Portland trip - and the zoo!

We recently drove to Portland for the weekend with the girls. It was a 3 hour+ drive each way and the girls did pretty well except when a show would stop playing on their tablet (Ellie) or their mom rudely downloaded the wrong shows (Naia). On the way there we drove over the Santiam Pass and through Detroit Lake, which suffered a massive forest fire last September. There was a lot of rebuilding going on but soooooo many acres of burned trees. It’s hard to see. 

Once we got to Portland, we stayed at a hotel in old town. And it was also quite different. Lots of boarded up windows left over from the riots last year and SO many homeless people. They were absolutely everywhere. Most of the public parks and squares were fenced off and monuments were covered with graffiti. People warned us that this is what it’s like right now but it was crazy to see firsthand. We made the most of it though by walking around, visiting the river and Saturday market, and eating out a bunch. I hope the city recovers soon. 

The zoo was wonderful. Just absolutely the best day. The weather was perfect and we saw tons of animals, including a close encounter with a lion who definitely wanted to eat Ellie. She kept pacing behind the glass and following Ellie as she ran around. Crazy!! We loved the elephants and large birds and sea otters and giraffes and naked mole rats (ha) too. 

We arrived home happy and exhausted, which is usually the case traveling with young kids. 

Being cute for 5 seconds

Keeping a close eye on the smallest Petrovic

Did we nail this family photo or what?

She absolutely hated the carousel (ha!)

Pretending not to hate it

Oh wait, she actually really hates it

Not into taking a photo 10 minutes after tripping over my foot and knocking her forehead on the sidewalk