Family Vacation (Part 1): Portland

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

As you all know, we recently returned from our weeklong vacation in Oregon.  It was our first real vacation as a family, and it was such a great choice. We had a wonderful time. 

We spent one night in Salem, Oregon, and in the morning we walked to the park and beautiful indoor carousel
Once we settled in Portland, I walked into the first restaurant we saw, Henry's 12th Street Tavern, and asked the hostess if it was kid-friendly, and when she said sure! I was sold. 
After our early dinner we headed to the mecca of bookstores, Powell's City of Books, and I am not exaggerating, I was in heaven. Give me coffee and drop me off here any day.  
Next day we went to breakfast at Slappy Cakes which is perfect for kids. Pancakes make people happy. 
The Oregon Museum of Science & Industry  had an epic kids play area, and as you can imagine, Luna did not want to leave.  
Portland is known as Bridgetown and many other nicknames.  The bridges were something else. 
I also fit in some me time and headed to Nob Hill on my own. I got lucky and found parking on this beautiful tree-lined street. 
I had a nice walk, browsed several shops, and bought a dress from Sloan Boutique. Before leaving I picked up burgers for my husband and Luna from Little Big Burger and fish tacos for me from Pepinos right next door.
We stayed at the Residence Inn RiverPlace which is a fantastic place to stay, especially for families.  I was happy we decided to stay in one night because Luna was a happy camper. For those of you who have yet to stay at a hotel or rental with your kids, no worries, pack post-its. After dinner shenanigans, included post-it crowns and airplanes. Luna thought it was the funniest thing ever. 
She made me keep this crown on until her bedtime, and as soon as I would try to sneak it off she would yell "No Mama you're the queen!"
Our last day in Portland, my husband went out before Luna and I woke up and picked up some Blue Star Donuts. My favorites were the lemon poppy seed and Mexican chocolate. I also had a vanilla latte made with almond cashew milk from Heart Coffee, and it was delicious. 
One of my favorite things to do after breakfast was our walks along the river front. As you all know Luna loves dogs and rocks so these walks were her jam.   
Portland is a wonderful city. Oregon is beautiful, and I am so glad we chose to stay in three different cities and really got to explore. It felt like one happy adventure after another. I can't wait to share the last portion of our vacation which we spent on the Oregon coast in the city of Newport. 

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