Mom threw out some ideas the day before we left. She mapped out Portland, Multnomah Falls and Astoria/Long Beach. I told her to keep in mind that it would be getting dark around 4:30-5, so we didn't have that much daylight to see these things. If it were summer I'd say it was no problem. We called Grandma to see if we could borrow her van and if she wanted to go. She said sure and the trip would be fun. Plus she would get to spend some time with Erika and Malachi.
We all got up around 6ish and were all ready and in Grandma's van by 7. Of course I was going to be the driver. I had no choice in the matter, I knew it was going to be a long day. I got the GPS out and put in Voodoo Doughnuts. We were going to get there before 10. We all started down the road and the van drove funny. Dad said it was probably the air in the tires. We stopped at the gas station in Tenino and aired up. It took about a half hour out of our day. From there it was smooth sailing to downtown Portland.
Getting there was surprisingly easy. We followed Nuvi's directions and she took us right to the front of the shop. We got a really good parking spot. Grandma got out and a lady started talking to her and handed her a slip of paper. Grandma got back in and explained that the lady was leaving and wanted to give us her remaining time on her parking pass. That was really nice of her. We got a pay it forward in Portland. We all got out and stood in the not so short but not so long line in front of the shop.
The building was covered painted and then covered in glitter. We admired the glitter part of it because it was weird. As the motto states, keep Portland weird. They do a great job at that.
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We didn't have to wait in line that long. Erika had to pee so they wandered around trying to look for a bathroom. By the time it was our turn to get doughnuts, they showed up just in time. It was cash only so we got our cash out and decided what doughnuts we wanted off their detailed menu. I came for the maple bar with bacon on it. Ben ordered a peanut butter one and a Bavarian Cream filled doughnut. Erika got a bacon maple bar, Malachi got a fritter, mom and dad got normal maple bars and grandma got an Mexican hot chocolate doughnut and a old fashioned one. They were all tasty according to everyone.
We all got back in the van and ate our doughnuts. They were delicious and they hit the spot. From there, we made our way to I-84 towards Multnomah Falls, which was roughly 30 miles east of Portland. We were hoping since it was winter there wouldn't be that many people wandering around the falls.
We got there just in time. When it reached noon everyone and their dog was at the falls standing in the way. We took a bunch of pictures with the falls in the background before we walked up to the concrete bridge that's been there since 1914. I had no idea we were going to actually walk up to the top of the falls. Dad, Erika and Malachi walked ahead. Mom, Grandma, Ben and I stayed behind walking with Grandma who doesn't walk all that fast.
She made it half way before she decided to turn around and head back with mom. Ben and I trudged on up the hill. When we got to the top I took out the GPS and we went and found the one I found back in June of 2011. It was still there. I had him find it while I got out my camer and our cougar/husky stuffed animals, that were soon going to be trackables. We positioned the camera just right and took a few pictures.
Unfortunately during one of the self timer, run to the spots, my foot slipped and got wet in the river. Lame. We took a few more pictures along the way to the platform of the falls. There were lots of Asians. We took our pictures and got a phone call from mom saying we should head down.
It took us less time to walk down than it did to walk up, but everyone knows that, duh. We found them down by the lodge and we decided to take a few more pictures before we left for good. When we got to the spot to take pictures there were tons of Asians doing some sort of zumba/dance moves right where everyone wanted to take pictures. Some how we snuck mom and dad up there for a picture without Asians being in the way. we walked back to the van and decided everyone was hungry.
The next major town west of us was Troutdale, a very infamous truck stop along I-84. I've been here a few times to get gas in the past. It's still very weird to me that it's not self serve in Oregon. I lived here for a year and never got used to it. We stopped at a family diner for lunch and to make our pee pee girl Erika happy. Every where we've went today so far she's had to find a potty. We definitely stayed too long at Multnomah Falls and this diner. It was already one-ish and we had to get to Astoria/Long Beach before it got dark. It took I-84 west and back over the 405 bridge towards the industrial area/St. Helens on Hwy 30 towards Astoria. I believe we were going to make it before it got dark.
This is where I wished I was a passenger instead of the driver. I got so tired between Scappoose and St. Helens. I just about fell asleep. I fought hard to stay awake. Everyone else was napping and I so badly wanted to. Of course along the way dad criticised my driving. I told him if he wanted to drive I was perfectly fine with pulling over and letting him drive. We got through Rainier and into Claskanine where I finally got to pass a moron in front of me. Astoria got closer and closer but our daylight faded and faded. It was getting close. We arrived in Astoria and we had enough daylight to get Erika and Malachi to the beach before the sun went down. We hung out at the beach took a few pictures and we all got cold. The wind was chilly.
We found a few caches near the boardwalk before we all got in the van and drove towards Raymond. It was very dark when we arrived in Raymond. We decided to get gas to make it home and eat something because it was dinner time and by the time we got home it would be too late to make anything. We found a diner off of the 101, Slater's Diner. It had a bit of everything. I wasn't that hungry so I had waffle fries and a Dr. Pepper for that boost home. Erika and Malachi had a calzone and a wrap. Mom, dad and grandma had burgers. Ben had a few of my fries. We finished and headed home after that. We went through PeEll and Adna on Hwy 6 to I-5 in Chehalis. We pulled in around 9ish. Fun times but a very long day.
Next Adventure: Seattle, Fremont Troll, Crab Pot and New Year's Eve
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