After getting home from Portland I had Friday evening and a nice amount of Saturday to get unpacking and reorganizing done. Just what I needed in order to feel like I was ready to get back to my normal life.
And of course I had to walk around the house to see how the flowers had fared while I was gone.
On Saturday evening we met Alex’s sister and grandma halfway to get Elizer from them. It’s amazing how easily he transitions from them to us and vice versa. I’m sure it’s because he feels well-loved with both families.
On Sunday morning at church we had an old-fashioned hymn sing! Remember those? Pastor Jim was away on vacation. We had several very meaningful readings interspersed with hymns chosen by the congregation. My friend Pat, who subs for me when I’m away, played organ and I was of course playing piano. It was really fun! It was also perfect for me because it meant I had no work to do in preparation as I always do.
After church we packed things up, went to Destiny’s place to pick her and Elizer up, and we went to Whipple Dam about 40 minutes away.
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon!
Destiny took Elizer for a kayak ride. Turns out, he would rather have been in the water!
After a few hours we were ready to dry off. We went to nearby Doan's Bones BBQ to eat. It was Destiny's first time there, which was hard to believe. We've been there so many times over the years, but not so much since COVID.
And while we were doing that, somebody in Florida was heading to Miami University! More about that in the next post!
My last day in Portland was very low key. Tasha and I were on a mission - to go through all her dresser drawers and her closet to get rid of some things and reorganize everything else. We had fun together, and it was a sweet bonding experience. We stuck at it and got our mission accomplished. I took a picture of the room at one point, but for purposes of privacy I am showing a blurred view of it.
Brennan went along with Mike to daycare that day. When they all got home we went on a family walk - the first and only one during this visit. I LOVE walking around their beautiful community.
Here are pictures I took as we walked.
Purple tomatoes!!
I am always so intrigued by this place surrounded by antique sports cars!
When we got back to the house Brennan wanted to do another puzzle, but all the ones they had were too many pieces for him. So he decided to take apart the round 100-piece puzzle and work on it again! I think I know what I'll be getting him for his birthday in December!
We had been discussing what food would be appropriate for me to eat in light of the fact I'd be flying the next day for quite a few hours, haha! We decided on steaks, baked potatoes, and carrots. Tasha decided to also make a salad. It was a really good last meal together, but I was having too good a time to get any picture after this prep picture.
I packed up all my stuff and said my goodbyes before we went to bed.
At 4:45 am Friday morning I was picked up by a Lyft driver and taken to the airport. The airplane was FREEZING as we waited to take off.
I was sitting among a middle school baseball team and some of their parents from Hawaii!! They had played and won a tournament in the Portland area and were headed to Detroit, Michigan for another one! I enjoyed them. Brought me memories of my middle school students at Manheim Christian.
At Chicago I had to figure out where to go for my next flight. I was looking for Terminal 2, Concourse F, none of which were on the signs. Upon asking, I found out I was already in Terminal 2, thus no signs for it, haha! And after studying one of those "You are Here" maps on the wall, I figured out where to go for Concourse F.
I had lots of time. I can barely remember my flight to State College. I just know I again did not have a window seat, which disappointed me. I love looking down when we get close to home. I was able to see us go over Rock Road as we were landing. That is where I often experience planes coming in right over top of me. This time I was in the plane, not the car.
Dick had just gotten off work and came right to the airport to pick me up.
My knockout rose bush greeted me back home.
And another wonderful trip I had looked forward to was history.
On Wednesday the guys went to work, and the kids and I left around 11:00 for a trip to the Oregon Zoo. Tasha had previously taken Brennan there by public transportation, so I was kind of eager for the experience. I would never have done it without her. First we walked to the end of the street to the bus stop. I took a picture of this pretty bush as we waited.
We had the bus to ourselves at first.
Apparently they always sit on the very back seat, so that's what we did.
After about twenty minutes we got to Gateway Transit Center where we waited for the train that would take us to the zoo. Tasha was figuring it all out on her phone. I trusted her.
Again, not many people on the train when we boarded.
She said we would be getting off at the sixteenth stop. WELL. Brennan, who never, ever stops talking, wanted to keep track. And keeping track meant talking about it constantly the entire trip to be sure we all agreed which stop we had just made and which one would be next. I think everyone on our section of the train was counting down with us, lol!!
I wish I had taken more pictures along the way. We saw bridges and highways like this....
...but we also went through a lot of city scapes, right downtown I think. And through a very dark tunnel, maybe under the river? I'm not quite sure.
The stop at which we got off the train was right across from the zoo. We were hungry and wanted to get something to eat before entering. Tasha googled a place nearby and we tried to follow the walking directions. After a bit we realized that it was actually right inside the entrance to the zoo!
We enjoyed sandwiches and chips and water. Then we were good to go.
The first thing we watched was a bald eagle spreading its wings.
The otters were so much fun to watch.
A beautiful cougar.
This barn was quite empty this time. I remembered from our trip there last year that we had fun watching goats. I think they were mostly outside and hiding or resting this time. Aren't the hanging flowers so lovely?
Here's a rabbit we saw.
And one of several big turtles.
Then we went to the polar bear display. This was quite entertaining as he tried to get something on the other side of that gate.
Next up, a carousel ride. I thought Brennan would want to ride a horse, but he preferred sitting on a bench with his sister.
We were getting HOT and tired. So ice cream was a very welcome break.
The whole time we were eating our ice cream we were right next to the tigers. We couldn't see them, but we could hear one roaring loudly. As soon as we finished our ice cream we went to the see it. Almost as soon as we got there it decided to go into the "barn" and we didn't see any more of it. Bummer! It was so beautiful!
So we settled for some flamingoes instead.
We were eager to go on the train ride, so we walked to that.
The engineer gave us an interesting history lesson on how originally this train ride went past the International Rose Test Garden. But for some reason (which I don't remember) ten years ago that part of the ride was no longer available. An effort has been made to revive that, and apparently in about three years it will again be available. Some of you may remember when we visited the rose garden in 2017. Truly spectacular!
We were delighted to see the elephants as we rode the train since we had not gotten to that part of the zoo.
When we were finished with that ride we decided we were tired enough and it was getting late enough that we should head back home.
It was fun to sit, waiting for our train, and see it coming through the tunnel.
I assured Brennan right from the get -go that we were not going to be keeping track of the stops this time, haha!
When we got to the Gateway Transit Center we looked for bus 22. Brennan was excited to see it because he knew that's the one that takes us home. Once again we rode the back seat of the bus that took us to their street. And we were home again.
Jeremy had assured me that I would not be cooking dinner after going with the kids to the zoo. I remembered a Mexican restaurant that we'd loved on our October 2021 trip, so we went there. It's a really great little, very friendly place with the BEST food and friendliest service. We loved everything about it.
Unbeknownst to Tasha, Mike told the server that she'd had a birthday two days prior. So later in our meal our server put a sombrero on her head and everyone sang Happy Birthday! She was so surprised and a bit embarrassed, maybe. When we were finished singing a guy at the bar called over that it was his birthday too, and that made her smile. It was fun.
Back at home, Jeremy cut some of their beautiful flowers and arranged them in vases. Aren't these gorgeous??
