No time to write a full post today, but I do quickly want to share a couple of pictures from our weekend at Frog Lake. It felt like we were away for a lot longer than just two days (in a good way). Of course now I need to catch up on laundry, unpacking, prepping for my parents’ arrival on Thursday and then there’s my day job…
I’ll be back to share more pictures and words from our mini vacation soon.
Click here for Part 1 wherein we take a longer-than-expected walk to witness my Husband and Son make a daredevil climb (in my mind, anyway) and then visit the Multnomah falls.
After leaving the beautiful (albeit extremely crowded) Multnomah falls, we decided to make our way to Hood River for some food. By the time we got there, everyone had fallen asleep (except Kei, thankfully) and we had the fun job of waking everyone up for lunch.
For those who have not had the experience of waking a three-year-old from a deep sleep, I would imagine it’s something like dragging a bear out of hibernation – lots of moaning and gnashing of teeth.
To make a long story short, we had lunch and then walked around a little before stopping for some ice cream. I failed to take any decent pictures of that part but I can tell you that the view from our lunch spot was great, the food was so-so (childrens’ meals overpriced), the toy store visit afterward was probably a mistake (incredibly lucky to make it away without purchasing a Star Wars watch) and the ice cream was perfect.
By this time it was about 4pm and we had a choice – hit the road for the 90 minute drive home or risk it and take a drive up to Timberline lodge. I am so glad we chose the latter. We were blessed with a perfect blue sky afternoon…
…and the rare (although somewhat tragic given the summer we’ve been having) opportunity to play in the snow at the end of July.
Kei took the opportunity to build the world’s smallest, most pitiful, snowman.
While I took in the view.
The kids soon started whining about their cold feet and cold hands so we headed inside to get a quick drink. Well, that was the plan, anyway.
We headed up to the third floor and placed our order. Our drinks arrived quickly enough and we were about half way through them when Thomas said he needed to go to the bathroom. Kei took him downstairs to the public bathroom on the first floor and then Karin said she needed to go so Mayumi took her. Samuel and I were just hanging out when, you guessed it, he said he needed to go too.
Now, I am going through the potty training thing for the second time so I know how important it is not to play chicken the whole three-year-old who says he needs to go. I looked at the half finished drinks on our table and realized I had two choices – wait until Kei or Mayumi returned, or leave our drinks and other belongings (none valuable) on the table and hope the Waitress would believe me when I said we’d be right back. I chose the latter and, thankfully, we had an understanding waitress.
I dashed downstairs with the knowledge that Kei or Mayumi would be back within minutes. What I didn’t count on was the over-zealous bus boy who cleared the table within seconds. He cleared all of our half finished drinks and we were left with a few children whining for their milk and a bill for the full price. They agreed to replace the drinks or only charge us for half but, by then, it was so late that we thought it was best to feed the children before we left.
About 30 minutes later, we finally left the lodge to catch one last look at the view…
…which we looked at for two minutes before Kei realize that he’d left his vest upstairs and ran back to get it. The bus boy had already handed it to the lost and found. You know, he looked middle aged but it seems he moved like lightening.
After one last check to make sure the bus boy had not taken any of our kids, we got back in the mini van and headed home, returning about 11 hours after we left.
A long, fun, exhausting, only-in-Oregon, day.
A couple of days ago Mayumi and Karin hit the half way point in their visit – which means they have been staying with us for a whole month.
A month!
On the one hand it feels like we have known them forever but, on the other, it feels as though the past month has gone by incredibly quickly. Mayumi and Karin have quickly become part of our family and I am trying not to think too hard about the fact that they will have to go home one day. Still, we will make the most of their visit while they’re here.
So far we have shown Mayumi and Karin around the Portland downtown area, given them a fireworks show, taken them to a local street fair, visited the Japanese Gardens and spent a lot of time at the park and in our own yard.
Last weekend it was time to finally leave the city so we headed into the Gorge for the essential waterfall/Hood River/Timberline road trip. We left the house at 9am and returned at 8pm exhausted, but satisfied with a day well spent. And Kei only had to threaten to leave Samuel by the side of the road once. I’d say that’s one of the hallmarks of a successful outing.
We started out on the Old Columbia Highway with a visit to Vista House. I have been in Portland for about 8 years and that was very first visit to Vista House – crazy.
The view was a little hazy but it was beautiful nonetheless.
The view inside was arguably even more beautiful.
Next, we headed to Bridal Veil falls which required a short 2/3 mile trek into the forest. Of course an easy downhill walk on the way to the falls means an uphill walk while carrying a small child on the way back.
While we were there Kei decided to make me sweat by helping Thomas climb onto a large rock in the middle of the river.
I stood by and tried not to think about all of the bad things that could happen while everyone else enjoyed looking at the waterfall.
After deciding that another small waterfall stop could compromise blood sugar levels, we made a beeline for Multnomah falls. Thanks to a little sunshine, it seemed the rest of Portland had the same idea.
The walk to the Benson bridge was a little easier than the Bridal Veil walk and was definitely worth it, even if Thomas complained most of the way up.
To avoid making this the longest blog post in history, I share more photos in Part 2 tomorrow, including a shot of the tiniest snowman in history.
