Exploring Portland

The kids did me the favor of sleeping in a little bit this morning, but of course E (my toddler) decided he had to have milk as soon as he woke up. Knowing that there was a coffeeshop in the lobby, I told him that we were going to have a funny adventure & go down to the lobby in Pajamas (don’t worry, I put on sweats). He thought that was hilarious, and “suitcase” in tow we headed downstairs. As soon as he saw where we were, he had to get outside to check out Portland. We did a quick walk around the block and then back upstairs to shower and change.

How do is shower in a hotel room with a toddler & and infant?!

• I rolled the hotel’s pack & play over by the tub & put the baby in it with some toys
• I gave the toddler a brand new toy to play with right next to the tub
• I showered quick!

Off to the Children’s museum! Portland has an excellent light rail system & as any parent of a toddler knows, public transit is an adventure in and of itself. We walked a few blocks to the light rail, bought tickets & were dropped off directly opposite the Portland Zoo. A quick trek across the parking lot took us to the children’s museum (there was also a cool looking Forest Discovery Center that we’ll check out on another trip). Both kids had a blast in the smallish museum where there was water play, climbing areas a theatre and more.

Next up… lunch! Nordstrom café is central, fast, relatively inexpensive, has some reasonable choices for kids & lots of high-chairs. My son, of course, had strawberries dipped in ketchup!

After a rough night getting the kids to sleep in the hotel room, it seemed best to get them both to sleep on the move (my daughter in the sling & my son in his stroller) & then I was off to check out Powell’s bookstore.

Once the kids woke up, it was time to run them around at a playground (there’s one right next to Powell’s technical books) and then off to dinner. We chose Oba, a Latino restaurant with excellent food. This restaurant has outdoor dining in summer (one of my favorite ways to dine out with kids… I’m less worried about the mess & they are occupied watching the pedestrians and cars pass by) and accommodates kids well. My son ordered an excellent child dish of jasmine rice with coconut & red beans.

Oba Restaurant
555 NW 12th Ave
Portland, OR
http://www.obarestaurant.com/new/dinner.html

Finally, we had a soothing walk along the river and returned to the hotel for bedtime.

0 comments | Posted on June 21, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

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