Travelling to Portland Oregon with 2 young kids

[Apple]

Feb 23, 2017 16:50:35 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Feb 23, 2017 14:28:30 GMT -5 Sharon said:

Another fun place with kids is the End of The Oregon Trail exhibit.  It is in Oregon city, so close in to Portland.

Really a great exhibit!  For anyone interested in the westward migration, it's a must see.

Just don't let them fool you, they aren't the real end of the Oregon Trail!  (look at any history book pre-1980s, apparently you can change history if you have enough money behind you).

[Apple]

Feb 23, 2017 15:42:11 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

So if we drove, we would hit Dinosaur National Monument and Yellowstone.

If we drove or flew, we would want to do a day at Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, and the coast.

Nothing would be all encompassing, but my son wanted to Yellowstone this summer anyway and I had said no because I wasn't sure I was ready to spend 2 weeks in the car withe them. He is obsessed with dinosaurs (as in his Kindle Fire is full of Dinosaur books).

For those that are friends with me on Facebook know that outdoors, hiking etc are my thing and my kids do ok with it.

If we didn't drive, we would probably take a second vacation in August to a Lake and camp for a week. If we drove, that wouldn't happen.

An idea if you don't drive to Portland (although, it would be a long drive from Portland, so may not be worth it) www.prehistoricgardens.com/  I haven't been there though, and I only found out about it recently.  It could be very underwhelming for all I know, but my son would have loved it when he was little!

However, if you were not trying to get back every night and just wanted to drive down the coast (or, make a big circle-- drive to Mt Hood, then south from there to Bend, OR, then further south to Crater Lake, then head west to Gold Beach and back up the coast--or the other way around) you could hit a lot of what Oregon has to offer-- desert, mountains, super boring flat stuff, trees, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, ocean, rain forest, etc.  You could even go a little further south of Crater Lake and hit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

[TheOtherMe]

CID is a pain to fly in or out of.  If you can fly out of Minneapolis, I suggest that.

[Works4me]

Because you are renting a car anyway, have you explored the possibility of flying into Seattle? It's less than four hours drive time to Portland. You could stay there a day or two and have fun doing things like the Space Needle, then drive down to Portland for the wedding.

ETA - IIRC, Seattle is one of the major West Coast hubs which makes it faster, easier and cheaper to go in and out of. It's also a fun city, especially for kids, as is Portland.

[Sharon]

Feb 23, 2017 18:00:18 GMT -5 Apple said:

Feb 23, 2017 15:42:11 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

So if we drove, we would hit Dinosaur National Monument and Yellowstone.

If we drove or flew, we would want to do a day at Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, and the coast.

Nothing would be all encompassing, but my son wanted to Yellowstone this summer anyway and I had said no because I wasn't sure I was ready to spend 2 weeks in the car withe them. He is obsessed with dinosaurs (as in his Kindle Fire is full of Dinosaur books).

For those that are friends with me on Facebook know that outdoors, hiking etc are my thing and my kids do ok with it.

If we didn't drive, we would probably take a second vacation in August to a Lake and camp for a week. If we drove, that wouldn't happen.

An idea if you don't drive to Portland (although, it would be a long drive from Portland, so may not be worth it) www.prehistoricgardens.com/  I haven't been there though, and I only found out about it recently.  It could be very underwhelming for all I know, but my son would have loved it when he was little!

However, if you were not trying to get back every night and just wanted to drive down the coast (or, make a big circle-- drive to Mt Hood, then south from there to Bend, OR, then further south to Crater Lake, then head west to Gold Beach and back up the coast--or the other way around) you could hit a lot of what Oregon has to offer-- desert, mountains, super boring flat stuff, trees, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, ocean, rain forest, etc.  You could even go a little further south of Crater Lake and hit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Unless this has changed a lot in the last 40 years it isn't that big of a deal.  We went there because of my Brother's love of dinosaurs.  It was okay and since we were in the area doing other things it worked out fine.  I wouldn't make a trip to just see that though.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Mt. St. Helens is a long-ish drive from Portland; it's not always open either, so check those dates.

Mt. Hood is at least an hour depending on what you want to do.

I second or third OMSI--fantastic place for kids that age.

Don't expect the coast to be warm--regardless of the season. It's called the coast and not the beach for a reason. 

Portland Zoo is one of my favorite zoos and is right there in Portland. 

[muttleynfelix]

I say Portland, but my SIL lives 20 miles north of the airport. (The wedding is in Portland proper).

First family vote is DS can't decide. First he said drive, then fly, then drive again. DH says drive. I can't decide and DD wasn't given a vote as we sent her to bed early.

[giramomma]

muttleynfelix Are any of you in the wedding?

Have you thought about which mode of transportation will be easier for you to deal with in case something happens and your travel needs to be adjusted in some way?

We had 5 months to prepare for a family wedding DH was in. For us, not only were there unknowns with kids but also with the weather. (Although, you won't have snowstorm issues).

Driving afforded more (last minute) flexibility than flying did. Our youngest got sick right after the wedding. She puked several times in 36 hours. (We actually went through a weeks' worth of clothing and three sets of pjs.) No way we could have taken her on a plane puking every few hours. At least we could manage her in the car.

