Day 14

After an early buffet breakfast, the family walked a few blocks to the meeting place for a walking tour of Portland. We had an enthusiastic guide and actually had a very interesting walk through the city! After the 2 and a half hour tour we knew about the Portland flag, the history of Portland and how it got its name (a coin toss) and how the architecture, transport and signs are carefully thought out. We saw many great statues dotted around the city, the one in the picture is called Portlandia.

At the end of the tour we were dropped off at a park where there was an amazing fountain and some of the kids played in it and got very wet. But after drying off the family found themselves hot, starving and walking (again) to find a restaurant that would cater to everyone's needs.

We were in luck and found a North-American bistro where we had delicious foods ranging from gazpacho to courgette cakes to peanut butter ice-cream. Even mummy had nothing to moan about! We happily got the cool tram back to our great hotel where we parted ways.

Mummy and Daddy went to Chinese gardens and the kids went to the hotel gym and swimming pool. Later, the kids ordered room service and relaxed whilst the parents went out clubbing (joke!). Mummy and Daddy did go out leaving their incredibly capable daughters to babysit though...

Portland!! Day 13

We left the lodge at 11, expert packers and travellers by now, to travel to Portland. After an hour in the car we reached the lovely town of Hood River and Daddy started planning his retirement to there. We looked in a brilliant top shop and jewellery shop and then had a fairly early lunch in a cool cafe. Katy and I had sat in the sun eating paninis and drinking pomegranate juice.


After another half hour in the car we reached a waterfall named Multnomah Falls. It was very high in the mountain and it was beautiful.

There was a long walk up the mountain and after a while Katy and Mummy dropped out leaving the 4 brave musketeers. The higher we went the steeper it got and the smaller the paths were. We were unprepared for the climb so slightly dying of thirst by the time we reached the source of the waterfall.

We were all proud of the accomplishment of our small trek and I guess it is all good training for D of E! Wilsey, Chubby and I climbed rocks and a huge horizontal log. We all met up back at the bottom and had a congratulatory ice-cream before setting off again.

There was only about another 45 minutes until we reached the lovely Embassy Suites hotel in Portland, Oregon where we would stay for the next 4 nights.We all explored the hotel and set off, fully equipped with a map, to look at the Pearl District and find a nice place to eat dinner. We could not find many good shops or restaurants in the district and with one very overtired Wilsey the evening seemed as if it would end in tears.

Luckily we found a very nice restaurant where we had a surprisingly successful meal of many good foods including sweet-corn soup, Parmesan covered green beans and blackberry tart. We walked back to the hotel and settled down for the night, with the exception of the hardworking girls who went to the business room to write the very blog you are reading now!!

Day 13

Mid morning we drove from 4000ft at our lodge to 6000ft up the mountain. We then had a fantastic time getting the ski-lift up to 7000ft; we only had thin fleeces on so we were freezing but the incredible views made it worthwhile! On the exciting journey high up on the ski-lift Katy, Wilsey and I sang nursery rhymes to keep our mind off the cold. We disturbed the snowboarders by playing in the snow and climbed up a huge rock, which meant we could see for miles and miles.

When we were back down, we warmed ourselves up by going into the nearby hotel for a lovely, warming hot chocolate. We then went back to our lodge for a lunch at home to save money and calories! (jeesh I write cheesily). At about 2pm Daddy and the kids went 5 minutes round the corner to Ski-bowl. Mummy wanted some quiet time reading.

We had a great time at this adventure park. Daddy, Katy and Chubby went on the petrol run, grown-up go-karts - which Wilsey majorly regretted not going on later. We all played mini golf where there was crazy obstacles such as a tree trunk and a bear (not real). We also went on a tubing slide on rubber rings which was pretty fun! We explored the kids soft area and the kids all went bungee trampolining. Wilsey, Katy and I bravely went on the very high zip-wire too which was a bit nerve-racking but very exhilirating!

Back at home we ate and played our final game of monopoly! We packed for the next stage of our journey which was sure to be new and exciting.

Day 12

Today was the best day of the holiday so far, we went back to Kelso for lunch again JUST KIDDING! (that would have been really bad). What we actually did was white water rafting!!! There was about a 1 hour journey before we reached a tiny tiny village named Maupin in the middle of a desert. It was very peculiar, as only an hour ago we were in amongst the green pine forests of Mount Hood.

