Portland, Cannon Beach, and the Cottage

This morning we ate the buffet breakfast at the hotel, spent the morning in the pool, and checked out at 11:00 to be on our way. We drove around Portland for about an hour trying to find Andy's favorite place to eat: the exotic, fine food destination of Baja Fresh. Here were a couple of pictures I liked on our way out:

 The reindeer that says Portland. When you drive by it at night, it's all lit up.

 Chinatown. My friend and I were walking there last year, but I had to go back to the hotel, and she went on without me. I'm sad I still haven't gone there yet.

We decided to make a pit-stop in Cannon Beach, about 80 miles west of Portland, on our way to Seattle. The drive was some of the prettiest scenery I've seen. 

Andy with his concentrating face on:

 Wild flowers lined the sides of the highway:

When we made it to Cannon Beach, it was cold and raining, and Calvin had fallen to sleep. We dragged him out of the car anyway, but he was not happy about being groggy and tired and wet. He refused to get off Andy's shoulders because he didn't want his feet to get dirty. He was GRUMPY the whole time and kept asking to go home. Mr. Grouchy:

 

Autumn loved it. She loved the sand between her toes and finding rocks and throwing them into the water. She also thought it was hilarious that if she stood still long enough, her feet would sink and disappear into the sand. She loved the seagulls and the water and the seaweed. She was a gem and we had to drag her kicking and screaming from the beach. Little Miss Sunshine:

Throwing rocks:

It was such a beautiful beach. I would have loved to stay there longer. Maybe someday when it isn't so cold...

 On the drive from Cannon Beach to Seattle, we loved all of the bridges along the way:

 This rusty old thing looked like it was about to collapse on top of us:

Incredibly gorgeous marshlands. Who knew I could indulge my Cathy and Heathcliff fantasies right here in the Pacific Northwest?

Thick, dense forests (Minus the roadkill):

 The bridge crossing from Oregon to Washington:

And finally, we arrived in Seattle. We are happy to be here and to see this:

It's where we will call home for the rest of the month. Hooray for Seattle!