mom arrived a little late on wednesday and her flight from atl to san francisco was "like a roller coaster ride" so that wasn't good. we decided low-key would be the best option so we made a nice dinner (mn's specialty feta stuffed chicken breasts) and chatted til all hours.
thursday we went to the rose garden (sadly there weren't any roses blooming), drove around the west hills neighborhoods (beautiful homes perched high atop portland) and went to sellwood antique mall where we laughed and reminisced about goofy items from our past. after all that window shopping, we were in need of a treat so we got cake from a bakery nearby. the day ended with a trip to the gym in hopes of working off that cake and all the yummy stuff we'd eat over the next few days.
it was rise and shine early on friday so we could hit the road to seattle. we explored pike place market (and had fresh donuts), lunched at pike place chowder, took a harbor cruise around elliott bay, went to our favorite chinese food restaurant for dinner and hit I-5 south back to portland.
saturday was set aside for touring the downtown area. we took mom to see where i work then walked around the farmers' market sampling the fares. the last destination was saturday market where artisans sell their wares. it was a lot of walking but mom was a real trooper. we had the boyz over for dinner that night and they loved meeting mom and spending time with her. so much so, they invited us for dinner the next night at their place.
sunday was mother's day so we wanted to be sure to celebrate mom the best we knew how. we made a lavish breakfast of eggs, french toast, bacon and mimosas. after filling our bellies, it was back in the car and heading to multnomah falls and hood river. we didn't hike the falls but gazed in wonder at the magnificent cascading water - nature is pretty amazing, huh? we watched kiteboarders and windsurfers in hood river before stopping by our favorite ice cream shop for a treat. next it was off to the boyz place to do some additional mom celebrating. alan's mother was there for dinner and she is a hoot! we ate delicious shrimp and pasta, roasted veggies and a cheesecake to die for. thanks again, boyz!
our last full day with mom was spent driving to the coast. our first stop was cannon beach for some souvenir shopping, window shopping and general checking out the town. once our tummies started to rumble, we made our way to the wayfarer for lunch. the food was outstanding, altho it was a little too "froo froo" for mom, we think. she said she enjoyed it and we all enjoyed the ocean view. we took a walk along the beach, searched for shells and rocks, snapped some photos and were on our way.
our next stop was tillamook - watching the production of cheese, sampling cheese and partaking in some super duper ice cream. you really can't beat the creaminess of fresh ice cream. we followed all that with some snapshots before piling back in the car and heading for portland. (i know it seems we did a lot of driving and riding, but some of the best conversations we had took place as we drove. we really made the most of every second we had.)
monday night was filled with packing and fighting off the sadness we all knew the next morning would bring - saying goodbye is so very hard.
5:00 am came pretty early, but luckily the airport wasn't very busy and we were able to get mom's bags checked and get her in the security line with no trouble. final sentiments were expressed along with lots of love and words of gratitude. we tried to hold back the tears, but that was impossible, so we allowed them to flow and waved until we couldn't see one another any longer.
we were so thrilled to have mom visit us and we're so thankful to have such a wonderful mom who loves both of us very much.
here are some photos from our fabulous vacation with mama gail.
seattle
shout out to lil bro
riding max in pdx
typical portland (sign says "fishing for beer")
mom found her next car
goofing around at pge park
multnomah falls
cannon beach
on the way to tillamook
outside of tillamook cheese
on the roof of our apt building
kandinsky didn't want mama gail to go home
and neither did we
we love y'all and miss y'all very much!
1 comment:
Well, it made me cry to look at the pix along with happy smiles :) I had a GREAT time!! I enjoyed the Wayfarer in Seattle... i have never had oysters prepared that way. I can't tell you both how much I enjoyed being a part of your life in Portland and meeting the Boyz. It was a wonderful time and you both spoiled me so much!!
I love you both,
"Mama Gail"
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