[muttleynfelix]

Well we haven't been asked at this time to be in the wedding. My guess is that they aren't having anyone in the wedding except their kids (they are in their 50s, second marriage for both, each has one child in college). But there is a chance DS and DD could be ring bearer/flower girl respectively.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

We are a road trip family.  We have been everywhere from Acadia National Park in the north, to Key West and Dry Tortugas National Park in the south, and out to the Ohio/Indiana border to the west and everywhere in between.  Just this past weekend, DH and I did a quick 1,000 mile overnight to see our son's first game of the season.  I got back yesterday afternoon from a quick 700 mile overnight to see another game just outside Philly.  We are in the midst of planning a West Coast road trip sometime between May and the end of August.  So, we have some experience in this area, LOL.

The 4 of us love seeing America by ground.  We love the changes in topography, architecture, the different chain stores/restaurants, the accents, etc.  I almost became a starving Anthropologist, so exploring how folks live in any one area is really intriguing to me, and I share that interest with my DH and kids.  We do a ton of planning ahead of time and research where we are headed so that we can map out exactly what highlights we want to see/do.  We try to stay in towns and cities, rather than in faceless hotel chains along interstates.  We hike/take ferry tours/sometimes drive aimlessly/get locals' tips to really explore areas.  But, even if you don't have the time for such in-depth travel, it is really amazing how much one can see from the highway -- small towns, big cities, scenic vistas, rivers, abandoned mills, farms, etc. all stretch out from the edge of the road.  So, I highly recommend driving out to Portland.  You can even rent a car one-way (there is a one-way fee, but it is usually not cost-prohibitive) and then fly the other to maximize your time.  

If you drive, prepare:  videos, video games, books (favorites and new and about the places you will see/visit), coloring books, markers, crayons, play dough, magic modeling clay, puzzles, I-spy, Ad-libs, cheap cameras for the kids, a good cooler, fill small paper bags with surprises and hand them out when necessary, etc.  When my kids were in car seats, these Taby trays made it possible for them to do activities:





Stop regularly to run and play.  We mapped out elementary schools not too far off highways so that we could find safe places with playground equipment to burn energy.  The kids often made new "friends" who we would have never encountered 35,000 feet up in atmosphere.  

There will be moments when you will question whether you were crazy to drive instead of fly, but those will be few and far between.  Remember, no one else can hear you all screaming and crying when you're hurtling down the highway at 70 mph with the windows closed.     Every family should be required to take a long road trip together -- it should be a mandatory right of passage.  My kids talk fondly of our many trips, and, it is these memories that spurred them to ask for another family road trip this summer even though both are off to college.  We can't wait to see how the West Coast lives.     Drive.  Drive to Portland.  Maybe we'll run in to each other at a scenic vista or a rest stop.  

[muttleynfelix]

GRG - we road trip and have in the past. We took the kids to Florida from Missouri 2.5 years ago. That was 1000 miles one way. This would be 2000 miles one way. Both kids are potty trained and DD exploited it last summer. A 4 hr drive with her to my Great Aunt's birthday party took 7 last summer because every hour she said she had to go potty and then we'd stop, she'd go in and then say nope, not going to try. We'll do a 2 week road trip (I grew up on them), but I don't know if this summer is the time.

I also have to think of what we are giving up if we take 2 weeks. We give up a week camping on a lake. We give up my kids going to my parent's VBS. So I don't know. I enjoy road trips, but a week last year was my limit. By the end of the week, I was done with everyone. Another week on the road after that? Not sure I'm up for that. Again, I did 2 week road trips growing g up, but I was 6.5 when we started and my siblings were 11 and 14.

[lurkyloo]

Feb 23, 2017 12:48:52 GMT -5 swamp said:

they fell asleep just fine on the plant. waking them up to get off and into the car to drive home was a nightmare. DD was 3 and had an outright screaming kicking and crying fit when she was woken up.    I carried her off the plane while she kicked and screamed, and then took her to the bathroom to put sweatpants and change her pullup (she was still wearing pullups at night). She kept screaming and kicked me in the bathroom. All while the perfect mommies looked on in disgust.

And DD is really big, at 3 she was the size of a 6 year old, making it look even worse.

Isn't that the worst?  DS is both huge and super immature for his age.  You'd think I'd be used to the public tantrums and defiance by now but nope, still embarrassed (constantly).

[muttleynfelix]

So the kink in the driving budget may be going to Yellowstone. Hotels are crazy expensive there. Crazy. I'm going to have research alternative options to go that route.

[Deleted]

Feb 27, 2017 16:07:46 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

So the kink in the driving budget may be going to Yellowstone. Hotels are crazy expensive there. Crazy. I'm going to have research alternative options to go that route.

Camp in Yellowstone.  The kids will love it. 

[muttleynfelix]

Feb 27, 2017 16:09:51 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Feb 27, 2017 16:07:46 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

So the kink in the driving budget may be going to Yellowstone. Hotels are crazy expensive there. Crazy. I'm going to have research alternative options to go that route.

Camp in Yellowstone.  The kids will love it. 

Too much stuff to drive around to camp for 2 nights. We'd camp more, but other than my SIL'S house, we won't be staying anywhere for more than one night and I won't camp for only 1 night.

[muttleynfelix]

Oh boy. My SIL just messaged us and said the wedding is off. "Her fiance's job/life is too stressful to get married right now".

WTF (for my SIL) they've been together for 9 freaking years, this might get married thing is ridiculous.

[wvugurl26]

Good thing you didn't buy flights or book hotels yet!!

What the f is right? Either you have it together after 9 years or you don't!!

[Apple]

Oh, wow...

And I agree, it's a good thing you didn't already buy tickets!  The offer still stands to take you out/meet up for lunch if you ever do make it out this way.

[muttleynfelix]

Yeah, she was like I can't let my family buy tickets to come out here or make reservations if I'm not sure the wedding is going to happen. I felt really bad for her.