Oregon: Day 2 & 3

We were in Oregon for five full days, and each was filled with activity. We actually stayed in Vancouver, Washington, 15 minutes from the Portland airport which was SO convenient. But most of our days were spent within Oregon. There is so much to do there within a 2 hour driving distance, and we didn't even do all of it! I bought some good Asics walking/running shoes a few days before we left for our trip and it's a good thing I did! They have gel insoles and are so comfy. We walked our butts off during the trip! It's amazing how nice weather and beautiful scenery can turn me into such a walking machine. ;) When it's hot out here in Florida, the last thing I want to do is spend the day walking around outside. I get ankle pain if I walk a lot, and the shoes really helped with support.

We were fortunate to be there during some really nice weather. That area is more known for cloudy, rainy days. But it was sunny every day, with mostly mild temperatures. The only day that started out cloudy and a little chilly(sweet relief for these Floridians) was the Sunday we were there, but by the afternoon the clouds had cleared and it was sunny again, and in the lovely 70's.

Day 1, Mt. Hood: So our first full day was spent going to Mt. Hood, which I posted about already, two posts back. I miss that mountain.

Day 2, Downtown Portland:

Crossing bridge border into Oregon from Washington(where our motel was)

Started cloudy, ended sunny

The Saturday Street Market -but on Sunday! They still call it the Saturday Street Market on Sundays. It started as only on Saturdays, but it was so popular they extended it to Sunday. This is a handicraft, import, handmade marketplace. There are also a variety of food stalls.

So we went to the Market for awhile, ate lunch there, then took a free light rail (metro train) to Pioneer Courthouse Square. We hung out there for a little while, and then took the light rail back to the Market and we were hungry again! So we ate some more food.

We already had done a bit of walking around that day, and by the time we got back to our car an hour or so later, we wanted ice cream. (hehe) So we actually got out of our car to leave it in the same parking spot (we had gotten a great deal, $3 to park it until 6pm. You know how it is in the "city", you can't just park for free, or even cheap, usually!) We walked several blocks back to the Pioneer Square area to a Ben & Jerry's. YUM. We shared an ice cream. We did a lot of sharing on the trip. To save money, and to save calories. After that we were too tired out already, and found the right route to get on the light rail again for a free, quick ride right back to near our car was parked.

Hmmm this may turn into a longer post than I had imagined!! I may need to break it up into another day of posting.

But for now, I will go on to...

Day 3, Cannon Beach:
It was the 4th of July! We had decided that we were going to drive to Cannon Beach, on the coast of Oregon. It took us almost 2 hours to get there due to a gas and food stop, and a little bit of traffic. I was yet again blown away by the state of Oregon. The drive to the beach was actually sometimes more "mountainy" feeling than the drive to Mt. Hood had been! It seems the Mt. Hood road is wider and has less steep areas, yet Mt. Hood was much higher than the road to the beach. I couldn't believe that in order to get to the beach, we had to drive up and down curvy mountain roads. So different than Florida! Flat Florida. So you are still driving down from higher hills when you are about to reach the beach. And then even when you get there, the houses and shops along the beach are higher up on hills. And mountains/hill stretch right into the sandy shores and in some places all the way to the water!

And get this. We were chilled on the 4th of July! That has never happened to us. We had our jackets on at first. While walking around the town in the sun, we got warm enough to take them off. But once we were down on the extra windy beach, we were cold! I kept feeling like it was October and not the 4th of July. And that made me happy! Because it's just so hot in Florida for so long. It was a quaint little town there. It was crowded since it was a holiday. But it was still enjoyable.

We left the beach around 6:30pm so that we could get back to our motel before dark. The time difference was the most complicated when dealing with our son's sleep schedule. It all got messed up! But we survived. :) We were in PJs in our motel room by the time all the fireworks were going on. Our son fell asleep and me and my husband peaked out the room window for a few minutes watching lots of little fireworks displays going on in the distance. They didn't start until around 9pm, which was midnight to our bodies!

So I think that's all I will post for today. This took a really long time! I will post the rest tomorrow or Wednesday. :) It's going to be about waterfalls, lookout points, a zoo, and a large rose garden.