Until then…
OK, so I wasn’t exactly living in Vegas, but after six days it felt like it. Don’t get me wrong, it was wonderful to take a trip and experience a little sun (emphasis on little thanks to the windowless conference rooms in which I spent most of my time), but I was definitely ready to come home after 6 days. Vegas is a nice place to visit for a day or two but it can wear out its welcome quickly.
Thankfully, I had a nice home base during my stay so, in the spirit of the Pioneer Woman, I thought I’d do a little hotel room tour. Let’s call it “Nice place, shame about the view.”
In an effort to stay away from crazy-world Vegas, I decided to stay in a place that was free of gaudy French/Italian/Greek decor. The Aria Resort and Casino offered modern decor and included wi-fi and access to the fitness center that I used…uh… once. (Warning about the website link. It plays loud, obnoxious music as soon as the page opens – a pet peeve of mine).
here’s the view into the room. Nice big bed (that I unashamedly spread my entire body across) and warm, neutral colors. Funny thing is that I didn’t realize how purple the carpet was until I looked back through the photos.
See those curtains above? They opened and closed with the press of a button (sheers or blackout). The best part? When I set my alarm in the morning, I could set it to turn the TV on to the Today show AND open the curtains to let in some daylight. Such a nice way to wake up – much better than the white noise offered by my old alarm clock at home.
That’s the front door. Next to it is a panel when I can conveniently push a button to select “service” or “privacy” – not that I remembered to do that 90% of the time that I was there. But it was nice to know I had the option.
Next – the bathroom.
Notice the toilet discreetly hidden behind the frosted glass door? Good thing I was traveling alone or my modesty may have overcome my need to pee. OK, kidding – there’s no such thing as modesty for someone who has given birth to two children. In fact, who needs a door at all?
Then there was the wonderful shower and bathtub…
I used the bathtub once and had the water so hot that I could only remain submerged for 10 minutes – but what a wonderful 10 minutes that was. T=
This was the type of place where they neatly lined up your toiletries after you haphazardly leave them lying all over the counter in the effort to leave quickly after misjudging the time it takes for them to show that one story they teased on the Today show all morning but you just have to see before running to make it to your first session at the conference. Seriously, why do they do that?
The many drawers and closets that I didn’t use… (I’m not the type to unpack in hotel rooms. Far too afraid that I’ll leave something behind).
And, OK, this was my view. The room was wonderful for everything EXCEPT the view. I should have known as soon as I realized that they placed me on the 3rd floor but I didn’t expect a view of the HVAC cover, as stylish as they tried to make it. What I didn’t know when I first moved in was that there was a door in that big white stripy wall. And I didn’t expect a couple of men to walk by after inspecting something inside that door. Let’s just say that it was a VERY close call – for EVERYONE.
OK, so the view wasn’t great, but wait… when I went to a teeny tiny little corner of the window and squinted in just the right direction, I could see a little of this…
It wasn’t much, but at least I could make out some mountains and fading sunshine. I guess that’s something and I’ll take it.
As our plane set to depart from Las Vegas yesterday, the flight attendant announced over the speaker that we had better enjoy our one last look at sunshine before we head back to cloudy, rainy Portland. How right he was. I’m back, catching up on work and looking forward to a little weekend family time.
I’m also dreaming of blue skies, if not the freaky, fake world that is Las Vegas. I’ll take my dreary skies and hugs from my babies over that any day.
More photos to come.
So this week the Ishidas continue their crazy schedules while I take a not-so-quick-trip to Vegas for the NAB Post Production conference.
It began with a 5:30am flight on Saturday, which I actually thought was a 6:30am flight. Thankfully I was saved by my compulsive need to arrive at least an hour early at the airport and even avoided the panic of running for the aeroplane. I was oblivious to my mistake until they announced “final boarding call for Ishida.” It ended up being a nice surprise and got me in the air much more quickly than I had expected.
Alas, I don’t have time right now to share some of my Vegas adventures, but I will soon. Let’s just say that they include watching women falling from the sky, eavesdropping on far too many Aussie conversations and hearing James Cameron talk about 3D film making.
For now I’ll leave you with a quick glimpse of the Nevada desert from above.
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia, commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and our separation from England (oh, wait…).
Of course if I were in Australia right now I’d be celebrating with beer and a BBQ, but since we are yet to have the President proclaim the day as a national US holiday (I’m working on it), I will take this moment to share a few educational facts about the country of my birth.
Photos taken during our last visit in March – which right now feels like a lifetime ago.
3rd and final post in my attempt to wade through thousands of photos and choose my favourites from the year. It began with “The Places I’ve Been“, then “The Things I’ve Seen“. This post will share a few of my favourite photos of “The People I Love”.
2010 was a great year for family bonding. We managed to see almost every single member of our immediate families – both Kei’s and mine. With my family in Australia and Kei’s spread between Ohio and Japan, this was no easy task.
In just twelve short months we:
Sure, it was expensive and, at times, exhausting, but the one thing that I think about when I reflect on the past year is how incredibly fortunate we are to have a family that remains connected despite the enormous distances that keep us physically separated. Here are just a few of the many photos that I took celebrating this connection.
And finally, our little family on January 1st as we look forward to making more connections in 2011.
Nicole Ishida Photography 