7 HEAVY suitcases, 4 backpacks and miscellaneous accumulated items - 3 hotels - no luggage carts. That's right. I don't think that trend has caught on here in the Northwest. Hotel 1, we were ground floor - no big deal - just a lot of trips Hotel 2 - we could pull up right outside the townhouse - ok, not a problem. Today's hotel - hotel # 3 - the hotel is built in to the side of a hill along a riverbank so our room is down 2 flights of stairs around a couple of turns and then you actually go up a couple of stairs just in front of our door. Tonight coming down wasn't a huge problem, going back up is not going to be fun. I'm not complaining though - the room is gorgeous and we have a nice view of the Siuslaw River. Tomorrow night, we will be able to sit in the comfort of our huge room and watch the fireworks out the window. The other thing that the hotels are missing is AC, but thats OK too - it really cools down at night. So today, we left the Mt. Hood area and headed back to the Columbia River - but this time in search of the actual site where DB Cooper's money was found. (hijacked a plane, jumped out in mid-flight with money, no trace ever found - except the suitcase of money - google it) John did a little bit of internet research and we were able to locate the exact beach. (I like unsolved cases - we try to visit as many sites as we can find when we go on trips) Anyway, back to today's trip. We continued to Portland to see the Trailblazer's home and the International Rose Test Garden, which I think has to be the largest rose garden anywhere. The air was so fragrant and there were roses of all colors and sizes - it was really beautiful. While Alexa and I enjoyed the rose garden, Jimmy and Peter lacked appreciation for it so it was time to reel them back in to our travel excitement. Hmm, what better way than a roller coaster? There is a small amusement park in Portland, Oaks Park that is more like a permanent fair. There was a roller coaster with a loop in it and the boys loved it. Everyone also tried their hand at the old fashioned shooting gallery. After some 'dumb fun', history was beckoning and so was the end of the Oregon Trail in Oregon City. Most museums are open to at least 5 in the summer, but this one was not. We got there a couple minutes before 4 and it was already closed. Thats OK, we were still in the spot that was the end of the Oregon Trail, and that is cooler than just reading about it. There were some historical signs that gave us info and so hopefully something was learned - like John McLoughlin is the father of Oregon. We even saw his house, of course that was closed too. Yesterday, Jimmy was reading his Guiness Book of Records and read about an elevator in Oregon City so we decided to check that out. It is a municipal elevator, one of only 4 in the world, it is considered the world's longest vertical street. A cliff separates the halves of town so there is an elevator that you use to go up and down. Before leaving we town, we stopped at Williamette Falls. After some car time, we were in Eugene at the University of Oregon - nice place. We ate dinner at a favorite restaurant of the Ducks (the University of Oregon Ducks) that serves a bajillion types of calzones. We decided to skip Salem, the state capitol, and Oregon State and catch them on our way back through. Now we are in Florence, and looking forward to a fun 4th of July. Have a safe and wonderful holiday! We'll keep you posted.
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