douceur vivre: Babymooning in the Pacific Northwest

Our little family traveled to the Pacific Northwest a little over a week ago as a final getaway before numero dos arrives in a couple of months. We flew into Seattle for a few days to stay with some friends, and then drove down to Portland for the remainder of our trip. It had been awhile since we've visited our friends from the Northwest, so it was a blessing to be reunited again and finally meet their littles. However, as with any travel plans, things never fully go according to plan. And just from the one week we were traveling, both Mike and Little J caught the flu at different times, our rental car was rear-ended by a driver who apparently provided us with false information (thankfully it was just a fender bender and we were all ok), we meandered off into the wrong side of town the first night we arrived in Portland and Little J lost another shoe the last night of our trip (I guess this has become a ritual?). All that was enough to dampen anyone's travel mood.

But aside from the madness that comes with the unpredictability of life, we took things at a slower pace and managed to make the best of our trip. The plus side was that despite its reputation for being gloomy and rainy up north, the sun was shining nearly every day, minus one afternoon with some light rain. The last time I had been to Portland was when I was a tween, so coming back and seeing the changes in the city reminded me of an introverted version of San Francisco, or Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We ended up stumbling upon some unique little stores and delicious eateries in Portland - best part of being in the state of Oregon is that everything is tax-free!

I've included some recommendations below, based on the places we ventured to and ones that were recommended to us by friends and family- and here comes the photo diary...!