Find Kardus

Knowing what I know now, we definitely would have structured our trip differently and we would have made a point to stay in Portland. Dont get me wrong, we LOVED staying in Vancouver, really, but I think we missed out on a lot of "city" action. 

However, we have a toddler. And I think choosing to stay at the house where we did and in the area we did was perfect for him and its his vacation too. We found the house we stayed at on AirBNB. It was my first time utilizing that service and it was wonderful. Our host was absolutely amazing. He even made a point to go to one of Bryans shows! It was really, really great. There was a park across the street that Shepherd got to play in! I had no idea Washington was in a drought also, so it was a bummer that the grass was dead. I totally understand, but Shepherd hasnt ran in thick, lush green grass in a really long time. Its really kind of sad.

We took one day to just hang around the house and not do much of anything. We went grocery shopping to stock up on some food and we all took naps. With the sheer amount of travel, I think it was necessary. Shepherd was soooo done with the interruptions to his schedule - and hes not even crazy scheduled like some kids! The next day, we hit up some sites. We went to Vista House, which is a tourist place that has great views of the Columbia River. Its free and you can do on the deck to take pictures and just soak up the incredible view!

Then we hit up a few waterfalls. We decided to actually get out and hike at Bridal Veil Falls, which wasnt too hard, but I definitely had to take some breaks. I wish we had things like this here in Hanford, I would definitely rather go hiking than be on a treadmill for 40 thousand hours. 

The hike didnt have a steep incline but it definitely made you feel the burn. I wasnt sore the next day at all though so that shows you that even someone severely out of shape can handle it. Probably. 

We ended the day by finding river access. Shepherd had a great time playing in the water and Mackenzie and Bryan said it felt good. I enjoyed just sitting in the sand and watching my sweet boy explore. I could watch him all day. Seriously.

The next morning we got up bright and early, had breakfast and went straight to the heart of Portland. I had been told to definitely hit up Voodoo Doughnut so we got in line, picked out our doughnuts and sat down to enjoy! 

I decided to get Shepherd his own doughnut (which is not my usual MO) but I thought the signature Voodoo Doughnut (each one is uniquely decorated) would be perfect for my little man. He was OBSESSED. Just downright giddy. It was precious. We didnt let him eat it all, but the bottom portion, from about the pretzel stick down, was filled with raspberry jelly. We basically let him eat most of the top half with Bryan and I both taking bites to "share" it. I dont think he felt gypped. 

Our AirBNB host gave us free passes to check out the Chinese Gardens, which really was pretty. We were thankful that we didnt have to pay to get in because there wasnt that much to see, but it was still extremely beautiful. There were even people having a yoga class right by the pond which I thought was amazing. It was peaceful so I bet yoga feels very therapeutic there. 

We ended the day getting Salt & Straw ice cream! I have more pictures on my big camera so Ill post those soon!

We had such a great time on vacation and it was great to have a last blast before our baby girl comes. Other than maybe a day here to two, Ill be saving all of my vacation time to utilize for maternity leave, so this really was it! Im so happy we checked out the Oregon area and even happier just to have had a vacation. Its been a crazy year and we desperately needed it!