Well as I have left myself with four days to update at once, I think I'll work backwards (and drink a beer while I'm at it). I have just sat down after a lovely beach day at camp Manzanita which is the wonderful cabin we are staying in with John and Rosemary.
We familiarized ourselves with the town of Manzanita this morning with a beach stroll down to the main street and discovered there is a lot more going on here than any of us thought there would be. Great restaurants, a pub, quite a few shops and great grocery shopping. We have all become taken with this beautiful place without much effort. It is quiet, but not too quiet, stunningly beautiful and we are staying just a short walk from the beach in a homey and comfortable cottage.
Violet spent most of the day on the beach and can't wait to get back there tomorrow. She loves everything about this leg of our trip, her grandparents are here (she had been counting the days since we left Victoria), she is 'bunking' with them in the bunkhouse (6 luxury bunks stacked 3 high with private facilities, sitting area and flat screen) and we are at the beach - what more could a girl want?!
Greta has also discovered the joys of the beach and only took a few seconds to start throwing sand around and working it into every orifice of her body while also trying very hard to ensure that her mother is completely covered in sand from head to toe.
While I think of it (and since there is no dedicated and detailed blog to the life of Greta as there was for Violet - again little darling, it's not because we don't love and adore you, its just because there aren't enough hours in the day) I was reminded by Greta today that she really has great communication skills. She started saying uh-oh today - adorable with a high pitched 'uh'. She is quite a mimic and loves to try out sounds whereas Violet liked to absorb the information and wouldn't try it out until she had it pretty much mastered. She also says mama, daddy, doggy and lots of other 'sort of' words that we think mean things, like Violet and Greta. GG has been good at communicating from a young age, she stares intently at the object she wants while she is screaming for it etc. She is also keen on signing. So far she signs 'all done', 'more', 'dog' and waves hello and good bye. Her cute sound of the moment is barking like a dog which is sort of a muffled 'hm, hm, hm' in a deep voice - well done little lassie... oh and Greta now has 6 teeth. Three of them came in the last week - ouch for both babe and mom. She was pretty unhappy and uncomfortable last week so I am hoping she is done with the worst of it for a while.
Back to the trip. Yesterday turned out to be a great day even though we had to pack up our mountain of stuff, (Jon) trek it down three flights of stairs and find a way to fit it all into the car and hang out in Portland with our carload of stuff until Greta was ready for a a nap so we could travel the two hours to the coast in relative peace. We were ready to go early so we took a walk, hit up the pearl bakery for some indulgent pastries and coffees as well as some yummy sammies for a picnic lunch and took Violet and Greta to a playground for an hour. Check out and a picnic at a wonderful playgournd in washington park completed, we headed out into the beautiful scenery or Oregon toward the coast. When our wee girl woke up we decided to stop for a small meal just before Manzanita (as we had been led to believe there wasn't much here) and ended up having a really enjoyable lunch at a cute little cafe in wheeler even though they were officially closed. We were treated so warmly and loved everything we ate there.
We were thrilled to see John and Rosemary at camp Manzanita and had a wonderful evening hanging out at the beach and settling into our new home for a week.
Our last two days in Portland were a lot of fun. We took a short road trip to Multanomah Falls which is the second highest falls in the US and a wonder also because the area around the falls is so totally developed into a tourist friendly spot and has been for many decades. We were all amazed at the power and beauty of the falls and decided that we should climb to the top. We almost made it but the trail started getting a little too treacherous for the Gleed parents to feel comfortable with so we turned around. Violet, who was very keen to get to the top, was disappointed and confused about the change of plans. Eventually she chalked it up to a dead path (dead end) and then questioned - "but who killed the path?".
We also had one last day in downtown Portland. A disappointing shopping trip to Nordstrom Rack (Seattle is much better), a long walk while the kids slept through the trendy pearl district and a picnic at Jamison Square water park where Violet delighted in the beach like puddle that recirculated with waterfalls from a stone wall every few minutes and Greta refused to dip her feet but was calmed by being carried by a wading parent watching the Portland kids not play with her big sister... :)
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Travel Log June 1, 2011
My mom's bday today. Hoping she gets to celebrate it properly this weekend! Happy birthday mom.
What a very full day today.We are still in portland for a few more days and as the weather was in the miss category this morning, we opted for an indoor activity and took Violet and Greta to the Portland Children's museum. Wow, wow, wow. Violet could have spent 5 hours there easily. I would LOVE to have something like this in Victoria. It is basically a preschooler's dream.
There were role play areas including a veterinary clinic. a grocery store, diner, theater, construction zone and many more. There was a great curious george exhibit, a water room, a clay sculpting room - you get the idea. It was exhausting but awesome. Even Greta had fun in the 3 and under room which was laid back but full of interesting textures, colours and motion and in the many other baby friendly exhibits. To top it all off, the lunch we had was tasty, nutritious and affordable.
