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How to Enjoy a Lake Weekend

We had the pleasure of traveling to Hayden Lake, Idaho over the weekend.  While the drive was over 300 miles, once we arrived at the lake, we stayed put and learned all about the art of enjoying a lake.

Things You’ll Need:

Essentials…

  • bathing suits
  • towels
  • sunscreen
  • life jackets
  • sunglasses
  • drinks
  • snacks
  • music
  • cards/games
  • water toys
  • boat

Non-Essentials (but fun to have)…

  • jet ski
  • dock
  • lounge chair
  • hammock

1. Cook up some nice, warm, sunny weather.  A little rain and clouds are okay at times; it helps cool things down a bit.  Thunder and lightning are also okay (as long as everyone is safe ashore), especially when they put on a show at night.

2. Grab your swimsuit, towel, sunglasses, and sunscreen, and try one (or more):

  • Lounge & Read (book, magazine, kindle, newspaper…all are great choices)
  • Play cards
  • Have a ball with water toys
  • Take a nap

3. Jump in!

  • Float
  • Challenge your friends to swimming competition
  • Dive
  • Strap on some goggles or a snorkel mask & look for treasures

4. Enjoy delicious food with good company.  Here are some suggestions:

  •  Homemade fried chicken, brats, and wings
  • Fresh Halibut Tacos

5. Take a boat ride.  Optional: At Sunset.

6. Reminisce, catch-up, and laugh (best done around a fire).

“A day at the lake is worth a month in town”

This post is part of Travel Tips Tuesday on WalkingOn Travels and Suitcases and Sippy Cups.  For tons more travel tips, check out their sites!

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Walk Portland

Walking continues to be a favorite pastime for our family, and is (obviously) one of the best ways to explore a place, new or old. While this was months ago, we had quite an adventurous walk in Portland, Oregon after getting off the train from Seattle.

First, we ditched the stroller for the ergo.  This was an easy choice after initially trying to navigate the crowded outdoor market.  The stroller can be great.  It gives you a place for your little one, and a place for all your stuff too.  However, it’s not so great when it actually slows you down waiting for gaps to appear in the mass of people.  It also makes it difficult to get in and out of places.  Opening doors while attempting to push the stroller inside…I just can’t make it look graceful.

To fuel our journey, we braved the line (not too bad, just a block long) to visit the world famous Voo Doo Doughnut shop.

Slaed went with the classic Voo Doo Doll Doughnut (filled with raspberry jelly), while I stuck to my favorite flavor combination (chocolate and peanut butter), and chose the Old Dirty Bastard.  The Old Dirty Bastard features chocolate frosting piled with oreos, then drizzled with peanut butter sauce.

Filled with Voo Doo goodness, it was on to the waterfront to take in the views of the Willamette River. As I learned the following day, walkers, joggers, runners (me), cyclists, etc. can enjoy the trails that run along the river on either side.

After exploring Old Town/Chinatown just for a bit, we were ready for lunch.  Sticking with our love of breweries (see another Oregon favorite), we wandered into Deschutes and found ourselves yet another kid & adult-friendly establishment.

In addition to making everyone happy with the atmosphere, we landed two delicious beers, and another perfect food combination.

Grilled Pear and Goat Cheese

Elk Burger with Guyere

Continuing to enjoy this amazingly beautiful and warm day, we crossed over the freeway, we made our way to the Northwest District (or Alphabet District or Nob Hill, also home to “trendy third”).

A view from Wallace Park

So many folks out and about enjoy the warm sunshine

Cherry Blossoms along 23rd.

Back at Wallace Park, we met up with friends (Portland residents), and decided to let them take over our walking tour. They led us to the not far, Washington Park where we explored the Rose Garden, Amphitheater area, and of course indulged Bergen in his favorite past time these days: swinging.

Working hard to climb the slide

Bergen’s buddies

No blooms in April, but come summer, I’m sure it’s glorious.

Having worked up an appetite for yet another meal.  The 7 of us headed to McMenamin’s Tavern & Pool.  Another great family choice.  Food was good.  Beer was better. The best though was capping the night off with a delicious truffle at Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe.

Finally…a quiet walk back “home” to our hotel with Bergen nodding off in the ergo.  Portland.  Our lovely neighbor to the South.

