A Cold Vacation.

Airline ticket pricing is confusing.
A few weeks ago, Nick and I were throwing the idea around of going to Seattle over Father's Day weekend. I went online and found some decent airline prices. But I didn't purchase them immediately, and the next day the cost had skyrocketed.
We explored some other options, and eventually nixed the idea of Seattle.
We were actually debating about whether to go to Albuquerque (to visit friends), or to head to St. George, UT.
We kept putting the decision off, and literally: days before we were supposed to leave, I looked at airline prices again.
The cost to Seattle was astronomical!
But to fly in to Portland was economical.
We decided we'd fly in to Portland, and then just drive up to Seattle. We had plenty of Marriott credits, and had originally planned to stay in Seattle the entire time.

But, things never turn out the way you think they will. STORY OF MY LIFE!
Reagan came down with a cold a day-and-a-half before we were set to leave. I was just hoping that no one else got it.
The morning we left, Nick said he felt a cold coming on. I started to feel it on the plane. Elsa's nose started running when we deplaned in Portland.
I didn't want to subject the kids to a plane ride, and a long car ride in the same day; so I re-arranged our hotel reservations, and we spent our first night in Portland.

Our first stop was at the Waffle Window. My friend Janetta did a post about this place a while ago, and I've wanted to go there ever since.
While we were waiting for our waffles, Nick played a game of chase with Reagan, and attempted to keep her out of puddles.

We ordered three waffles, and they were all buttery, crispy, deliciousness! We had the Blueberry waffle, the strawberry rhubarb waffle, and a waffle that had cheese, black forest ham, and maple syrup. Nick and I both agreed that the maple syrup one was the best of the three, but all of them were better than any waffle we've had before.


Our next stop was at the Portland Zoo. It was amazing! It was very rainy, but the zoo was still very busy. Pacific Northwestern'ers know that if you let the rain get in the way of doing anything, you'd never get anything done :)

Reagan stuck her head in the T-Rex's mouth.

The penguin exhibit was top-notch! The penguins were so playful! Reagan ran around laughing at the penguins for 15 minutes! She didn't want to leave the enclosure.

I don't think the measuring stick on this poster was correct. It said that the black bear was six feet tall, but Nick is 6'5", and he looks like he is the same height as the black bear. Oh well. Fun picture opportunity.

The Portland Zoo has an authentic steam train that takes visitors on a half-hour train ride through the grounds.

By this time, Elsa was freezing cold! Unlike her sister, Elsa doesn't enjoy rain.
I didn't have a blanket for her. Mother of the year,I know. Nick improvised a way to warm her up.

As I mentioned, the train ride was 30 minutes long. It was a little too long for Reagan. She was very DONE with pictures by the end of the ride.


The following day, we headed to Seattle. Reagan's cold was gone. But this was the day that the three other people in our family were the most "under the weather".
Our first stop was at Pike's. I would have to say that we didn't enjoy it as much as usual, we pretty much just went "through the motions".
A brockwurst (veal and pork) at Taxi Dog, donuts from the donut cart, several samples at different booths, and we were spent.



On the way to our hotel, Elsa started to have a melt-down. To make matters worse, I booked a room at the Residence Inn, in Bothell. I didn't realize how inconvenient of a location it was, until we got there. It was cheaper to stay in Bothell, than to stay in Seattle, or Bellevue; but it didn't turn out to be worth it.
We checked in to the hotel, and the first room they sent us to had definitely not seen the maid service yet! Words cannot describe the disgusting state the prior tenants had left this room in!
Granted, I don't leave our hotel rooms in pristine condition when we check-out; but I don't leave any messes for the maid's that I wouldn't want to clean up myself. AND I always leave a tip for the cleaning service.
Gross, gross, gross. Is all I have to say, about the people that had the room before us.
Nick went back to the front desk, and procured another room for us. All the while, Elsa was still freaking out!

It was so uncharacteristic of my angel baby, that I almost didn't know what to do?
I put her in the tub and that seemed to calm her down.
Nick pulled out the travel thermometer, and determined that she had a fever.
At that point, we gave her some tylenol, and she went down for a long nap.
We knew we had some decisions to make.

