Then, came the big "surprise"... In October we found out I was pregnant. We felt shocked, anxious, excited, thrilled, and nervous all at the same time. Then even more reality sunk in... I would be 32 weeks (7 months) pregnant on our trip we had just planned. We decided that was too close to call, since it is recommended that you don't travel at 34 weeks or after, and that I would probably be too uncomfortable to travel and sightsee. So, we did what any responsible adults would do and tried to reschedule our trip. There was just one problem... we booked through Travelocity and they wanted $800 to reschedule; that was more than the plane tickets cost us in the first place. Looks like we had the option to either use the tickets or lose the tickets. We didn't know what to do, and waited until the last minute to decide (2 weeks before the trip was scheduled), but decided to ultimately take the trip. We were given the advice from family and friends that we had already spent good money on the trip that we didn't want to waste, and this was our last chance to have a vacation as husband and wife, just the two of us, before we became "mom and dad" (crazy). We are so glad we decided to go; we had a really great time. So, without further adieu, here are the highlights of our final spring break, or I guess "babymoon," as we should now be calling it:
Day #1: The arrival.
We were supposed to fly out of the Kansas City airport by 1:50pm on Saturday, March 23rd, to our connecting flight in Denver, CO. But, due to bad weather in Denver, our flight was delayed by an hour. "No biggie," we thought, because we actually had a four hour layover in Denver. But, then we were delayed another hour, and then another, and so on, until that four hour delay in Denver actually turned into us possibly missing our connecting flight by 20 minutes. Luckily, our connecting flight had been delayed due to bad weather by 30 minutes itself; unluckily, our connecting flight was on the complete opposite end of the Denver airport, so we had to run "as fast as we could" through the huge airport to make our connection. So, we booked it to our gate, just to find out that our connection was delayed again, and then again. Wish we would have known that ahead of time before I ran a mini-marathon through the airport while 7 months pregnant, sheesh. But we finally arrived in Seattle and Becky picked us up (it was so great to see her), and off to our hotel we went.
We arrived at the hotel close to midnight, and after grabbing a quick bite at Denny's (we hadn't eaten a real meal all day), we were super excited to finally get some sleep... just one problem... we get up to our room and there was only one bed. Chris went down to the front desk to ask for a different room since there were three of us, and pretty much got the answer that we were out of luck because that was their last room. Not being satisfied with that answer, Chris and Becky went back down to the lobby to find out what happened. The guy at the front desk, Brett, said that it was our fault for not calling ahead to make sure we were getting a room with two beds (which I don't get, because they knew we had three adults on our reservation). Then Brett said, "We have other rooms which are already reserved, but I have to hold them until 2am for those reservations." Becky then asked if we could have one of those rooms instead, and he could give our current room to one of the those other guests. He then changed his story and said, "I don't have any other rooms." Becky said, "But, you just said you did." Then he started shaking his hand at Chris and Becky and sternly said, "I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THOSE OTHER ROOMS." What?!! He was so rude. We asked for a roll-away bed or extra blankets so Chris could sleep on the floor (which is a bogus compromise anyway since sleeping on the floor is crazy when you paid for a hotel room), and were told the hotel was out of both. Again, what?!! So, we called Hotwire (who we booked our hotel through), who suggested we go to another hotel at our own expense and they would investigate the situation and reimburse us. Not our first choice, but the choice we took, and finally at about 3am (5am Missouri time), we got to another hotel and were able to finally get some sleep. We were praying this wasn't an omen of how the rest of the trip was going to go. But, thankfully, the rest of the trip was wonderful.
Day #2: Seattle, WA
First, we went to the Space Needle. We didn't eat at the restaurant there because it was super expensive, but we got to take in the gorgeous 360 degree view of Seattle. Funny story, on our way up to the top the elevator was crammed full of people and right in front of Chris was this little 'ole Indian man. He looked Chris up and down a couple of times, then just looked up at him and gave Chris a huge smile. Chris, looking straight down at the man, smiled back. Then the man said, "You are tall." Chris said, "Yep." Then, he asked how tall Chris was, and after Chris's response he weirdly said, "OH, I am like a baby to you." Chris had never heard that response from a grown man before and really didn't know what to say. Becky and I just laughed in the corner of the elevator at all of the awkwardness.
Next, we went to Pike's Place. I think this was everyone's favorite place in Seattle. There were so many vendors with fresh flowers, fresh fruit, fresh seafood, fresh bakeries, (keyword being "fresh" in all of these), adorable boutiques, and small restaurants from around the world. Chris found a German place where he was able to find a lot of the same treats from his mission. We ate at this awesome Russian place called "Piroshky Piroshky," which serves fresh baked "Russian Hot-Pockets." They handmade this flaky bread, stuffed with either meat and cheese, potatoes, onions, peppers, chicken and rice, spinach, marzipan, eggs and sausage, etc., whatever you wanted pretty much. It was so good. We also got to taste samples at the fruit stands of some of the freshest and best tasting plums and grapes we had ever tasted. This one bakery had the best cinnamon rolls ever... seriously, so good. We didn't buy any seafood, but I saw some of the biggest lobsters and shrimp I had ever seen. Everything was just so fresh and good. It was a really fun time.