Info to Know:

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Forget the Plane and Leave the Car at Home: Tips for Family Train Travel

This past weekend, we skipped the traffic, and frequent stops for eating, diapering and restlessness relief on I-5.  We did away with the crammed quarters, long lines, and endless rules of airplane travel.  No, we didn’t stay at home this weekend.  We went to Portland, OR.  How did we get there? We took the train!

Portland Train Station

10 Reasons Why We Love Traveling by Train

1. You don’t have to drive!

2. No Traffic.

3. You can really enjoy the beautiful views.  No worries of veering off the road while you catch a glimpse of a majestic mountain or serene lake.

4. No need to stop every time Bergen needs to eat, get his diaper changed, or just a break from the carseat.

5. Bergen is not strapped into his carseat. He is free to move (within reason), which is what he loves to do.

6. You can chat and mingle with our passengers in a more relaxed environment than on an airplane.

7. Bored in your seat? Take a walk from car to car. The wide aisles and vestibules provide lots of space to roam.

8. The bistro car has food, drink, and additional seating.

9. Plenty of time to relax & do something you love to do.  Just a few of the things we saw other passengers doing: reading, knitting, crocheting, playing cards, catching up on emails, & enjoying the company of traveling companions.

10. The price is right.

A Few Tips for Train Travel

Based on our experience with Amtrak Cascades.

  • If you want your seating assignment ahead of time, check out “business class“.  It will cost more money, but may be worth it if you don’t want to wait in line at the station for your seat, want more leg room, fewer passengers in your train car, and priority boarding (among other things).  We didn’t opt for business class for this trip, but may do so in the future.
  • If you decide to travel coach, get to the station as early as possible to get in line for your seating assignment.  When traveling South, the views are best on the right side of the train.
  • Children under 2 ride free with an accompanied adult.  They do not get an assigned seat, BUT it doesn’t hurt to ask when checking-in as there may be extra seats.  We asked at the Seattle station on our way down to Portland, and were given 4 seats: “family style”– 2 sets of seats facing each other with a table in the middle!
  • The PCC offers a free companion coupon for travel on Amtrak Cascades.  This year the deal was for trips between November 1, 2011 and April 30, 2012.
  • Be prepared! Bring items with you to make the trip more comfortable and enjoyable.  Binoculars, laptops, smart phones, ipods, books, e-readers, playing cards, crayons & paper, &  maps are just some of the things we saw other passengers using to keep themselves amused.  There is free wi-fi access on the train.
  • The Amtrak Cascades line runs from Vancouver, B.C. to Eugene, OR with  many stops in between!

Slaed and I both agreed: Train travel is actually relaxing, and fairly stress-free.  We enjoyed a beautiful weekend in Portland, and Bergen was as happy as can be!  The train station in Portland is close to Downtown & the Pearl district (definitely walkable), and the lightrail makes for easy transportation to points further out.

If you’ve traveled by train, share a little bit about your experience!

What did you like (or not like) about it? 

What other tips do you have?

This post is part of Travel Tips Tuesday on WalkingOn Travels and Suitcases and Sippy Cups.  For tons more travel tips, check out their sites!

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Maryland Love

Back in February, we ventured “back East” to my home state of Maryland, and Washington, D.C. ended up getting all the attention.  Washington, D.C. is a great city, and all, but we we actually spent most of our time exploring the beauty of the Northwest part of Montgomery County, MD. From Gaithersburg to Darnestown to Poolsville to Beallsville to Barnsville (that’s a lot of villes) with our little baby adventurer in tow, I got the chance to really appreciate where I grew up.  With our dear family friend as our guide, and babysitter at times, we were able to pack a lot into our quick weekend visit.

First stop, Seneca Creek Aqueduct along the C & O canal.

Potomac River

After a brief history lesson, it was back in the car for a well-deserved breakfast at Bassett’s in Poolsville.  Then we rode through farm land and rolling hills not yet hit with sprawl, and found ourselves at a mountain.  Yes, a mountain in Maryland.  Maybe not as big and glorious as the mountains back at home in Western Washington, but beautiful nonetheless.

Looking down as I climb Sugar Loaf Mountain

A view through the bare trees...

