Portland, OR

We just got back from our first major vacation as a family of four.  We've been wanting to go to the Pacific NW for a few years now, but we didn't manage to get a trip in last year.  We finally got it planned, and honestly, it went about as good as you could hope for for traveling with a 4 year old and 16 month old.

We spent the first 4 nights in Portland and then 3 nights outside of Mount Rainer National Park.

We didn't have direct flights in either direction, but the girls did well on the flights.

Mabel actually got in a nap on both days. Two of our bags didn't make it on time (including Matilda's, thus her worried face below), but they were dropped off that evening.

Our first stop in town was for ice cream at Salt and Straw and beer at Great Notion Brewing.  We called it an early night since we were still on Texas time.

I didn't get a picture of the cool Airbnb we stayed at, but it was a nice 2-bedroom second floor apartment of a house in the middle of the Williams neighborhood.  It was a block away from nice restaurants and bars, so it was easy to grab a quick meal or food to go for when the girls were getting grouchy.

The next day was action packed.  First we took a short hike through Forest Park to the Witch's Castle.  This was Matilda's favorite part of the trip.  It was an abandoned little building in the woods, and she LOVED it.

Then we headed over to the International Rose Test Garden for a quick bit before nap.  I can't believe how many types of roses they had.  It was beautiful!

After nap we headed to a cool playground at the Arbor Lodge Park.  The girls had a fun time playing in the water and sand.

Then we took a quick stroll down Mississippi Avenue (lots of cute shops) and ate sushi for dinner. :)

The next morning, we took a 30-45 minutes drive out to Multnomah Falls.  It was a pretty impressive waterfall and a nice drive through the Columbia River Gorge.

Then we made an impromptu decision to head to the beach for the rest of the day.  It was about a 1.5 drive west of Portland.  After a brief stint googling best beaches, we decided on the beach at Oceanside, OR.  The drive winded through the Tillamook State Forest before arriving at the coast.  Mabel was not into getting into the cold water, but had a pretty good time digging in the sand.

Matilda and Jason spent a lot of time exploring up and down the coast before they came back and played in the sand with us.

Then the girls had a good time playing in one of the tide pools.  I guess the water was a bit warmer and calmer than the coast.

We took our last day in Portland pretty easy.  We headed to Powell's City of Books for a awhile, then did a short stroll through the Portland Saturday Market.

Then that afternoon, we went swimming at the Kennedy School Soaking Pool which was located in this cool old school that had been converted into a hotel.

And the next day we headed to our cabin outside of Mount Rainier National Park.