Thursday, April 4, 2013

We didn’t go to the zoo

On Tuesday morning, we left on our official spring break family outing. We were headed toward Portland and the Oregon Zoo. But we forgot how exactly to get there. So we drove around Portland for almost an hour, only to discover that the zoo was packed with people. The secondary parking lot had a sizeable line of people waiting to catch a shuttle to the zoo. We do not like large flocks of people. So we re-vamped our plans on the spot. 1. Visit our favorite food truck in Portland: A Taste of India; 2. Go to that cool waterfall we saw from the highway on our drive. We did it. My Goa Curry Chicken was divine. Jeff’s Tikka Masala Lamb was delish. And the Naan! YUM. We drove an hour BACK the way we came and visited Multnomah Falls for our family outing-turned adventure. It was beautiful but quite the hike up to the top.  We only had to carry the children a little on the way up.

Jay and Rose were such troopers. Basically, we cancelled the zoo trip on them last minute and then made them hike a mile straight uphill instead. We are the best parents ever.

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When I saw that bridge, I realized that I went here back when I was like 9 years old.

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That’s me in the striped shorts.

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There was a lot less water in the summer back then. Springtime is GUSH time and we didn’t even go near the fast current this time. I remember slipping on a rock and getting soaked in the icy water back in the day. Brrr.

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“Let’s climb a waterfall!”

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The view was breathtaking. I love the Columbia River more every time I see it. You already know how I feel about fluffy clouds.

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The view from the top—it was a rush looking down over that 500+ feet of falling water. Notice how tiny the cars look down there.

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At the TOP!

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Comin’ down the mountain…Jeff had to switch which of Jay’s hands he was holding at every switchback (there were 11 switchbacks over a mile) so Jay stayed on the inside of the trail and away from the precariously steep edge. Jay walked the whole way down! I wonder if he was as sore as I was the next day.

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Resting on a rock while Jay and Jeff caught up. Rose was pretty tired on the way down, so I carried her on my back most of the way. But she did manage to hike 3/4 of the way up on her own, little buff girl.

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Jay was excited about the mini cave they found.

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Curry! Hike! Nature! Family! Mr. Zoo, we don’t need YOU.

2 comments:

Pieces of me... said...

I LOVE multanomah falls! Such a pretty and quick hike :)

Feinmemmy said...

You're making my northwestern heart go pit-a-pat! Love Multnomah falls. Some day you should hike bake to Oneonta falls (down the road a little bit). It's not as tall, but just as beautiful, and waaaay less crowded. Just be sure to go when the water level is low...it's quite a fun hike :-)