Hitting the road after Portland

 We had a wonderful visit with Marianne, Linda, and our granddaughter Gioia after SUCH a long time between visits.  It started with Marianne picking us up and pulling over at the first available safe spot to get a long overdue hug from her Dad.  

Our time was wonderful including walks, baking, crafts, swimming, hiking, movies, ice cream (more than once yum) and a LOT of doll play.  Bill and I had been playing with American Girl dolls that used to be Stephanie's during the pandemic while G played with hers over Facetime.  So we brought them with us along with the clothes we had AND as a very sweet bonus Stephanie's AG bunk bed that she passed on to G.  

We did a spa with a homemade facial that consisted of oatmeal, yogurt, and honey.  We had a lot of fun with that - lining up for G to pamper us.

Portland is a very interesting city, and you never know what you might see.  We went to a farmer's market and saw a woman with a pig.  Not a tiny pig but a full grown pig - on a leash.  We also saw a VERY cool fences around a house near the market.  

I always try to give Marianne a daddy day - just the 2 of them.  They ended up going to Mt. St. Helen's and doing some great hikes.  They returned late and tired but happy as could be. 

There were more fun things in our visit, but all great visits come to an end. We picked up our rental which was a Subaru Outback and packed that baby up.  

We had a short drive day to La Grande, Oregon.  What a pretty and diverse drive on I84!  Normally interstates are boring - not this one!  We stopped at a rest stop and I looked down and saw money on the ground.  I looked around, nobody was there at that time.  It was $25!  I picked it up and after visiting the facility came back to see again if anyone was looking for anything.  Nope.  I feel terrible for whoever lost this money - but I thank them for dinner tonight!!