To finish off the night, Chris wanted to try some fresh, true, famous, northwest seafood. Since the northwest is really known for its salmon and tuna, we ate dinner at a restaurant called "The Crab Pot" and Chris got some salmon. He was never a huge fan of salmon before, but he said this salmon was crazy good. I'm not personally a seafood person, but he said you can definitely taste a difference when the seafood is really fresh. He said there was absolutely no "fishy" taste; he loved it.
Day #3: Seattle, WA and travel to Astoria, OR
The next day we checked out of our hotel to head to Oregon, but decided to stop by and see the Seattle Aquarium before we left. We had a really good time at the aquarium in Chicago the year before, and assumed the Seattle aquarium would be similar... we were wrong. The aquarium was a bit of a disappointment. It cost $20 to get in and it was really small. They pretty much had 3 large rooms... one, with a bunch of starfish you could pet and a jellyfish tank and octopus tank, another one with a bunch of small fish tanks filled with small fish from the Pacific, and one room with sea otters and seals (although the seal tank was being repaired so we didn't even get to see the seals). I will admit, we did get to see the staff feed the octopuses, which was really cool, and the sea otters were being playful and were really adorable, but after a little over an hour, we were ready to go.
On our drive out to Oregon, we made one last stop at a Starbucks. Which, since Starbucks started in Seattle, you just have to do. We were going to stop by the very first Starbucks ever, but the line for that place was out the door and wrapping around the building... no thank you. But, we still stopped at a Starbucks. Chris got a vanilla frappuccino and I got a hot chocolate. Both were good, but to be honest, we didn't get the big hype over that place. Maybe if we drank coffee it would mean more to us:)
That afternoon we arrived in Astoria, OR and went by to see "The Goonies" house. "The Goonies" is a favorite childhood movie of both Chris and I, and it was filmed in Astoria, OR. The original house from the movie currently has someone living in it, but you are allowed to walk up to it and take pictures. The beach where they filmed the scenes of finding One-eyed Willie's ship were filmed at Cannon Beach, which was about 45 minutes away, so we waited to go there later in the week. That night we ate at a local brewery in town, and Chris had some really good fish and chips (again, continuing his theme of trying fresh seafood).
Day #4: Astoria, OR
Becky had to work most of the day, and since she was our ride, we spent most of the day resting in her apartment. Which was actually super nice. Being 7 months pregnant and doing all the sightseeing we had been doing was definitely wearing on me. Having a day to sleep and recuperate was very needed. We did have lunch with Becky and her friend, Riki, and Riki's husband, Andrew. It was nice to finally meet Riki because I had heard so much about her from Becky over the years. And that evening we went house shopping with Becky, which was a great way to get a tour of the whole town of Astoria. Becky did find one house she loved, and plenty which were weird (one had a leaning living room floor where the foundation was sinking on one side, and just had a creepy feeling. I have no idea how the owners expect to sale that house). So, hopefully next time we go visit Becky she will have a brand new home:) We also took a tour of the spa Becky works at... it was really adorable and made me wish I was getting a massage.
Day #5: Cannon Beach, OR
Well, we finished our "Goonies" tour this day. We went down to Cannon Beach which is where "The Goonies" filmed the final scenes of the movie where they find One-eyed Willie's ship. It is a super cute, tourist town about 45 minutes south of Astoria, with a lot of cute shops, great restaurants, and of course, the beach. We started by eating lunch at a place called "The Driftwood." The food was pretty good, but the highlight was Chris's clam chowder. He said it was the best he has ever had (he is really liking being right next to the ocean and getting really fresh seafood). Then we went to look at the beach. This would be Chris's first time seeing the Pacific Ocean. It was so awesome to be right there at the ocean, feeling the cool breeze. It actually was pretty chilly. In fact, we told Chris he should go touch the water and see how cold it really was. So, he thought, "my boots are waterproof, so it won't be a big deal," and he walked up to the shoreline until his boots barely touched the water, bent down and put his hand in water. He then turned around, to tell Becky and me that the water was pretty cold, when right at that moment... a decent size wave came up and soaked him almost up to his knees. It was pretty hilarious. But poor Chris, said his boots were waterproof, but not when they are completely immersed and water comes up over the top of the them. So, when we went to see all the shops on the strip, all I heard walking next to me was Chris's shoes going "squish squish squish." We finished our visit at Cannon Beach by stopping by this candy store and getting some incredible ice cream. Well, correction... the ice cream was really good, but the highlight was that the store made homemade waffle cones to order; delicious. We were tempted to just buy some of those cones before we left to snack on later that night.
