit to Powell's Books. If you are not familiar with Powell's --"Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books." Need I say more...

I don't think Carly was really aware of that she surrounded by millions of books... we never left the Children's section! She picked out a book for each of her sisters and brother; and two for herself. As for me, well I could have stayed all day... but we were shopping with 3 children who were looking forward to the fountain at Jamison Square.

Jamison Square is the cool hotspot in the Pearl District. The temperature was well on it's way to a high of 105 degrees and the fountain was the place to be.









(Last 3 photos taken by Sarah)

I am beginning to think these two fit together like "two peas in a pod", "peanut butter and jelly", "cheese and crackers"...

Before we headed home for lunch we took a quick trip across the street for "ice cream appetizers" from Cool Moon!

8 - A Morning in Downtown Portland: Part 1

Tour Guides: Sarah, Sue, Ben & Ry
Tourists: Kelly and Carly

Tuesday morning we set out early to beat the heat. Destination: Downtown Portland. Sarah drove us by TIS -The International School so we could see Ben & Ry's school.

Next stop: the Portland Aerial Tram I had been looking forward to riding the tram since we arrived in Portland. I wasn't disappointed. The views were breathtaking! Unfortunately, the heatwave was contibuting to the "smoggy" layer lying low over the city.

Tram from the bottom




View as we ascended to the top


Tram on the way up


Carly
Rylan









Ben



(The 3 individual photos were taken by Sarah)

Waiting...on tippy-toes





View as we descend

7 - Oregon Museum of Science & Industry

Tour Guides: Sarah, Ben & Ry
Tourists: Carly & Kelly

As I browse my pictures from our afternoon at OMSI, I remember being 11 or 12 years old and climbing into the very same space shuttle pictured below. At that time OMSI was in a small building across the parking lot from the Portland Zoo -now called the Oregon Zoo. Now OMSI is located on the east bank of the Willamette River in downtown Portland and covers 219,000 square feet.

Astronauts Ben & Carly



Weather Girl: Caroline Babcock



Making Music



Building Streams in the Watershed Exhibit



Ry finds his own little corner of the water table.



The whole team gets in on building and sailing boats.



"Is it working?"

6 - Oregon Zoo

Tour Guides: Sarah, Sue, Ben & Ry
Tourists: Carly & Kelly

The Oregon Zoo is definitely a "must see" attraction while visiting Portland. There have been so many renovations, improvements, and additions over the years that I hardly recognized it as the same zoo I took the girls to 20 years ago.

Unfortunately Carly's camera battery died within the first exhibit; mine went about 20 minutes later - and I forgot to bring my spare. Sarah was equiped with her brand new camera so we still have photos to commemorate the day. Thanks for sharing Sarah!

We arrived shortly after the gates opened and were home by lunch time. Official high temperature in Portland would reach 102 degrees by afternoon. I was hoping to escape some of the summer heat by traveling north in July. Yet we ended up in Portland during a record breaking heatwave.















All photos taken by Sarah Carter Adams