Sixth Anniversary "Stay-cation"

For our sixth anniversary, we opted for a less expensive "stay-cation" and hit the streets of Portland. I admit I was planning it this year and I am a frugal zealot, but who wants to go on an expensive "get away" when you have to take a four month old with you anyway? Not exactly a get away. :) Jana & Scott (my sis & bro-in-law) graciously agreed to watch Kylene & Spencer for the day (last Saturday, August 8) for about 10 hours AND helped me brainstorm. Thank you so much!

We started by taking the kids to the Portland Temple and walking around the grounds a little, then we dropped them off at Jana & Scott's and headed to Pittock Mansion (with a local library pass for FREE admission: frugal "score" #1!). (Pittock Mansion is a beautiful, 12,000 sq. foot home built in the early 1900s by the founder of the Oregonian. It had all the latest amenities at the time, including an elevator, two different phone systems, etc. My favorite part was that every light fixture had gas & electric capabilities, since they were just switching to electricity and it wasn't reliable yet.) After touring the mansion and enjoying the beautiful views, we set up a picnic on the grass overlooking Portland (frugal "score" #2!).

Outside Pittock Mansion:

Part of our "gourmet" picnic:Kyle, getting ready for lunch:

Then we drove to the other side of downtown for another beautiful view of Portland: this time from the new OHSU Tram that connects the South Waterfront District with all the hospitals on Marquam Hill (an architectural feat in itself). That was fun to experience, and we walked across the huge sky bridge between two of the hospitals.

Snapshot on the tram:

View from the top of the tram:

Skyler & daddy getting ready to ride the tram back down:

Next, we headed over to Portland's Saturday Market to experience the "artsy fartsy" side of Portland. Just kidding. I hadn't been to the Saturday Market in years and it was fun to walk around for awhile looking at all the wares and to people watch. Man, there are some interesting people out there. Kyle's favorite part was the "hell, fire, and damnation" preacher on the corner. Oh, and the 10 minute back massages we both got. I loved that, too!

For dinner, we decided to experience one of Portland's latest cultural phenomenon's: food carts. Ever heard of them? Portland is becoming known for them, apparently. We found an empty parking lot with about 10 different ones set up and we each chose one. I chose the Meditteranean-style cart where I could get a yummy falafel (aaahhh, Jerusalem), and Kyle chose to buy a French crepe made by a Chinese woman. We got a laugh out of that. It wasn't exactly a high-class restaurant, but it was culture! And, fun. Oh, and cheap (did I mention I like that sort of thing?)!

Then we headed over to NE Portland (near Lloyd Center) to a park where the Portland Festival Symphony was putting on a free summer concert in the park. (Does anyone hear the frugal bells ringing again?!) It was so fun and so casual. The orchestra was set up in the middle of the park and everyone was seated on the grass all around them. There were so many families and kids everywhere. We could have totally brought our kids, but it was fun just to lay back and relax and listen to the beautiful music (lots of Haydn). It was a beautiful, cool evening.

And then we went and picked up our kids and headed home. A long day, but so fun just to relax and be together. (Oh, and do it all for under $50; woo hoo!) I love you, honey!

At the Portland Festival Symphony Concert in the Park:

Kyle, listening to the music: