8.28.2013

Seattle, WA

Goodness gracious I am behind!  We have been back in DC for a little over a week and I am finally finding the time to blog.  I've gotta get caught up before this baby comes!

So, to pick up where I left off in our crazy busy summer, just a few days after Mimi and Pop left, Gran and Grandy (my parents) came for a visit.  They were with us for just a few days before Jesse and I took a weekend trip to Seattle.  They kept Turner for us so we could take somewhat of a "babymoon." We took the Bolt Bus from Portland and within just a few minutes on the bus, we thought "wow, is this what it was like to not have a kid??" We could just sit there, talk, read, sleep, whatever and not have to think about anyone else.  The entire weekend was such a great break from life with a toddler.

When we got to Seattle, we checked into the Hilton downtown, just to find out that the air conditioner in our room wasn't working.  After telling the hotel staff we got upgraded to a better room! Woo Hoo! We got ready for the night and hit the town. That night we had dinner at a Nijo Sushi and then explored the city some. We ended the night at The Pie Bar with fantastic pie and drinks.

The next morning we hit up Pike Place Market and continued to eat our way through the city. Sadly I can't remember the names of everywhere we snacked, but if we saw something that looked good, we enjoyed ourselves! We took naps in the afternoon and then went to see The Great Gatsby that night.  We seriously considered going back to the Pie Bar... because it was THAT good. But as good as pie sounded, the bed sounded equally as good to this preggo.

On our last morning, we woke up, got coffee and breakfast burritos and checked out Freeway Park.  One of Jesse's favorite landscape architects, Lawrence Halprin designed an awesome fountain in this park.  We spent a good amount of time walking around Freeway Park and enjoying the morning. We thought we had a lot of time, so we walked around the city a good bit more, doing a little shopping, looking for some art, and just wasting time until our bus left for Portland.  Well, it's always a good idea to double check your travel details, because we had our departure time wrong and MISSED THE BUS! We frantically made it to the train station, with just a few minutes til departure, we bought tickets for one of the last trains to Portland.  We stood in the long line waiting to board the train just to find out that the train was having a maintenance issues and we would be on a charter bus back.  We were really bummed... after missing our bus and having to pay for another way home, we at least were excited to be on a train.  Well, we board the charter bus and wait..... and wait..... and wait..... and finally hours later, we get on the road back to Portland.






















Jesse is obsessed with poke.

I am obsessed with flowers.





Isn't this a great picture?? Such a surprise when we were looking through our photos.  Sorry, dude.

The Bubblegum Wall







Overall, we had a great weekend getaway in Seattle.  We both had always wanted to visit Seattle and since it is just a couple of hours away from Portland we knew we wanted to get up there this summer. So thankful that Gran and Grandy were able to come keep Turner so we could go.  I think they also loved getting a weekend alone with him.  They went to Cannon Beach for the weekend and visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory (a local cheese factory that makes amazing cheese)! Getting back to Portland was nice, but one of the best things was the HUGE HUG I got from my Turner man when we got back to the apartment.  Because I am with him 24/7, its rare that I get one of those "I missed you so much" hugs.  He seriously wouldn't let go for a while.  So sweet.

Grandy flew back home and Gran stayed a few more days so that she could fly back with me and Turner for our month in Mississippi! ...but that is for another post.  If you ever get a chance to visit Seattle, do it! We loved our little weekend there.

8.01.2013

Yachats, OR

So Kelley left town on a Tuesday and Jesse's parents came in town Friday to visit.  We were excited to have more family come to see us so soon!  They got in town early afternoon, so Jesse took off work and came home a little early.  We took them to eat at one of our favorite places in Portland -Pine State Biscuits.  The owners are from North Carolina and they serve all kinds of southern goodness! We had fried chicken biscuits with cheddar, bacon, a fried egg, and gravy along with grits, collard greens, black eyed peas, and sweet tea in mason jars. Yummmmmy.  After dinner we played with Turner at a neighborhood park then found a little bit more room in our bellies for some ice cream at Salt and Straw. Again, Yummmmmmy.  Mrs. Terry had honey balsamic strawberry with cracked pepper, I had cinnamon snicker doodle, and Jesse had smoked hefeweizen.



The next morning we put Turner's car seat in Mimi and Pop's car and Jesse and I got to ride all by ourselves for 3 1/2 hours to Yachats, OR! Yachats is also on highway 101 along the Oregon coast, but further north than where we explored the weekend before.  We stayed in a house right on the water and only left for food!  It was too cold and windy to have much beach time, but we had some lovely views from the house. It was so very relaxing to have a long weekend on the coast.