Arriving Home

Driving through Idaho, we stopped at Shoshone falls, near Twin Falls.  It takes some time to get to, and in the end you have to pay in order to get the good views of the falls, but it was worth the trouble.

The rest of the drive went ok.  Frankie proved himself to be a good road tripper.

Thanks to all our friends and family for such a great trip. See you soon!

Heading Home

On day one of our trip home we detoured to Snoqualmie Falls.  It’s amazing that hundreds of feet away fromthe falls it’s like it’s constantly raining, making picture taking somewhatdifficult.  On the way back to theinterstate, we picked up some Rainier cherries.

Along the way, we stopped for lunch at one of those gasstation/subway places.  The town (don’t’remember the name) had fantastic views of snowcapped peaks.  At the station, we tried out the make yourown milkshake F’real machine, which was amusing to watch.

We stopped for the night in Ontario, Oregon again.  But before we got there, we were treated to anice sunset along the way and we stopped for a few pictures.

Seattle Day Two

Saturday morning we headed out to Woodland Park Zoo with Lisa.  Luckily our hometown zoo membership has reciprocity with this zoo allowing us 50% off admission.  It was chillier than we had anticipated, so we wrapped tiny guy up warm in a blanket and bought him a hat which though a little large (adult size), worked out great for him.
Woodland Park was really fun.

 Some of the highlights for us this time:  The Kunekune pig, which looks like it has a cat style fur coat, colors somewhat reminiscent of Ro Cat.  The freaky komodo dragon, which almost looks like a man in a lizard costume.  Frankie also loved the room where you can feed the birds with the popsicle sticks covered in bird food.

Next we all met up with Nick for lunch at Ivar’s.  Good fish ‘n chips and chowder.  We followed up with gelato and the nearby shops.  We then headed to Pike Place!  At Pike Place, we strolled around, had some mac ‘n cheese at Beecher’s, and took lots of photos.

Next up, we went to Alkai Beach to take in the skyline.  It was a nice night for photo ops and the days weddings seemed to agree.  Frankie even did some flying (see photo).

For dinner, we went to the Luna Park Café, always a favorite.  The milkshakes were good and as usual Frankie was flirting and made a friend with the table behind us.  We then headed back to Alkai Beech as sunset approached.  Again we got to see more wedding parking comedy.  

Seattle Day One

Friday morning we went out to breakfast at Portage Bay, which has a really neat “toppings bar” for which certain items on the menu allow a single visit.
After breakfast, we headed to the Japanese Garden (one of them anyway).  It was a bit smaller than the one in Portland, but still nice.  We spent a lot of time taking photos and got many nice ones.

Next we met up with Lisa and Nick at the Pacific Science Center.  While waiting for out designated time, we went to see the butterflies and the rest of the exhibits.  The King Tut exhibit was really cool and really packed.  But I have to say there’s some false advertising going on since they are showing the King Tut Death Mask on all the advertising materials, and yet it’s not part of the exhibit.
After King Tut, we hung out around the fountain area and picked up some dessert for later.  For dinner, we met Aroon and Aarthi for pizza at Pizza Pulcinella where the pizza is good and the dessert pizza is even better. We recommend the Chiaia and the dessert pizza, Il Segreto di Pulcinella. AWESOME!

To Seattle

Continuing on our way to Seattle, we headed out early, making it near Seattle by lunch.  We stopped at Aroon and Aarthi’s, dropped off some things, and took Aroon out to dinner at Chutney’s and picked up cupcakes at Trophy Cupcake.  

It was chillier than we had anticipated in Seattle and Frankie’s jacket still had a bunch of sand in it, so Misty stepped into a second hand clothes store in the same complex with Chutney’s and Trophy Cupcakes and bought Frankie a really awesome knitted jacket.

Afterward, we met Lisa and Nick for ice cream after at Molly Moon.

Oregon Coast

Wednesday morning we had a quick breakfast and headed out toward the coast, stopping to visit with a few people on the way. By the time we got to Florence, we were ready for an early lunch, so we stopped at Mo’s for some chowder.

Next, we headed up the coast that we hadn’t seen for two years, enjoying all the familiar sights we’d enjoyed in years past. We stopped at several places along the way. At Cape Perpetua, we stopped to see the blow hole and well (Thor’s well). We had actually never stopped at this spot before, so it was a treat to see for the first time with the tiny guy.
Another place we stopped, we let Frankie play on the beach and get his toes in the ocean.


In Yachats, we stopped to visit with our friends Shannon and Marv. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay long and had to head on our way on up the coast, heading back over through Portland and up to Vancouver. We found a place to stay near another old favorite for dinner, Burgerville.

Around Eugene

Tuesday morning we headed to an old favorite of ours (and many other people we suppose).  None other than Brail’s, well known for its fast and greasy breakfast.  Good waffles, bacon, and good sausage.  TJ joined us and gave us the lowdown on the city and county’s budget problems (hello 4-day school weeks and no police).


After breakfast, we headed to Trader Joe’s that we have missed so much since moving from Oregon.  We mentioned as much to the cashier as we were checking out and he let loose that they were opening a Trader Joe’s in Salt Lake City later in the year.  Once the story was corroborated, we had reason to celebrate.
After Trader Joe’s we headed back to possibly our favorite restaurant in Eugene, that of La Perla.  The fococia al Beppe and Gianni brought back fond memories of many dinners here.  We have since attempted to duplicate their roasted garlic offerings, we great success!
Next we headed to Alton Baker park to show Frankie the ducks and other water animals.  Unfortunately, there’s a new fence nearly all the way around the pond and of course we got rained on.  Good fun either way.

The Foresters hosted a wonderful BBQ dinner for us and some other friends from ORI.  Kathy even brought out some old baby toys that Frankie enjoyed playing with.