Elevation: 1,282 ft

Even though Bergen would have loved to take in this view, he had more important things to do: nap.  While Slaed and I were scrambling up and down the mountain, he was snoozing away in the car with our tour guide, Julie.  She’s seen Sugar Loaf a million times, and was perfectly content to take a break.  What a luxury for us to get to explore at “normal…before baby pace”!

In thanks for her babysitting, we treated Julie to another thing you might not expect in Maryland: a wine tasting.

Bergen rallied from his nap to take part in the festivities.

Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard

We enjoyed  our sampling as Bergen kicked away in his baby bjorn.  The winery is just outside of the Sugarloaf Mountain Natural Area, and grows the 5 bordeaux grapes, and 2 white grapes.

Traveling back to your hometown can often turn into a whirlwind experience with so many people to see and visit.  I’m glad we were able to take it slow on this day, and really soak up the loveliness of Maryland.

Where is your hometown & why do you love it? And, if you’ve posted about your hometown, share your link!

For more fun “Photo Friday” travel photos, visit Delicious Baby!

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All Work and No Clams: Cape Disappointment, WA

After a perfect evening in Astoria, OR, we headed across the bridge and back to the great state of Washington for an Easter weekend of clamming and camping {or so we thought}.  The clamming actually took place in Long Beach & Oceanside, and the camping in Cape Disappointment State Park.  You’ll see why Cape Disappointment fits this blog title.

We met up with our friends, loaded up in their truck, and hit the beach.  We watched as successful clammers walked away with their catch, and got excited.  As long as you have a clamming license (obtained at various sporting goods & fishing shops), you are allowed 15 clams.  The rule is, you get what you get.  If you dig up a small clam, and think, “I can do better than that…”, you are out of luck, you’re stuck with it as part of your 15.

With clam guns in hand, off they go to catch dinner…

After a few practice digs (Slaed doing most of the digging as I was carrying B in the ergo), we started to get the hang of the technique.  However the clams were not showing up. Maybe this part of the beach has already been clammed enough? So, we loaded back into the truck, and drove North. We tried again…

No clams.

Back into the truck a third time.  Maybe just a little further North will do the trick.  Along the way, we ran into a fish and wildlife police officer, and we asked him for advice.  His advice was the come back the next day, bright and early.  Disappointing.  We stayed positive though.  We wouldn’t have clams that we dug up ourselves for dinner back at the campsite, but at least we’d have clams to cook up in our own homes when we got back.

On Day 2 of our clamming adventure weekend, we did like the wildlife officer said, we were up at the crack of dawn, and drove much further North this time with high hopes.  Apparently, everyone in the entire state of Washington was thinking the same thing.

Washington’s Easter Egg Hunt

We found what looked like a good spot for digging, kept our eye on some experts (in my mind, an expert is anyone who actually has clams in their bags), and got down to work.

Our friends Tim and Alina working hard.

We searched and searched for the clams to “show”, supposedly a small dimple in the sand indicates their presence, but little was revealed.  We dug in spots where we thought a clam might be showing.  We observed experts, and even asked them for advice.  There were 6 of us, which means if everyone got their allotted 15 clams, we’d have a grand total of 90 clams.

Wondering how many we were able to dig up? 2.  Yes. 2.  Better luck next year, I guess.

Despite our lack of clams, we still enjoyed a beautiful weekend.  We couldn’t have asked for better spring weather, our friends got to really bond with Baby B, and we learned that we can camp with a baby! {sort of…more on that in another post.}

The Clam Digging Family

Who had the best time clamming?

Norman, of course! So much fun that I couldn’t even get a good picture of him.

Info to Know:

  • To find out all there is to know about razor clamming in Washington, check out the WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife’s website.
  • Cape Disappointment State Park is a great choice for camping.
  • Not a camper? Check out the Sou’Wester in Long Beach, WA. Stay in their funky lodge, one of their cabins or “tch! tchs! (trailer classic hodgepodge).  You can even hook up your RV there.  We stayed in the lodge a few years back and loved it, and you’ll be just steps from the beach!
  • Don’t forget all your clamming tools & necessities: a clam gun, rubber boots, clamming license, gloves, bucket or net to hold your clams & lots of patience.
  • Check the tides; clamming is best at low tide.

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