We got to Portland!

You should see the rental car we got! It looks like a station wagon, but its huge inside, and so modern that its from the future. Yes, we have the 2011 model of Toyota Sienna! We don't even have to open the doors - we just press a button on the remote, and it will open and shut the doors for us! But anyway, you don't really want to hear about the car do you!

So we left Seattle and stopped for an early lunch in Tacoma, then continued south and detoured off the track a bit, to the Mt St Helen's visitor centre. It was a beautiful area, and the kids are now experts on the 1980 Mt St Helen's eruption! They seemed really amazed at how the eruption changed the landscape (and even the shape of the mountain) so dramatically.

We arrived in Portland late in the afternoon, and it was really hot here. Quite a contrast to Seattle which was quite a bit cooler. The temperature here is expected to get well into the 30's over the weekend!

Anyway, we are staying in a hostel close to town which is beautiful. There are 3 big old 2 and 3 storey houses which have each been turned into private rooms, and they are very comfortable and very spacious rooms, considering its just a hostel. There have been some hostel rooms we've stayed in which have been smaller than the average bathroom! So we are immediately liking this place, which also seems very homely, and is surrounded by big trees and a beautiful private courtyard, home also to a number of squirrels!

Bye for now ...