Oregon in April, Part 1: Arrival Weekend

Jim got time off during Ever's spring break, and we decided to check out Oregon for a week. Jim's been fantasizing about moving there when we retire, and he wants to retire as soon as possible (at 58). He thought it would be nice to start visiting potential retirement destinations.

We left on Saturday, April 6. Jim had rented a little place in Oregon City (outside Portland). Traveling is so much easier now than it once was. We still have to check two car seats and a booster, but the girls carry their own rollies and happily watch shows or movies on the plane. We don't even have to take a pack n' play anymore!

I know the second picture below gives a better view of all of us, but I love Tiny's face so much in the first one:

We picked up the rental car and drove to Oregon City, where we found an Italian restaurant on Main Street for dinner. I couldn't believe how big Jim's calzone was, but he managed to put it all away.

It was raining when we left the restaurant. As soon as we stepped out onto the sidewalk, Jim, who was just wearing a sweater over a t-shirt, was freezing. He said, totally seriously, "I don't think I can do this." Like after all these months (or years) of fantasizing about moving to Oregon, he was going to give up on the dream in the first hour because it was too cold. In April. I laughed at him. (Spoiler: he managed to buck up, dress better, and do fine the rest of the trip.)

Our car was parked near an elevator that takes people up to a little view of the city, so we checked that out before heading back to our house. Outside the viewing area, Wren showed Tiny how to lick rainwater off the metal fence.

I suggested they try to catch the rain in their mouths instead.

Then, on the way home, we stopped at a lookout to see this "waterfall" in the middle of town. Apparently a huge volume of water runs through here, but it's bizarre because there are all these dilapidated buildings (factories?) that I don't understand all over by - nearly in - the water.

Wrenzy tried to lick rainwater off the wall and sign here, too, but I didn't capture that.

Sunday morning we watched general conference. My phone can't deal with bright light for some reason, but in real life the speaker looked more human and less angelic.

As we got ready to leave the house, the twins engaged in some antics in the anteroom (which smelled strongly of mildew, although the rest of the tiny place did not because apparently dehumidifiers work wonders).

We tried to go on a little hike but after much driving discovered that access had been cut off. We headed toward the Portland temple and stopped spontaneously at a little park (which was closed) to see the river/waterfalls there. I did not capture it in photos, but the amount of water and the bizarre flow of it were quite impressive. There was a waterfall coming down above us, and then the river flowed down one side of us and up the other side of us, and then there was another waterfall down below. I did not understand what was happening.

The upper waterfall:

The lower waterfall:

The river flowing up one side:

The river flowing up one side and down the other:

The trees at the temple were glorious.

We popped into the visitor's center and met really nice sister missionaries who showed the girls some fun, interactive things. There was a place where you could select from a bunch of different video clips. The sisters asked the girls if they wanted to pick one, and for some reason I jumped in to select the clip about the woman taken in adultery. As it started, I said something like, "Whoops," and Jim was like, "Yeah, I was wondering why you picked that one. Not the one I would have chosen." Predictably, Detective Ever asked questions, and I did my best to answer and move on. Anyway, it was a nice, peaceful day.