Portland trip

 For the last hurrah of my mom's epic summer trip here, she planned a super fun trip to Portland on the train.We were all excited to ride down and spend a few days being tourists. I was a little nervous to get there without a car to lug the kids and crap around, but we packed light and walked A TON.

Here is the train's arrival in Tacoma. Double decker!

 

The kids loved the freedom on the train with no car seats. They each took turns exploring the dining car and other areas with Grandma.

 Cheers!

 Here we are unloading in Portland. The big guys were super helpful.

Here we resting at the train station while I figure out how to get to our Airbnb.

 Portland train station was very cool!

Our Airbnb was about a mile walk from the train station. This was the weekend that was over 100 degrees! The kids were troopers. Archie walked the whole way without complaining and it was cool seeing Portland this way.

Whew, by the time we got to our place, we were beat! Here is a little R and R with the TV. Ivy got a front row seat.

The Airbnb was a really cute 3 bedroom apartment. After a rest, we did a "little" walking tour of Portland. We ended up walking about four miles around the city!! Kids were awesome and we had some great stops in the heat.

China town! A little disappointing to be honest. We kept looking online and in brochures for things to do in this hood and could only find recommended restaurants...

Best stop! We hit the Jamison Square Fountains which turned out pretty amazing. No suits - no problem! Kids went in anyway and Mom and I got some really great foot massages from the fountains. Had to peel the kids away after about an hour, but it was a great way to cool off and make it the mile back home.

Water break! Did I mention that it was super hot the whole time we were there?

The next day we woke up and waited for the pink bus!

It came!

The bus was pretty great and we got to see so many places around Portland. We were all happy to hitch a ride this day and made a great stop at the zoo.

You have never seen the elephants like this! Swimming and splashing... it was amazing! We stayed for about a half hour and loved every minute.

 Grandma took the kids on safari!

The kids cooled off while we waited for the pink bus to show up... it was sooooo hot!

There are no pictures from the last few hours of our trip, but let me just tell you the highlights....squishing on the overloaded pink bus (seriously, Leo was practically on the driver's lap!)... grabbing our bags and walk/running the mile to the train station... getting to the train with four minutes to spare... collapsing on the train because (and I'm not sure if you've heard) IT WAS SO HOT!!!

Man, I'm sweating just writing that last paragraph! It was such a whirlwind of fun to be on the train and in Portland for a few days. It was a great way to end Grandma Shirley's adventure with us - - we had a ball!