Labor Day Weekend

For the long Labor Day weekend holiday my parents came to NYC for a visit. It was so wonderful to see them and spend time together for 5 days. This was my dad's first visit since we moved here two and a half years ago and he isn't a big fan of New York City so we tried to make him have a good time so he will come back sooner. The first day I had to work so my parents hung out with the kids and met the family I work for. They had a really good time an can't wait to be grandparents.

Taking a carriage ride around Central Park

A stop in the park for a little swing

Next cooling off in FAO Swartz, it was so hot that day

On the way home since they live only a few blocks from the Brooklyn Bridge we walked across it to go home

Goodye Portland

I know this post is a little late but it's been a very busy couple of weeks since we have been back. We had a great time in Portland and so much fun I hope we make back it back out before Jon and Lucy move because there is just so much to do there. Here are a few pictures of our trip that didn't make it into the previous posts. The only thing I didn't take a picture of was me on Jon's Vespa which was awesome. I'm slightly obsessed with how awesome they are now and I mention to Brian all the time how much improved our life would be if we bought one, but I'm going to have to do a lot of talking. Another memory to mention is how many times we got lost when we went out on our own. I don't think we ever went out and didn't have to turn around at least once, usually multiple times. Brian was not a good navigator and he didn't like it when I kept saying, "I think we are going the wrong way." He would rather drive 20 more miles out of the way, but he always reminded me that at least we got there.

This is the Japanese Garden

The Rose Garden

Jon and Lucy have season tickets to the local soccer team The Timbers next year they are going to be in the MLS, it was a really fun game and their fans are crazy

A cool rooftop bar we had drinks at before dinner one night

Sauvie Island & Beast

On our last day in Portland we went to Sauvie Island and then later to Beast for dinner with Jon and Lucy. The island was so much fun . We started off by going to the beach and having a picnic lunch with a bottle of our wine from the previous day. Then we did a little biking and ended the day with a hike around Oak Island, it's really a peninsula. Along the hike there were wild blackberry bushes everywhere which made for the perfect desert. It is an island so large it has its own rivers, lakes, islands, and sloughs, not just a tiny little island by any means. Here are a few historical facts about the island.

The island was visited by Lewis and Clark on their expedition to find a Northwest Passage and later became the home of fishermen, ship captains and farmers. In 1836 dairies were established on the island by the Hudson’s Bay Company. They were managed by French-Canadian employee Laurent Sauvé for whom the island is named. Today its unique character as a wildlife area, agricultural community and recreational destination in such close proximity to Portland is highly prized by island inhabitants and visitors alike. Sauvie Island has become a popular destination for a variety of reasons. People seeking the freshest produce can commonly find fruit (most notably berries), vegetables, flowers, pumpkins and flowers for U-pick. Nearly 12,000 acres of the island have been preserved as the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area, the vast majority of which falls within Columbia County. Managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the wildlife area is a premier hiking, biking, bird-watching, hunting and fishing location.

This is the only picture Brian took of me and my eyes are closed, that's what I get for letting him be in charge of the camera

That is Mt.Hood in the background

On our hike at one point we could see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood

It was a really awesome view

Brian thought he was on Survivor

Beast was not your typical restaurant it was a dining experience. There were six courses and a wine pairing to go with each. Everybody is seated and served at the same time in the restaurant and the menu is pre-set. Some of the foods were amazing and some were very different and I am not a fan of any type of pate`. It was a lot of fun trying new interesting foods that I wouldn't normally order. The meal started with a chilled carrot soup, then an appetizer plate with six different mini apps, the table consensus was that the stake tartare with quail egg was the best (I told you the food was different). Duck leg with a raisin bread salad was the main course followed by a summer salad. Then came a plate of cheeses and for desert goat milk panna cotta with wild huckleberries and peaches. Yum O! If you ever have a chance to go to a similar restaurant I would highly recommend it.

Oregon Wine Country

About 45 minutes south of Portland is wine country. We visited about 6 wineries and enjoyed the delicious wine and county side scenery. The Willamette Valley is best suited to produce pinot nior so that is what we mostly tasted. We saw a fun quote that fit the day and it's kind of funny. "If you drink no nior, you pee no nior."

Beer Poll

We were introduced to a new game out here in Portland. It is called beer poll. All you need are two 6 feet pvc piping polls, Jon was very proud of himself for building the polls, a frisbee, and two empty beer bottles. The goal of the game is to hit the poll with the frisbee and knock the beer bottle off without the the other team catching them. There are points involved sort of like corn hole. You also must have a drink in one had at all times. We had a lot of fun playing this game before dinner one night with some of Jon and Lucy's friends. This pictures are a little boring, sorry I just wanted to show you some of the action.

Portland Vacation

We are having such a great time in Portland visiting Jon and Lucy for vacation. Portland is an awesome city and there is so much to do; I can't believe we only have two days left. So far we have enjoyed the nature and city life Portland has to offer. The first two day we were here we explored the great outdoors. The first day was also Brian's Birthday. We went on some amazing hikes to see several different waterfalls and went to eat at a great restaurant followed by martinis at Olive or Twist (what a great name for a martini bar). On day two we explored the Coast. It's called the Coast rather than the beach because it's very cold so no swimming was involved. Jon has a really cool kite that we got to fly and even though it wasn't really a windy day Jon was excited that he made his kite do 20 flips, 10 more than he has ever accomplished before. After the kite action we had lunch in town and headed to another part of the coast for some rock climbing. After the cost we went home to meet Lucy for dinner at the Lucky Lab. (Lucy was out of town for the weekend) Their house is really close to a village so they have a bunch of good restaurants and little shops within walking distance, like the Lucky Lab. Stay tuned...

Triple Falls

Horsetail Falls

Happy Birthday Brian

The Coast
Goonies was filmed here

Flying the Kite

Rock Climbing to get a better view

Columbia Annual Soccer Match

Last weekend we went to Columbia's soccer game and barbecue. We had a really good time and Brian scored 3 goals. We really enjoy going to this event every year, can't wait till next year.