We eventually found the rafting shop where we filled out forms and put plenty of suncream on (including the green one which HE used - only my friends will understand that last comment) as the sun was beaming down. We, and a few other families piled into the school bus that would take us to the Deschutes River in which we would raft. We had a safety talk and were equipped with life jackets and then our family was paired with a nice guide called Anne, and unsteadily climbed into the raft.

We calmly floated downstream, not knowing of the rapids that we would soon meet. Anne taught us how to paddle in synchronisation and we caught on pretty fast. Everyone was in awe of the beautiful scenery that surrounded us and we were relaxed and peaceful.

It came as a shock to us when we saw the white water looming dangerously ahead. Anne told us to keep paddling through the rapid as it would steady our raft. But when were faced with the rapids all this teaching went out the window and we got drenched!! The rapids were scary but a lot of fun and at each rapid a photographer took photos of us (unfortunately I could not take my camera in the water).

When we were at a calm bit of water, Anne persuaded me, Katy and Wilsey to take a dip in the freezing river. After dipping our feet in we cautiously slid one by one (led by me) into the flowing river. Once accustomed to the temperature, we swam alongside the raft until we saw more white water ahead so Anne hauled us back in.

A bit later on we all had the once in a lifetime chance of swimming through an actual rapid! Katy and I bravely accepted the challenge and followed Anne to where we would swim from (at this point everyone parked the raft). We had to jump into the freezing cold river, fully clothed, and before we had a chance to breathe we were swept by the current into the white waves. They were ferocious and we had to struggle to swim back to the shore where everyone was waiting for us. Although a bit cold and soaking we were extremely proud of what we had accomplished!!

A while later, after clambering back into the raft, we were met with yet more rapids. But this time Anne told Katy and I to sit on the front of the raft, with our feet hanging over the edge. We watched two people fall out of the raft in front of us whilst facing the rapid, so we were filled with nervous anticipation.

We laughed with delight as the waves tossed us about and smacked into our anxious faces. We fell backwards into the raft as one last enormous wave hit us and made sure that not an inch of us was dry. After the ordeal, we continued over calm water until we reached our finishing point. We sadly got off the rafts where we got the bus back to the village. We all agreed it had been an amazing experience.

Once back, we got changed, had food and milkshakes and bought 2 of the photos that the photographers had taken, whilst we were on the rapids. We then went home and played another game of monopoly!!!

P.S.

Please comment us as we are getting lonely after two weeks of not talking to you!! :)

Mount Hood!! Day 11

Today was a very exciting travelling day! We sadly had to leave Whidbey island at a ridiculously early 10am and we got the ferry across the water to Washington mainland. Then we had about 3 hours of driving before we stopped for lunch. The journey was not too bad as we all had things to occupy ourselves.

We had lunch in a horrible place called Izzy's in a horrible village called Kelso. We thought Izzy's might be nice, because of the name of my lovely best friend but we were in for a surprise....The room was depressing, the atmosphere was depressing and around were many obese and depressing people. But on the optimistic side we had many jokes especially when Mummy asked for a drinks menu and there was not one and when the waitress asked if we wanted plates with our meal!

After lunch we had about 2 more hours of driving where we crossed the border from Washington to Oregon. We slowly ascended Mount Hood where we would spend the next 3 nights in a lodge apartment thing above a shop. We were very pleased with our lodge but before we could get in we had to get the key from the top of the mountain, at 6000ft.

Whilst we were there we played in the snow which excited everyone tremendously. In the picture the peak of Mount Hood is in the background.

Once we settled in, Daddy delighted us by finding a new set of Monopoly, which we played. The lodge was cool but cosy and we had a quick supper before relaxing and going to bed.

Day 10

Today we went to the VERY FANTASTIC LOGANBERRY FESTIVAL.It was so sweet and there were lots of varied stalls, a kids section and a live band. Mummy and Daddy bought 4 pieces of artwork and I (Bexy) got pretty green dangly earrings. The boys went on a bouncy castle and an inflatable slide.

Katy and the boys had a great time playing a water dunking game. A boy sat on a chair over a pool of very cold water and when a ball was thrown and the target was hit, the boy was plunged into water. Wilsey, very unexpectedly, was the only one to hit the target...

We also bought incredible tasting popcorn and even saw our very first pie eating contest!

After the festival we went to Langley one last time. We looked around shops and the girls bought chocolate orangle flavoured lipbalms. At about 4pm we had lunch at the trusty Braeburn restaurant and went to an amazing chocolate shop afterwards. Katy and I took our fudge and brownie to the gorgeous mini cinema.

