He Said:
Today we went out to the Portland Children's Museum. It's similar to the one in Seattle. We really need something like that where we live. The kids love it. They could have spent the day there. There's an Animal Hospital they both enjoyed playing, plus the grocery store, theatre, and so on. We stayed until lunch, then headed down to the next factory outlet to look for shoes for Mara. We tried Macheezmo Mouse Haute Dogs for lunch. It was alright. After that, Newport! Based on what we read, the Aquarium, Undersea Gardens, and Ocean are worth the trip. We also detoured for free slurpee day, which may have been just the right choice. We encountered an accident near Newport that had almost literally just happened, and there was a ton of smoke on the road. We had to double back and take an alternate route. Newport, as soon as we arrived, we loved it. The ocean, as far as you can see. Little shops, stores. We checked into the Hallmark Hotel, which is a very nice hotel. VERY nice. Fireplace, little kitchen, two queen beds, and a balcony with a great ocean view. We all took a walk down to the ocean, where people have etched their name in the sand in advance of the tide. It was an awesome visit. We followed that up with a great lunch next door. Then we wrapped the night up with some laundry. Lots of laundry. Oh the hole, Newport is pretty nice. And I literaly started typing with my eyes closed because I can't keep them open, so that's it for me.
She said:
Brad was very happy to be on the beach in Newport. So was I. The kids liked it but they don't quite grasp the majesty of it. They just think - "cool, sand AND water without having to fill a bucket like at the spray park". We ate at the grill attached to the Hotel. It was very good. I had clam chowder and a Blackberry BBQ salmon salad. I'm going to look for a bottle of Blackberry BBQ sauce - I'm sure it's not bottled - but it should be. It's going to be an interesting day in Newport - I'm anxious to check out the shops and galleries and the kids want to go catch some crabs. Maybe they'll get t-shirts that say "I caught crabs in Newport"!