Back Again

It's been only a month since my last visit but, I was off to Oregon again. My mom was flying from Virginia to visit my Auntie Lilly, Khurram, & Aalia. I agreed to join her. I planned to be there for the Memorial Day weekend {Thursday to Tuesday} Also, I decided that I wanted to see a little more of Oregon. So, I arranged to fly into Portland and drive down to Eugene and Florence.

Day 1
I flew JetBlue out of Long Beach into Portland.

photo taken with my iPhone

photo taken with my iPhone

JetBlue lives up to the hype of the ads that plastered around town. It was affordable and comfortable. The flight had DirecTV and XM Radio. Unfortunately, because I pulled my standard last-minute packing scramble, I didn't get to enjoy either very much. {Must learn to pack well in advance} I was completely unconscious for the duration of the 2.5 hr flight.

When I arrived in Portland, I grabbed breakfast (at 3 the afternoon!) at Banning Restaurant & Pie House. I had their Eggs Benedict. The food wasn't anything to write home about, but the service was fantastic. My coffee cup never went saw the halfway mark and everything came out quickly.

photo taken with my iPhone

I needed a nap. So, I went to the movies to catch a nap. Not so-new-release movie plus afternoon matinee equals an empty theater. I have no shame. I slept through most of "State of Play".

After my much needed nap, I headed to the Pearl District in Downtown Portland.

I checked out some shops. I was reminded that I get overwhelmed when in large book or music stores. I can never remember what it is I'm looking for. I suppose the vastness of such stores triggers my ADD.

photo taken with my iPhone


photo taken with my iPhone

After my meandering, I drove 1.5 hrs. to Eugene to pick up my mom. From there, we drove another 1.25 hrs. to Florence.

Day 2
After the long day my mom and I both had the day before, we spent most of Friday lounging around Khurram's house and passing Aalia around.

Aalia had grown since I saw her last and has gotten even more expressive.

My mom the professional granny (my sister has 2 boys) fed and held Aalia for most of the afternoon.

Aalia napped with my mom...

...and napped with her dad Khurram.

Then we all had a marathon chat session via Skpe with her Aalia's cousin Kammi and Kammi's parents GeeVee and Rachel.

Aalia hung out with Dobby (her dog) while the adults had takeout.

We had the most amazing dinner from the Waterfront Depot in Florence. It was so good that I forgot to take pictures:( That was our low-key relaxing day.