Final Stop -- Bend, Oregon

Our final stop on the tour was to Bend, OR.  I was hoping on our way from Portland to Bend that we could stop by Salem and McMinnvillee and show the girls where we used to live and work, but didn't have enough time.

We started slowly making our way higher and higher and finally Mt. Bachelor

came into view.

We made it to Bend and got all unpacked. We were staying at my Uncle Carl's

house there and it was so nice.

We just hung out and chatted with everyone and then us ladies

went to downtown Bend to shop and look around.

We played bingo and ate a lot of ice cream :)

The next day, we took some family pictures.

All the photographers.

Uncle Carl and Aunt Tami had to go, and then the rest of us drove

to Mount Bachelor.

We took the ski lift up to the top to check out the view and have some

lunch. We got to play in the snow for a minute too.

On the Fourth of July we went to the annual pet parade that is held in downtown Bend.

I loved it! The girls loved it too. We all thought it was great. Then we went to a park and

walked around a festival .

Our first date was on the 4th of July.

The rest of the 4th we just hung around the house. Grilled out and waited

for it to get dark. We drove to a parking lot to watch a fireworks show

that the city puts on.

Waiting for dark.

We all floated the Deschutes River. It was so much fun, but took quite

a lot of effort to get the inner tubes because it was just so busy.

I didn't take my camera because, Water, but it was a fun day.

We spent our last full day in Bend at the Museum.

It was a great place to visit. We spent all day there.

And then some random pictures of the town and neighbor hood and sunsets

and sunrises and flowers.

So many round-abouts in Bend!!

Our flight home was delayed in leaving Bend by two hours.

We then landed in Salt Lake City and ran our legs off to make

the connection to Atlanta.

We landed in ATL and all the luggage made it!

Went to pick up our car and get home. It was 1;30 ish

before we got to bed.

A really fun and interesting trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Travelling takes time and effort and money. But it is worth it.

To show our kids and ourselves other places and people is always

a good idea.

Also, it is good to be home!!

Second Stop -- Portland, Oregon

We left Washington state and drove down to Portland,OR.

We dropped off our stuff our Airbnb and headed out to see the city.

We started at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU).

I thought it might be fun to ride the tram from the hospital.

The tram was built to transport employees, but anyone can ride it.

Once at the bottom, we found a map of the area and started to walk

towards the waterfront.

One thing we figured out quickly is that Portland is a big time bike riding

kind of town. So many people on bikes, They have special lanes and street

lights just for bicycles.

We took the girls to the waterfront and showed them the restaurant,

McCormick and Schmidt. It was where Raphael and I had our first date.

Trying to figure out how the water fountain works.

We had dinner and walked back to the tram.

Most mornings on our trip, I got up early and went running. I loved our house in Portland.

It was in the "Hollywood" district and had some cute, old fashioned houses.

I enjoyed all the flowers in the neighborhood. It brought back memories of our

garden in Washington.

Found several of these little libraries. "leave a book, take a book".

We ate breakfast at The Screen Door. A very popular restaurant that serves

Southern food with a Northwest twist. Whatever they call it, we loved the food.

The almost hour wait was worth it.

We only had one full day in Oregon, so we decided to go see the Pacific Ocean.

We went to Cannon Beach.

The girls' first time seeing the Pacific. It was a little different than the Gulf of Mexico that they

are used to.  The water is cold and it was a cloudy and foggy day.

We walked the beach and went to check out Haystack Rock.

We finished with pizza and another quick look at the ocean.

Then it was time to go back to the house. We needed to pack up and

get ready to drive to Bend, OR the next morning.