We saw the film "Get Smart" with Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell, which was surprisingly hilarious and great! After we got picked up, Mummy and Daddy went out to see the same film and the incredible girls babysat and sadly packed for leaving Whidbey.

Just a note to say I am not sure when the next post will be because we are going to Mount Hood tomorrow for 2 days and I dont know what the wireless situation will be.

Day 8-9

Today we travelled to Fort Casey, this was a place to protect puget sounds during the world wars. We climbed up ladders and looked at the various war artefacts. We also walked up to the top of a lighthouse and of course visited the giftshop!

Next we went to a seaside town called Coupeville. First there was tension because nobody finished their lunch as they were not hungry. Then the tension grew when Wilsey fell in a ditch and the girls (in a space of 1 second) failed to pick him up and were unfairly called "disgusting". Eventually we managed to get over ourselves in time for what was to come...

Whilst researching Whidbey on the internet, Daddy came across a small Jewish community, and made contact with them. We met Beverley, Sarah and Elise (not sure about the spellings!) in a cute, old-fashioned tea room. We had lovely food including dainty sandwiches and adorable cupcakes. Everyone bonded and then we said our goodbyes, until tomorrow.

We then went home where the kids played another game of monopoly, where Wilsey somehow managed to win again! (it was obviously beginners luck). We tried not too have a late night as we knew we would be waking early the next day.

The next day we were up bright and early for a 2 hour kayaking lesson in the sea. After getting lost more than a couple of times we arrived. A photographer, who also filmed us, was taking pictures for Whidbey's tourist information. I found this extremely cool! We finally got into our kayaks and set off.

I have no pictures to represent this part of the day since I was not allowed to take my camera on the water, but the scenery was very beautiful. Everyone knows Katy and Wilsey get on a treat, so when they were paired in a Kayak it was sure to be explosive. cringe! Wilsey's lack of skill and enthusiasm led to Katy splashing water at him, which made him refuse to row causing them both to cry.

Everything turned out fine, with the parents doing well, and the same with Bexy and Chubby. With aching arms and frizzy hair we left the session very happy, feeling good because of the fresh air. We went home for a lunch of hotdogs, and then the kids played a further game of monopoly. This eventful game led to me (Bexy) having $1 at 3 points in the game!

At 6.30 we met a group from Whidbey's jewish community, for a Shabbat dinner on the beach! Mummy's spanish omelette and fruit salad contributed to the wide variety of foods on offer. All of the people were really friendly and welcoming, so thank you for making the meal so delightful for us all!

Day 7

On day 7 we woke up late and went to Earth Sanctuary, a spiritual sort of garden place! We had a 2 mile walk and saw lots of random, interesting sites.

We had another exciting lunch in another exciting place which I will not go into. Then the girls split from the rest of the family. Katy and I (Bexy) spent about an hour in the local drugstore where I bought a revlon eyeliner and some skincare products. Katy bought pens, eyeliner and powder. Then we went to a really cool shop where Katy bought 8 floaty fabric pieces. On the long walk home we shared a refreshing drink of cold lemonade.

At home we relaxed then daddy lit the outside fireplace and we all toasted marshmallows on it, which was fun and delicious!

Later on, we played a game of monopoly where we taught Wilsey how to play and somehow he managed to win!

Whidbey island!! Days 4-6

Sorry we haven't written for a while; at first we were tired, then Bexy was ill then I felt ill. But everyone is feeling great now! There is quite a lot to catch up on but I will summarise the less interesting things as of now.

On day 4 (I think) we sadly left Vancouver and the Metropolitan Hotel. We had a big kerfuffle over the car, where we had to move all our luggage from a weird jeep-like car to a Dodge Grand Caravan. Later than expected we set off and after waiting in lots of queues we passed the American border without too much hassle (although daddy was told off and his jokes were misunderstood).

To take a break from driving we stopped at a small town near Bellingham. It was lovely and we had lunch in a really cool place with yummy milkshakes. There was a book store attached to the restaurant where some family members got books. We started driving again and by late evening we finally reached what was to be our home for the next week.

On day 5 the family (with the exception of ill Bexy) explored our new local town of Langley. I had an hour long knitting lesson while the rest of the family had lunch. We looked around the shops after a sunshine filled day. Chubby and I had many water fights in the huge garden and the whole family read on the veranda, enjoying the sea view. We found wild rabbits that constantly hung around our garden and had the fun idea of feeding them carrots!

