Vacation

Hello everybody! It has been too long. I just returned from my very first vacation, and boy was it great! This blog will be a little longer, and there will be a lot of pictures because I have so much to share with you.
The story behind our Northwest adventure is two fold. First, Daddy's good friend, David Leo, was getting married. He lives in California and his lady lives in Seattle. They planned their nuptials in Olympia. That is why we were headed to Washington. Second, Mommy and Daddy had talked a few times about Oregon's Willamette Valley and how it would be nice to visit sometime, as some say it rivals Napa Valley. Those two things resulted in an 8 night, 7 day trip for our family.
I was so excited to go on our vacation. I helped Mom and Dad pack!

Day 1


My favorite Mimi was nice enough to take us to the airport. Here's a picture of us before setting off on our trip. My first plane ride was a blast. I got to sit on Mommy and Daddy's laps and look out the window. I stayed awake the whole day (14 hours straight) and didn't fuss once. My parents were so happy. Is this Portland? Once we landed in Portland, we basically just hit the sack because it was so late. I didn't let anyone in the hotel get much shut eye though; my top tooth came in! It hurt quite a bit that night, so I was pretty upset, but that next morning I was good to go.


Day 2

We spent the first half of our day in Portland. Our first stop was at Portland's famous Voodoo Doughtnuts. This place was nothing to look at. It was a tiny closet sized space, but inside it housed the most delicious doughnuts that I've ever eaten. Mommy and Daddy agreed...and they've eaten quite a few more than I have.
Here are some pictures of our tasty treats.

Next we went to a great park just outside of the city. It had a giant rose garden as well as trails and a fun park for me. Here are just a few of the shots from the rose garden.


Here are a couple of me taking in the slide and the swing.

That night was Dave's wedding. He and Amy had a beautiful ceremony, one that I felt could only be improved upon by my non-stop singing. I thought it added something, but Mom thought otherwise, so we walked around the very back of the church to take in the last half of the wedding. (Mom knows I don't feel like singing when we are walking around, and I'm sure the bride and groom appreciated being able to hear their own music selections and vows.) At the wedding, we got to see Dad's good friend, Matt. Here is a picture of Dad, Dave, and Matt at the reception. What a fun night! Here is my family...
Day 3

The next morning we headed out for Seattle. It was a nice drive. Everywhere we went was mountainous and covered in evergreens. Beautiful! We had to do the touristy stuff first. Here I am at the Space Needle. Then we went to the Experience Music Project. I did a little scratching...Then I checked out all kinds of guitars.
I got to put my musical talents to work on the keys. Unfortunately, my "tickling the ivories" was more like beating on a drum, so they just let me play the drums the rest of the day. I couldn't get enough of this!Seattle was such a cool town, the perfect mix of industry and nature. The skyline is gorgeous and sits right on the water ; you can look one way and see Mt. Rainier and the other and see the Olympic Mountains. I heard Mom and Dad briefly talk about moving here, but that could have just been me drifting off to sleep and imagining things. We took a little walk along Alki Beach before eating at Salty's. We ate dinner on the water and this friendly little seagull kept watching me. The waitress brought me a balloon for being such a good boy.
Then we drove around and checked out the skyline at night. Day 4

The next morning we hit the road early to take in the rest of the city. We went to a park and then to the Chittenden Locks. At the locks, we got to watch the salmon "running" and also see a couple of big ships come through the locks. That was pretty neat. Next we hit one of Seattle's most famous locales, Pike Place Market. We had cheesecake, all kinds of good food, and watched the fish fly at the fish market. I had a chat with this piggy, too. Then we were off to the Olympic Sculpture Park. I took a nap during this portion of the tour; I guess I haven't developed an appreciation for the arts just yet. Mommy and Daddy do some pretty silly things when I snooze. They enjoyed the sculpture park.When I woke up, we were getting seated at Elliott's Oyster bar. I am not sure what kind of crazy stuff Mom and Dad were slurping down, but the nice waiter gave me all kinds of fun cups to play with, so I was a happy boy. To wrap up the night we watched the sunset from the pier and said farewell to the beautiful surroundings. Day 5

As we left Seattle to head to the coast, we stopped to fuel up on Seattle's best doughnuts at Top Pot. These were tasty, but they had nothing on my Voodoo nummy numms. Driving to the coast seemed like it took forever. I got in a couple of cat naps, but wanted to stay awake to see the awesome scenery. Once we reached the coast, I got to see the ocean for the very first time. We were all ready to get in the water, but the Ocean at Canon Beach was a lot cooler than any of us had expected. I got my piggies wet and called it a day. After toweling our toes off, we headed out on a hike. The sign said 2.7 miles, and although they were sporting flip flops, the terrain wasn't stroller friendly so they would have to carry me, and the sun was rapidly setting, Mom and Dad thought it was totally doable. After a few minutes they were questioning the decision. Once we reached the top there was an amazing view of a lighthouse and a great look at the beach and cliffs. It was worth the trek. When we got to the bottom again we realized that it rose in elevation about 700 feet. Mom and Dad both wished they would have had tennis shoes on.
Day 6

The next day we set out for Willamette Valley. We drove the Pacific Coast Highway and got to see the ocean, sand dunes, and lots of trees and hills. We also got to see a lighthouse. Boy that light was big. It's probably a lot brighter than my nightlight, too. There was no mistaking when we finally got to Willamette Valley because all you could see were vineyards in every direction. We stopped at four vineyards and Daddy sampled some of their "grape juice". He thought it was tasty. This is a 400 year old grape press where they squish them up. I can do that with my hands pretty well. Then we headed to the capital of Salem for the evening where we took a dip in the pool as family.

Day 7

On Thursday we headed for The Gorge. The Columbia River is ginormous! We stopped to take pictures at the Vista House. Then we stopped to take in Multnomah Falls. That's a big splash. We also hiked to a smaller set of falls called Wahkeenah Falls. We drove the Scenic Highway all the way to Hood River. Hood River is famous for its fruits, so much so that there is a highway route called the "Fruit Loop". We drove around and had some samples of various fresh jams at a country store. I got to try some freshly picked peaches, grapes, and blueberries. Then we sipped down a huckleberry shake. We stopped at a toy store in downtown Hood River where I got this cool airplane toy so I can remember my first trip.
Day 8

Our last full day we took in Mt. Hood. We got our first glimpse of this majestic mountain when we flew into Portland on the first day. It was only fitting that our vacation ended with Mt. Hood. We drove half way up and took some pictures. It was quite a bit colder up there than it was down below. What would a trip to Oregon be without the Oregon Trail? We drove for a bit on the Barlow Toll Route. Here I am sitting in the middle of where the trail used to be.
Day 9
We got a call our last morning from my Aunt Genessa to tell us that I have a new cousin. Brannen Luke was born that morning. Then we headed back to Indiana. I survived 4 plane rides and over a thousand miles driving, as well as 8 nights in a hotel. I did a great job traveling. Mimi greeted us at the airport and shortly after we arrived at our house. What a great vacation! I can't wait to do it again!
Thanks for checking in on me...see you next week!