After a much needed but brief break at our condo, we headed out on foot once again exploring downtown. The rain finally broke so we stopped for some ice cream and decided to take the girls on one of the side by side tandem bikes with seats for the little ones. Violet (and Jon) have been dying to try one for several days now but the weather has not cooperated with us. We thought we were in with a chance today but about 5 minutes into the ride, the kids (who were not under a canvas awning like us) were getting soaked by a passing rain storm. Luckily there are about a dozen bridges along the Willimet River and we high-tailed it to the nearest one for cover. In the end, we managed only about 40 minutes of riding, including our 5 or so minutes under the bridge. We couldn't get very far due to river flooding obstructing our waterfront route and Greta decided it was a bit too weird to be riding in front of her parents. She ended up strapped (very clumsily) into the seat beside us so we just had to pack it in. Ah well, we tried it and got a little work out at the same time.
It would probably have been wise then to take the girls back to the condo for a nap but we didn't. Sometimes those decisions work for you and sometime against. Today, happily, we had a great time staying out instead. We packed Violet into the stroller for a 'snooze' as she calls it, Greta into the carrier for a snooze of her own and we walked north to a part of town we hadn't seen before. It didn't rain, we had a conversation and we ended up at a recommended italian restaurant, Serrato, which is fine dining but accommodates kids nicely. The food (and wine) was fabulous and we had a quiet and happy meal.
Today was special because there were no major meltdowns. That always makes for a good day. But we also got to see Violet enjoying herself to an extent I don't think I have seen for some time. She loved being at that museum so much and she had a wonderful time but what struck us was how seriously she took everything she did there. Her concentration was incredible and she was exhausted and happy at the end of our visit. It was also wonderful (if not a little sad) to see our little baby getting in there too. She played with the best of them at the museum, even getting her first smack on the head from another baby. We (that would be the vacationing adults) also find ourselves content, if exhausted at the end of this day. Time for another glass of wine.
What a very full day today.We are still in portland for a few more days and as the weather was in the miss category this morning, we opted for an indoor activity and took Violet and Greta to the Portland Children's museum. Wow, wow, wow. Violet could have spent 5 hours there easily. I would LOVE to have something like this in Victoria. It is basically a preschooler's dream.
There were role play areas including a veterinary clinic. a grocery store, diner, theater, construction zone and many more. There was a great curious george exhibit, a water room, a clay sculpting room - you get the idea. It was exhausting but awesome. Even Greta had fun in the 3 and under room which was laid back but full of interesting textures, colours and motion and in the many other baby friendly exhibits. To top it all off, the lunch we had was tasty, nutritious and affordable.
After a much needed but brief break at our condo, we headed out on foot once again exploring downtown. The rain finally broke so we stopped for some ice cream and decided to take the girls on one of the side by side tandem bikes with seats for the little ones. Violet (and Jon) have been dying to try one for several days now but the weather has not cooperated with us. We thought we were in with a chance today but about 5 minutes into the ride, the kids (who were not under a canvas awning like us) were getting soaked by a passing rain storm. Luckily there are about a dozen bridges along the Willimet River and we high-tailed it to the nearest one for cover. In the end, we managed only about 40 minutes of riding, including our 5 or so minutes under the bridge. We couldn't get very far due to river flooding obstructing our waterfront route and Greta decided it was a bit too weird to be riding in front of her parents. She ended up strapped (very clumsily) into the seat beside us so we just had to pack it in. Ah well, we tried it and got a little work out at the same time.
It would probably have been wise then to take the girls back to the condo for a nap but we didn't. Sometimes those decisions work for you and sometime against. Today, happily, we had a great time staying out instead. We packed Violet into the stroller for a 'snooze' as she calls it, Greta into the carrier for a snooze of her own and we walked north to a part of town we hadn't seen before. It didn't rain, we had a conversation and we ended up at a recommended italian restaurant, Serrato, which is fine dining but accommodates kids nicely. The food (and wine) was fabulous and we had a quiet and happy meal.
Today was special because there were no major meltdowns. That always makes for a good day. But we also got to see Violet enjoying herself to an extent I don't think I have seen for some time. She loved being at that museum so much and she had a wonderful time but what struck us was how seriously she took everything she did there. Her concentration was incredible and she was exhausted and happy at the end of our visit. It was also wonderful (if not a little sad) to see our little baby getting in there too. She played with the best of them at the museum, even getting her first smack on the head from another baby. We (that would be the vacationing adults) also find ourselves content, if exhausted at the end of this day. Time for another glass of wine.
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