On day 6 we had a late start and a fairly relaxed day. We went to double bluff beach where we had a nice walk on the strangely grey sand, but the dull weather prevented us from having a better time. We looked in some shops and had lunch in "braeburn". This was a funky and cosy place where we had a great time.

And another thing I must add is that of the new addition to our family...QUATCHI! Everyone loves her so much and we now have a rota showing which kid can sleep with her!

Quick Update :)

It is getting very late but I (Bexy) did not want to forget the great happenings of the holiday.

Today, in bed, I decided everyone should get a name! So they are as follows:
Rebecca - Captain Capilano
Katy - Grandma Capilano/ George Vancouver
Wilsey - Gassy Jack
Chubby - The 3 green horns

Chubbys weird name distressed him so much that he started crying!!!


Also, I will tell you some exciting things that I have learnt about Vancouver:
Nickelback live here
It is the third best place to live in the world
And one last one, Vancouver used to be named Granville until a couple of hundred years ago it was re-named Vancouver after George Vancouver.
Fun.

Oh my, I cant remember the other interesting things about Vancouver. This proves I must be getting tired, goodnight!

READ THIS
We would like to thank the Coates family for their kind invitation to Shabbat dinner on Whidbey Island and we shall be attending! We have included this in the post as we are not able to contact them, we hope they are reading this...

Day 3

We arose bright and early after a sleep disturbed by evil boys. The previous day we had agreed to allow the boys one night in our luxury king-sized bed. This was a mistake, a BIG mistake, as not only were all the girls things in that room, the girls were too tall to even fit into the slightly small sofa bed. Also, the boys decided to wake up at the crack of dawn and play a rowdy game of football.

We decided to go to the Vancouver art gallery to see the new exhibition, 'Krazy!'. The exhibition was based on modern cartoons, comics, manga, anime and video games. It was very interesting and everyone enjoyed this wonderful insight into this new and modern generation of artwork.

At midday we walked back to the hotel. Henry, William and I had a quick swim in the lovely pool and then quickly dried ourselves off to join the rest of the family in a small snacky lunch.

At 2pm a minibus came to collect us outside our hotel, for a tour of some of the attractions of North Vancouver. Our tour guide, Gavin, was charming and all the kids grew to love him. The first major attraction was the Capilano Suspension Bridge, 230ft high, over Capilano river.

After facing Chubbys, and then Wilseys nerves, the family managed to clamber across the unstable, swaying bridge. After a few more park attractions, such as the treetops adventure, we got back on the minibus to go to Grouse Mountain.

The family stepped onto the large cable car that would soon transport them up the very tall mountain that towered above them. The views were breathtaking as the tram ascended higher up the face of the mountain.

Once up, when all the photos had been taken, we watched an exciting lumberjack show. A man journeyed up a huge pole where he proceeded to juggle and do headstands on the narrow platforms, to the audience's worried amazement. At the end of the act the man tried to take a photo of the audience below, only to take a step back and fall off the platform. It was only now we realised he was attached to a harness and slid down the zipwire to safety.

Later on we saw a "birds of prey" show. This was very entertaining and many large predators flew over our heads. We also saw two grizzly bears that had been orphaned but helped to safety. After another trip down the mountain, we took the short journey home via catamaran where we sadly said goodbye to Gavin.

We ordered delicious room service and spent the remainder of the evening relaxing.

Day 2

After breakfast and all that shiz, our family boarded big bus to take a trip to Stanley Park. This park is 22 miles big, one of the largest urban parks in the world. Firstly we went to the aquarium, it was incredible. It was so popular that queues snaked their way down the road.

Among other things we saw: jellyfish, tarantulas, dolphins, snakes, butterflies and the first baby beluga whale born in captivity! We had a talk about grey-horned owls where we got to get up close and personal.

Next, we went on the mini railway around a small track in the woods and above water. After millions of lectures on how fattening they were, the girls decided to eat nachos for lunch. They were amazing and well worth the calories. We had a lovely meal and an even lovelier waiter called Scott.

After filling our stomachs we went to the totem pole park to see totem poles. They were colourful, tall and really showed the culture of the native-americans in the world of yesterday haha. We were also reacquainted with the adorable Quatchi, where we continued our campaigning for mummy and daddy to purchase one for us.

We then journeyed on the free shuttle bus to prospect point, a beautfiul viewing point of the park. We saw an amazing view of Lions Gate bridge and saw a wild racoon wandering about (who nearly killed mummy - no wonder she was terrified).

