Vacation blogging (very belatedly) parts 2 and 3

Part two started getting up at regular work time and getting on the road. We drove from Seattle down to Portland, stopping once for some caffeine and Jack in the Box tacos (YUMMY!). Then in Portland we found ourselves in the Pearl District downtown, parked, and went in search of a restaurant for lunch. That was harder than we thought it would be, but eventually we found a bar that was kind of funky, had free wifi and got some delicious pizza.

Then back on the road, but instead of driving straight to my grandparents, we decided to head down the coast which was a much more beautiful drive. It wailed on us with the rain until right before we hit the coast when the sun came out and it was gorgeous and lovely and a perfect view for Sam's first day in Oregon ever.

We stopped and got out of the car on the beach in Lincoln City. There we were on the Pacific Ocean, on the beach for the second time in February. Although, it turns out that it is much more fun to be on a beach in Mexico in February than in Oregon in February. Then we swung back East to my grandparents farm.

There my uncle Chris and my grandparents met Sam. I am pretty sure that he was well received (my grandmother mught have approved the most). Then we had a delicious dinner of pheasant and bread and a few things before we drove over to my cousin Shane's house to see him, his wife Sadie, and their brand new baby Owen who was 8 days old. We didn't stay too long since they had a new baby, but it was good to see them.

The next day we got up and took a tour of the farm, met my aunt, and spent a little more time with the grandparents before we headed off to my hometown.

Before heading all the way to Pasco, we drove to a winery called King's Estate for lunch at their kinda fancy restaurant. The food was delicious with things like estate cured ham and flight of yummy wines. Then we drove another big chunk until we stopped at Multanomah Falls which is this amazing waterfall just East of Portland. We got out and climbed up to this old bridge across the bottom of the falls, if it hadn't been raining so hard we might have hiked up higher but we didn't. It was raining and we needed to get back into the car and drive all the way to my parents with brief stops for gas and fast food.

That brings us to Part 3: Hometown.

Our first night in, we just hung out at my parents for an hour or two before going to bed and saw my sister a bit when she came over after a meeting she had for work. The big revelation was that my parents let us sleep in the same bed! Sam and I, unmarried, premarital fornicators that we are, were allowed to share a bedroom for the trip. WEIRD!!!

The next day was sort of low key and let us catch up on some sleep. We got up to go take Natalie out to lunch at a little Mexican food place with big BIG margaritas and played with my mother's 10 week old kitten. That night, my aunt threw us a dinner for close family friends who were all meeting Sam for the first time. It was kind of a test, but I think that he passed it. I also got to see my brother's fiancee for the first time since they got engaged (well the first time since they started dating even though I have known her for well over a decade almost two). They seemed very happy.

Our second full day in town, I got to see my dear friend Heather before my mom, my sister, and my brother Tom took Sam and I wine tasting. My mom was BLITZED after the second winery. We had to taste and eat at the third one, but then Natalie and I got a little toasted at the fourth winery. They were pouring EVERYTHING for us there because we bought a great deal of wine as gifts for friends who were putting us up (wink, wink Sally) and Sam's brother as well as to drink ourselves while we are there. Then we had dinner at Tom and his fiancees house with my parents. It was nice, kind of lo key, Kate makes a great pasta red sauce. That night Natalie and I karaoked it up at our local bar. Seriously no one was singing at the Dugout, just us. We sang a ton. A handful of people who knew us (but were not singing) started laughing and heckling because of how many songs we had sang.

The next day we headed up to Idaho which will be part four coming soon. . . hopefully.