Playing in Portland

We usually like to take advantage of the week between Christmas and New Year's to see family, but since we had just taken big trips earlier in the month, we opted for something a little more local. Although we've lived 60 miles east of Portland for over 4 years now, we feel like we've never really taken advantage of the city. So, on the Tuesday after Christmas, over the river and through the Gorge we went!

Our first stops were admittedly not unique to Portland. We wanted to spend some of the cash that had been gifted to us on Christmas, so we stopped at an outlet mall and Target.

The real fun began after lunch when we went ice skating at the Lloyd Center. This is the same place we went for Adah's birthday. She returned for another friend's party earlier in December, so Adah was feeling like quite a pro on this third trip to the rink.

Maggie is also getting pretty confident on the ice. In the picture below Damon and Maggie hadn't been skating for very long, but by the end of the session she was getting around without holding onto anyone else's hands or to the wall!

Gunnar even gave it a try...and did quite well. (Who knew they made skates that small?) He had a fun time and several times skated a short distance solo, although each time he did he got scared and applied a death grip for the next several minutes. (Oh, and I did skate, too. I just didn't make it into any of the good pictures.)

Tuesday afternoon it began snowing in Portland. They don't get much of the white stuff, so it caused quite a slow down on the city streets. We, of course, left the ice skating rink right around rush hour and took over 30 minutes to drive just a couple miles to our hotel. By bedtime it had begun raining, and by morning the snow was gone. (Not at home, though. We had to shovel when we got back Wednesday night.)

We spent the night at the downtown Embassy Suites, enjoying a tasty Thai dinner just a few blocks away. In the morning we ate the yummy hotel breakfast and then took advantage of the heated indoor pool, which we practically had to ourselves for 30-45 minutes before the late breakfasters started trickling in. We actually had tremendous luck on this trip, seeming to get in line for something just before everyone else showed up--whether it was at a restaurant, the pool, or the zoo (see below).

After checking out of the hotel, we visited a Portland toy store and found some lunch downtown. Then it was onto the Portland Aerial Tram. It travels 3300 linear feet between terminals at two OHSU (Oregon Health & Science University) locations. Primarily used to transport OHSU staff and patients, we rode the tram as tourists and then got a treat in the hospital cafeteria before descending!

Our final adventure in the city was attending Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo. This is an annual holiday lights display that begins at dusk. We arrived just before dark and were able to visit a few of the zoo animals that are on display--not many are due to the cold weather--before the lights started coming on. They were really quite amazing and included several animated vignettes, such as a giraffe putting a heart atop a Christmas tree and a bird flying from one tree to another.

A peacock:

This shot of an elephant spraying water was actually the last bit of a whole series that made it look like a group of elephants was at the waterhole and bent their trunks down to get the water.

Finally, we rode on the zoo's train to see even more lights. It was a great night that the whole family really enjoyed.

When all was said and done, we felt like we had really done what the city had to offer us. (Portland is suprisingly low on points of interest, seriously.) There are a few things we want to be sure to see and do when the weather warms up, but we no longer feel like we have neglected the big city.

We were also tremendously grateful for the GPS navigator from Damon's parents. We never would have found that tram terminal--or several other places--without it.