We had amazing rolo and kitkat ice-cream and relaxed and talked. After our break we took many modes of transport until we finally reached our welcoming hotel. Then the family split, the parents and boys went out for supper and the girl went shopping across the road. Katy bought a great lipstick and Bexy bought some american eagle tracksuit bottoms.

We then went to bed exhausted but fulfilled!

Day 1

After waking up and getting dressed we went downstairs to "Diva" the hotel restaurant, for breakfast. We had a lovely meal of pancakes, granola, french toast and more. We then set off for the day, on a Vancouver sightseeing "big bus" with an open top.

We heard lots of information about Vancouver and stopped off at Granville Island. We visited the kids market where the boys bought swords which consequently annoyed about a million passers-by throughout the day. We also went to the food market where we ambled around and bought cherries, maple butter and beans!

After walking around more shops we eventually decided to buy a very comfortable string hammock for our garden. We looked at the beautiful views of the city and then got back on the big bus.

The next stop was Gas town. This area of Vancouver was founded by Gassy Jack, there was a statue of him. Because of our rumbling stomachs, we decided to go to "the old spaghetti factory", one of the top 10 family restaurants in Vancouver. Guess what we had to eat? spaghetti!!

The restuarant was great and we had an incredibly friendly and sweet waiter named Hamza. The food was delicious and we left feeling stuffed. We looked around the really gorgeous shops including expensive shoe shops and modern furniture stores. We went into a clothes shop with hand made tops that Uma Therman and Dakota Fanning had worn.

It was then that we met the love of our life, the winter olympic mascot, QUATCHI!!! He was the most adorable teddy I had ever seen and we are in the process of persuading our parents to buy one for us.

After Gas town we journeyed home, for the kids and daddy to go in the beautiful skylighted pool and hot tub. We were so full from lunch we did not have supper, and tired out we went to bed!

Vancouver!!!!

I am writing this post from the lobby of the Metropolitan Hotel, Vancouver. This is our second day and we have done sooo much. In this post I will just tell you some of the many amazing things we have done so far.

We arrived in Heathrow Terminal 5 at about 2:30 pm. The new terminal was very nice, airy and modern. I will not go into any detail about checking in etc. as its not very interesting. Our flight was not very delayed and we took off soon after we were scheduled to.

The kids were all very excited as we were taking our first trip in premium economy, a real treat for all of us. We had the front seats in our small, quiet cabin which meant LOTS of legroom. We had 'On Demand' TV and we occupied ourselves watching loads of great films.

During the flight we passed over Greenland and saw stunning snow covered mountains. Both Rebecca and William crowded round the tiny window to take some pictures of the dramatic scenery.

We arrived in Vancouver 9 hours later and were greeted by a beautiful airport with water features dotted around as well as native american totem poles. We were shocked by how calm and kind the Canadians were compared to Brits and Americans!

After we had sailed through the airport we had a lovely surprise - a black stretched limo was waiting for us outside. We took in the scenery as we had a short journey to our hotel.

Once we were at the hotel we checked in and the children all received adorable canadian teddy bears!! Upon finding our suite we were greeted with another wonderful surprise, on the table in our room, was a plate of four giant cookies each with faces of chocolate on and four glasses of ice-cold milk!

Tired but content we settled down into our king-sized beds for a lovely nights sleep. We recovered well from our jet lag and awoke at 8am the next morning.

Before the holiday...

Ok
As you may know, our family is going on holiday in less than a week, on the 16th of July.
We are flying out to Vancouver, on the West coast of Canada just above Washington state. The flight will be over 10 hours and with 4 kids, it probably won't be a very comfortable experience for my parents...
The jet lag will be awful (8 hours difference), but all the same, we all are really excited.
Here is a sketchy timetable of where we will be and when:

• We will depart London Heathrow Airport (terminal 5 hopefully!) on Wednesday 16th july and will arrive very late in Vancouver.

• We will stay in the Metropolitan Hotel until Sunday 20th when we will drive to Whidbey Island, Washington.

• We will then drive to Mt Hood on Saturday 27th.

• On Wednesday 30th we will drive to Portland, Oregon.

• On Sunday 3rd July we drive then back up north to Seattle, Washington. We will be staying in the incredibly posh 5 star hotel, The Fairmont.

• On Wednesday 6th we will travel to Victoria, Canada (I think).

• On Friday 8th we will drive back to Vancouver.

• Our flight back home is an overnight flight from Saturday 9th to Sunday 10th.

Wow
We will be exhausted by the end of that!
Anyway, that's basically it
for now.
So
OFF WE GO!