Portland Adventures with Grandma

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Sometime in the last little while, the hubby went out of town for work and I was lucky enough that my mom came down to babysit ME.  With grandma in tow, we decided to go on a little adventure with the guys and Portland became the destination.  Thank goodness for GPS.  (When I was in college, my mom and I would often carpool. Even though we drove the route often, I repeatedly took time-costly detours, like trips over random bridges that added hours to our route.  And she still put up with me. *sigh*)  We only got lost once this time and found a really cool car wash when we did.  But we actually found our way to all the places we really wanted to go.  My how we’ve grown up, eh mom?

The first night we ate a lovely restaurant called Mama Mia.  There was easy parking across the street, they had kids’ meals, the decor was nice and we enjoyed our food.  We also noticed it was next to Mothers Bistro which looked like a fun restaurant for next time.  (And now that I think about it, are they owned by the same people?  It seems pretty funny for two restaurants dedicated to ones’ mom occupying the same spot….hmmm)

The next day we headed out early to OMSI for opening.  I even gave up my spot in line at Coava coffee to make sure we got there in time.  (For next time, I’m totally curious if you can take coffee into the museum.  And FYI: it is reciprocal for those of you with a Seattle Science Center membership.)

The guys had a blast and it was surprisingly not crazy busy.  We headed up the sand room first.

They also loved the water area.  I wish I brought a change of clothes, for them and for me.

We were chipmunks for way too long.

And had a blast shooting balls.  It was so much fun to see how the guys have changed since the last time we came here.

The guys wouldn’t let us eat lunch anywhere but the Grilled Cheese Grill.  This time we went to the Double Decker(southeast)and the hot grilled cheese really did hit the spot on such a cool fall day.

Like any ice cream loving Seattle-ite in another city Salt and Straw ice cream was on my radar though I didn’t get a chance to take any real shots of the place because one of the boys had picked up an unwanted souvenir en route.  (Thank you puppies of Portland…more on this later.)  I went with a safe apple pie tasting ice cream but I’m still dreaming of the Bollywood flavor I sampled and need to go back.  I also picked up some Woodblock bean-to-bar chocolate to try at home.  This solo ice cream shot does not do this place justice at all.

Grandma found a really cool kids’ store.

And this bookstore had so much character, I need to remember it for next time.

We also stopped in at Powells, of course.

And tried a restaurant called Ping.

Thanks to coloring sheets we brought along everyone had quit a pleasant meal.  The kids loved the sticky rice and satay chicken skewers.  My mom and I loved the yum yai and carrot cake.  I’m not sure how kid-friendly this place is, but we went early and they did say kids were okay and we noticed a few waiting outside when we left.

And just like that our trip was over.  We survived the drive there and back with a stop mid-way in Centralia and we had a lovely stay at the city-convenient Portland Downtown/River Place Residence Inn.  We’ll definitely have to do this one again.  Thanks mom-the boys and I had a fabulous time!

3 thoughts on “Portland Adventures with Grandma

  1. looks fun- you hit some of our fave spots! next time you should give us a shout and we will meet up with you! (and yes, mother’s/mama’s share and owner and a kitchen!)

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