All About Liam and Oliver: Portland and the Oregon Coast

Mike had a conference in Portland, so Oliver and I tagged along and then we all went to Cannon Beach and Manzanita for the weekend. Portland was awesome - beautiful weather and lots to do. Oliver LOVED the street car, Powell's books and the hotel pool. Oliver and I had a wonderful time together while Mike was working. We had leisurely breakfasts along the river, walked and rode the train all over town, and trekked over to Powell's books, which has a huge kids section. Oliver went straight for all the books he has at home and then proceeded to try to pull ALL the books off the shelves. He picked out two books - sheep in a jeep and little pookie - Oliver's new favorites. We also saw a public open meditation session which Oliver tried his best to interupt...When dad was done with the conference, we went out for dinner and then headed straight for the pool! Oliver walked right in and went under water for the first time. He loves the water ("ice") so much! We left the city and headed for the ocean for our last two days of vacation. We walked around Cannon Beach and walked out to haystack rock. It was a gorgeous day! We then went to our hotel in Manzanita, which was one block from the beach. The hotel was perfect for Oliver - maybe not what Mike and I are used to. The new criteria for a good hotel room: 1) a separate bedroom so we don't have to lay in bed in the dark after 7:30 when Oliver goes to sleep, and 2) very little that can be destroyed. This place fit the bill and Oliver loved the TV/VCR combo - tried to stick bagel in there a few times! We spent the rest of the timne wandering the beach and playing in the sand. It was a very relaxing and fun trip.