We have been to Oregon many times. For the first time ever, we went to Oregon in the WINTER! We knew it was going to be cold, snowy, and rainy. We spent 4 weeks preparing for the trip —cleaning, deep cleaning, and more cleaning. We had a dog sitter come to take care of our Lily-Girl. I spent countless hours and days making sure no one made a mess of the apartment. I had the kids pack their own bags along with their winter items (Gloves, hats, jackets, boots, etc.).
Miles packed his bag, and I... well, I cleaned some more. My entire plan was to have everything clean and packed a few days before we actually left, but do our plans ever really go as planned? Not mine. I suppose I should tell you what time in winter this was. Okay. Our trip was scheduled for Christmas Day through January 2nd. Our Christmas holiday is crazy! We spend Christmas Eve with my family where everyone opens presents as close to midnight as we can. Since we have gained new family members over the years, we have been participating in Secret Santa and have a limit of $20.
We spend Christmas morning with Miles’ family and open gifts there as well. Christmas is spent with many blessings. We packed up the car Christmas morning, and to our surprise... RAIN! It was raining; pouring I should say. I should add that the kids open gifts at our place on Christmas morning as well. So, once we cleaned up Christmas at our place, packed, and then headed to my in-laws, and spent the morning there, and then it was time to go!
We made a quick stop at my parents' house to pick up items for my aunt, who lives in Oregon. And off we finally were. We left at 1 pm and were headed towards Redding, CA. We DRIVE up to Redding (yes, we . make the drive 🚗), because that’s roughly the halfway point from Oceanside to Portland, Oregon. Day 1 was interesting... we made way too many stops, and didn’t get to the hotel till almost midnight!! Miles was not happy with us. We stayed the night, got up and ready, grabbed a quick breakfast, and were off to Portland!
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| "Road tripping with FRIENDS" Sacramento, CA |
A few hours after driving, the temperature kept dropping! Before I knew it, we were in the high 30s low 40s and I begged Miles to let me get out and take a photo of the Oregon sign. I have taken a photo of the sign since our first drive up to Portland, and it’s kind of a tradition.
As soon as we crossed state borders.. it was SNOWING! It was beautiful and everything I told the kids it would be. The last time my little nuggets saw snow was back when they were toddlers, and we went up to Angels Camp, CA for a Thanksgiving week family trip. After driving further up north into Oregon, we went through many hours of rain. In fact, the rest of the trip to the hotel was raining. Miles was in such a hurry to get to the hotel, we didn’t make it any better by asking to use the restroom or to inform him of our hunger. Once we got into Portland, it was a smooth ride! We checked in to our hotel, ate at an Elmer’s for the first time, and went back to the hotel. The next day, we explored downtown
Day 1: Downtown Portland-
We traveled on Day 1 with public transportation. Poor Serenity didn’t pack a thick enough jacket and was freezing her little arms off, so we stopped at a Target and got her her first puffed jacket. We had walked all over downtown and saw our usual sites, Powell’s, Target, ate at a great Mexican food restaurant and did some shopping. Day 1 was so much fun, but the next day was the most fun!
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| Across the street from Dante's Inferno at VooDoo Doughnuts |
Day 2: Snow Day, Mt. Hood-
This day was the best! We bought snow chains in Redding and were excited to (maybe) get to use them! We left around 10 am and headed to Mt. Hood! We drove for about an hour in the rain until we saw snow.
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| The view of the snow from the car. |
The poor kids had outgrown their snow boots and didn’t mention anything till the night before, so it was time to go buy new boots. One of the things I love about Oregon shopping is no sales tax 💕💕. The kids, Isaiah especially, love buying items there and waits to get his video games there.
We wound up stopping by a ski resort. The snow was so beautiful! He was still worried about where we had stopped and said we didn’t have much time before we had to leave. But did we have fun in our short time there! Although we didn’t get up the mountain and didn’t put chains on our tires, he made sure the kids had a great time! We kept thinking, “oh how Lily (our dog) would love the snow ❄️ ” but also how cold and miserable she’d be since she was and is a SoCal dog 🐕 . She can't hang in the cold for too long.
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| Snowy Trees |
The trees were beautiful, the street was covered, the air was cold, and the scenery was magical. It was an amazing time! We made so many snowballs and had our own snowball fight, and made the rule of nothing above the shoulders or below the belt. Boy!, did I forget how much snowballs hurt and how cold they are.
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| He is the 2nd snowman we've made to-date! |
We even got a chance to make a snowman.☃️ . He didn’t look all that great since we weren’t prepared with materials for a snowman, but he was ours, and he was perfect! The day was just beautiful! The kids talk about it to this day. The snowman took us a long time to make since he kept falling apart and then we’d try to put him back together.
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| We all loved the snow so much! |
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| ☮ |
It was decided unanimously that we would eat REAL food, so we stopped in downtown once more to find something to eat. We decided on Subway. After our bellies were full, we went to visit Rocket Fizz! There so much there, we didn't know where to start. While looking around, Isaiah found this mask, decided to put it on while dancing to The Village People's YMCA. I recorded it and put on Instagram but had to take it down due to copyright.
Day 3: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)-
Day 3 was a great day as well! I had searched up some fun places to go to with children on Pinterest, and OMSI came up! We Lucked Out because our hotel was only a few minutes driving distance from the museum. Before entering the museum, I thought the museum was going to be about Oregon's industry and its history... it was not. Everything ended up working out and it was a fun place!
The line was SUUUPER long, and we waited a good 20-30 minutes just to buy entry tickets.
Once we got it, we wound up splitting up, and I went with Serenity to go make a scribble robot made out of an electric toothbrush. She enjoyed designing it and make it hers, but was a little upset when she couldn't take it with her. I took a picture and video of her making it and seeing it do its thing for future reference. I also sent a picture to her teacher, and she said they were making them when they got back from break, so she would have a head start on the rest of the class.
Later in the day, we kept walking and found the Gingerbread exhibit. Everything in there was so cool! There were so many creations made out of pure gingerbread! There were minions, ancient Egypt, multiple level creations, it was so amazing!
In the end, there was a place where kids can color a gingerbread, and both kids did one! They were so cute, and there were so many!
Day 4: Movie Day-
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| Serenity standing next to the movie poster Serenity |
The next day, we decided to go to the movies in the city nearby and watch Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse. I personally wasn't too excited about seeing it, but it turned out to be a great movie! We all loved it and even got some cool "Butt Kicker" seats, that aren't available in SoCal.
Day 5: Tillamook Creamery, Tillamook, OR-
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| Entrance to Tillamook Creamery |
A the end, the kids saw this 1/2 VW bus that said "Tillamook" in front, and there was a LOOONG line! It Turns Out, many people were just waiting in line for ice cream, and not the bus, so we got in and took a bazillion pictures!
Day 6: Headed Home!
It was time to head home! Because we decided to split the trip home into two days, we weren't in a big hurry to get going. We usually start off our days slow anyway. For our last night in Oregon, we decided to stay with my aunt at her place. She works 6 days out of the week, so we didn’t get to see her our last day (morning) there, but we said goodbye the night before.
This morning, we packed up all our stuff, did 5-6 checks to make sure nothing of big importance was being left behind, and we got the road late that morning, picking up some breakfast on the way home. The first day is the longest! We drive about 10 hours into California, and it’s the last time we see the sites!
Late that night, we got to our hotel and blasted the A/C. It is so hot in Redding during the summer, I call it California’s little Vegas. It was nice to get out of the car, and not have to use a gas station restroom, or order food through a fast food restaurant drive-thru and eat the food in the car. I enjoyed sleeping on a bed, and we were one step closer to being home.
The next morning was slow again. This time there was no big hurry because the drive back wouldn’t be as long. We slowly got up, showered & ready and packed up the car once more, checked out of the hotel and headed towards home. This time we ate breakfast at the hotel. We love checking in to hotels that provide free breakfast.
We drove for about another 9-10 hours, stopping only for gas and the occasional walk to stretch our legs a bit. Now that the kids are older, traveling with them isn’t too bad, and we are learning to travel to Miles’ ways and rules. He says that if it were just him, he wouldn’t steal except to get gas, and that would just because he’s nearing empty. That was good to hear 😂.
After another long day of being in the car, we made it back to our home 🏡! Because Miles likes to do all the driving, he has “perfected” his technique of getting us home at a decent time. We don’t get home usually, any later than perhaps 9:30-10 o’clock at night. At the latest.
Once home, we bring all our luggage in, give our dog some love and cuddles and go to bed 🛌 . Does anyone else feel strange sleeping on their bed after a week or so of sleeping on other beds? I always feel like it’s a stranger's bed the first night, even though it’s my own.
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