I didn't want to put Elsa through a long car ride, and then immediately put her on a plane; on our last day there- as initially had been our plan. That wouldn't have been fun for anyone.

So, I did MORE re-arranging. And we decided to head back to Portland a day early.
This meant, that I had to cancel plans with some of our friends, that we had wanted to see; which was disappointing. But you never know what will happen when you travel with kids.

We ended up staying in 3 different hotels, in 3 days.


In the morning, before left for Portland, we took the girls to UW, and to U-Village, to let Reagan get some energy out.


On the drive from, and to Portland, both of the girls took long naps in their car seats. They also both slept on the flights. I think things went ideally, when we were travelling, because we broke up the tedium of travel.
On the way back to Portland, we stopped in Vancouver, WA to get gas, because not being able to pump your own gas (as it is in OR), makes Nick crazy.
We also detoured at a Trader Joe's. Nick is hooked on their Organic Mango Passion Granola Cereal. We picked up five boxes. That ought to last him a few days.

We called in a take-out order for McCormick and Schmick's. Picked it up, and took it back to the hotel.

The weather was sunny, and in the low 70's. Not ideal for swimming, but Reagan didn't seem to mind, and surprisingly, neither did Elsa.



Our first day in Portland, we went to the downtown location of Voo Doo Doughnuts, but it was being remodeled; and was closed.
We thought we were going to miss out on their famous doughnuts!
We left our laptop at home (they are such a hassle to travel with, these days)! Thinking, we wouldn't really need it, and that if we did need to access the internet, we could just use our phones.

Well, I mentioned how aggravating it is to use the internet on my phone for anything complicated, so by the end of our trip I was very exasperated, because I had ended up needing the internet WAY more than I had anticipated I would (all of those hotel reservation changes, and checking us in for our flight home).
The thought of using my phone to find an alternative location of Voo Doo Doughnuts was daunting. But gritted my teeth, and silently cussed at my phone while I made the attempt.
I was successful.

We stopped at Voo Doo on the way to the airport, and took a half-dozen doughnuts home with us. Bacon Maple Doughnuts, Mango-filled, triple-chocolate, and mini M&M? Definitely worth the frustration.


OBSERVATIONS:When we were in NYC last month, Reagan ended up needing a new outfit, unexpectedly (love potty-training!). So, I stopped at Walmart and grabbed a few things for her, from their clearance rack.
While, out and about, in UT, after the trip; I noticed that other girls had this same exact outfit (even though I purchased it at a store 2300 miles away). I also got her a pair of shoes there too.
I took this outfit, and shoes to Portland/Seattle. I didn't see any other kids sporting the same attire (there isn't a single Walmart store anywhere within the Seattle City limits. Good job grass-roots groups!).
And I really had to laugh, when we were at (very trendy) U-Village; and one of the other Mom's at the playground complimented Reagan's shoes, and asked me where I bought them. Hilarious!


Our old-school Graco stroller is another story. Not trendy. I bought it when my Nephew, Lance, was born. So, that his parents could use it when they came to visit. Lance just turned 5.
This stroller has accompanied us on every family vacation. My Phil & Ted's stroller would be a lot more handy, but I don't want to take the risk of having something happen to it. You know how rough luggage handlers are with checked luggage.
I would feel a lot less upset if something happened to my Graco stroller, as opposed to my Phil & Ted's.
Surprisingly, Graco has arrived intact at every destination of our vacations. And has hauled, not only my children, but also heavy luggage safely.
It may stick out like a sore-thumb, when parked next to the cute new Maclaren strollers, at the park, but it is one tough cookie! And I am sure it will make it through one more Scheurer baby, with ease.


The Grand Finale! Elsa started crawling like a maniac while we were on vacation. As predicted, I am already longing for the days before she was mobile. She is constantly bonking her head, and getting in to everything within reach. But more than frustration, I am feeling elation! Yay, my baby is hitting her milestones.

Now.... if she could grow some hair.