On our way back to Astoria we stopped by a state park that had remnants of a shipwreck from 1906. It is the Peter Iredale shipwreck, a ship on its way from Mexico up to Portland which ran ashore during some strong winds. It was a pretty cool site, and the beach was beautiful in this area. Here is a picture of the shipwreck in 1906 soon after it ran ashore: To learn more about the shipwreck, click here
DAY #6: Astoria, OR and Long Beach, WA
On our last day in Astoria, we went up to see "The Column" which is a Lewis and Clarke monument and lookout point in Astoria. It had some gorgeous views of Astoria and the Columbia River. We didn't climb to the top of the monument because, well, I'm 7 months pregnant and climbing all those stairs was just not happening. Although, Chris is not pregnant, so I don't know what his excuse was. I'm sure he was supporting me:)
After "The Column" we went down to the docks and saw the sea lions. They were entertaining to watch; they were barking nonstop, were mostly lying around, and some were wrestling with each other (mostly when one of them from the water tried to get up on the dock and climbed over the other sea lions). The local fisherman hate the sea lions because they take up room on the docks, sometimes even climbing on their boats, and more importantly, they eat all the salmon in the area. For us, they were pretty entertaining (although they are unfortunately also really smelly).
To finish out the day, we drove across the four mile bridge over the Columbia River to Washington. We went to another tourist town on the Pacific called Long Beach to eat dinner. We actually did not go for seafood that night, but the food was still really good... Chris got a great steak and I got some chicken mac-n-cheese. Mac-n-cheese isn't the fanciest of meals, but it was some of the best mac-n-cheese I have ever had.
DAY #7: Portland, OR
On our final day in Oregon, we decided to drive up to Portland to spend the day seeing the sites there. Unfortunately, Becky's car was hit while it was parked on the street outside her spa and she had to wait for the police to arrive and do a report (Becky did not see the accident happen and the driver drove off, but witnesses who saw it, said it was a UPS driver). The crazy thing is that her car was hit on the opposite side just about 3 weeks prior to this accident, by another hit-and-run driver (this time with no witnesses). Poor Becky. So, our trip to Portland was delayed, not leaving us much time to do a lot of activities. On our way out of town we decided to eat at "The Bowpicker." It is this small boat that a family sells fish and chips out of... every morning they go out and catch fresh Tuna, then bring it back to make fish and chips. They serve food until they are out of Tuna for the day. There is always a long line once they get in with their catch because 1) People want to get some fish before they run out, and 2) It is supposed to be the best fish and chips ever. Well, luckily, they didn't run out of fish before we got to the front of the line, and yes, we confirmed it was the best fish and chips ever. Chris said it was probably his favorite meal from the whole trip.
Once we got to Portland we discovered there really isn't too much to do there, unless you like to drink at brewery's and ride your bike through a bunch of parks (so Becky's car wreck didn't really put us out at all). Chris's grandma Koch suggested we go see the famous Japanese Gardens which are supposed to be very serene and beautiful. So, we started researching the gardens and saw a review that stated it was a very hilly place and could be very exhausting... and again, since I'm 7 months pregnant we decided that wouldn't really be doable for me. Instead we decided to go downtown to the famous street of food cart vendors and grab a bite to eat. There were close to 15 food carts all in a row of every type of food imaginable: American, Turkish, Thai, Mexican, Greek, Italian, Chinese, Indian, etc. We walked up and down the row a couple of times, reading the menus, and finally each decided on our meals; Chris chose Chinese food (surprise surprise) and Becky and I chose Indian (I wanted to pick something that not only looked good, but was also unique to what we had available back home). Well, we all agreed our food was delicious, but also was um... street food. Meaning, we all started to have upset stomachs and were getting paranoid that we were all going to get sick with food poisoning. On our way back to our hotel, we decided to stop by one last place, Voodoo Donuts. It is a famous donut place that has been featured on T.V. for it's crazy but delicious pastries (like a donut with bacon on it). But, as we got closer to Voodoo Donuts, our stomachs were getting more and more upset. We decided we still wanted to go and would just get the donuts to go. But, when we arrived there was a line out the door, wrapping around the whole building, just to get inside. Normally, we probably would have waited since we were on vacation and this was a special treat; but, with us not feeling well, donuts didn't seem like a good idea and waiting in line for an hour definitely didn't sound good... so we passed and didn't get any. A couple hours later that evening back at our hotel, we regretted that decision because our stomachs started to feel better and we didn't get sick (it probably was just paranoia). Oh well, maybe next time we go visit Becky we will stop by there, sick or not, and definitely get some donuts. We were tired from the week of activities and had to get up at 4am to get ready to catch our flight home, so we spent that evening relaxing in our hotel room. The flight home was much better, with no delays or long layovers.
The trip was such a great, fun, and relaxing time. We're glad we decided to go. It was great to see Becky and get to hang out with her, and it was great to get to see some of the northwest. Chris and I are trying to prepare best we can for our little arrival in May, and it was nice to use his last spring break as a babymoon and get some final quality time together with just the two of us; because we have a little over one month of that and then our lives will definitely change forever:) Enjoy some of the pictures from our trip:
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