Brown's Ferry Park - Tualatin, OR

Brown's Ferry Park is located along the Tualatin River and has a small canoe/kayak launch. There's a small pond and creeks running through the park with foot bridges going over the creeks. Besides the rustic looking barn, the most fascinating thing about the park is the wooden posts spread through the park giving historical information and flood levels.

Cinnamon Bear Cruise - Portland, OR

The Cinnamon Bear Cruise is a Portland tradition based on a radio show from the 1930s. Characters from the story appear on the decks of the Portland Spirit for activities, music and photos throughout the nearly two hour cruise. A snack buffet, along with coffee and hot chocolate are included.

Because Jilly could only access the lower deck, she was given special VIP treatment. Every single character paid her a visit. The staff went way above our expectations to make sure Jilly had an amazing experience!

Storybook Lane - Forest Grove, OR

Storybook Lane is a walk through Christmas light display that has a long history. In fact, it began in 1936. This place was definitely worth the trip! Parking was easy thanks to the many volunteers. They created a space for us so we had room to deploy the wheelchair ramp. The only tough part was the pathways were gravel so pushing the chair was rough but manageable.

Garibaldi, OR

The next stop to waste time until Storybook Lane opened was in Garibaldi, Oregon. We didn't do much except get out of the van and enjoy the beautiful scenery as the sun went down.

Tillamook Cheese Factory Visitors Center - Tillamook, OR

We were on our way to Storybook Lane, but found them closed when we arrived. They don't open until it gets dark out. So we decided to head toward the Pacific instead. We spotted this Tillamook Visitors Center along the way so we pulled in to see why there was such a packed parking lot. This place has some displays, a cheese tasting station, ice cream parlor, snack bar and gift shop. A new, bigger and better Visitors Center is under construction and due to be open in the summer of 2018,

Happy Halloween!

Tualatin Lake at the Commons - Tualatin, OR

We had time to kill before an appointment in the area so we went exploring on foot. We were surprised at how peaceful it was here with busy roads not too far away.

Police vs Fire @ Providence Park - Portland, OR

An annual charity event takes place at Providence Park. Portland Police Department vs Portland Fire Department soccer match. Unfortunately, the police didn't win as we were hoping. It was a lot of fun for a good cause!

Summerlake Park - Tigard, OR

This was a return visit to Summerlake Park so Dundee could burn off some energy. Okay, it was really because Kate had too much energy. :)

Portland, Oregon

After we were done with our tour of Pittock Mansion, we just wandered around aimlessly in and around Portland.

Pittock Mansion - Portland, OR

As with some of the other places we've visited (Evergreen Museum), we were able to get free admission to take an accessible tour inside Pittock Mansion through a Discovery Pass from our local library. Most libraries now offer these passes to local attractions that allow free or discounted admission.

Cook Park - Tigard, OR

We made a return visit to Cook Park to see how far we could hike before we ran out of wheelchair accessible trails.

Solar Eclipse - Tigard, OR

We were not quite in the path of totality, but it was close enough for a great experience. We joined lots of other families on the grounds of Charles F Tigard Elementary School.

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge - Sherwood, OR

Kate was on a play date so it was just the three of us. Oops, four if you count Dundee. The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge is a 1,856 acres wetlands sanctuary in Sherwood, Oregon. There is a visitors' center with exhibits containing information on preservation and telescopes to look out at the wildlife. The visitors' center also has a small gift shop.

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum - McMinnville, OR

This has to be one of the funnest things we've done since moving to the Portland area! This museum is right up there with Boeing Museum of Flight as one of our favorites.

This place has hundreds of aircraft and other vehicles, and even an IMAX. Their largest attraction, and I mean largest, is the Spruce Goose.

Shriners Hospitals For Children - Portland, OR

We got to Shriners pretty early for an appointment so we went upstairs to check out the rooftop play deck.

Council Crest Park - Portland, OR

We're back at Council Crest to meet with a wedding officiant for Auntie Ang's upcoming wedding. It's a beautiful day with a perfectly clear view.

Family Date Night - Portland, OR

We began our family date night with dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. After that we drove a few blocks away to the base of the Portland Aerial Tram and hopped on for a ride to the top of the hill at Oregon Health & Science University. We walked from OHSU across the skybridges to Doernbecher Children's Hospital and VA Hospital before heading back home via the same Aerial Tram.

Woodard Park - Tigard, OR

We discovered a larger part of this park that we didn't know existed. From the street this park looks much smaller.

Summerlake Park - Tigard, OR

Summerlake Park is a neighborhood park not too far from home. There are several foot bridges over the small body of water. There's also a dog park connected to it.

Oaks Amusement Park - Portland, OR

United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon & SW Washington hosted free skating for families with children with cerebral palsy. They reserved the entire skating rink at Oaks Amusement Park.

Progress Ridge - Beaverton, OR

Progress Ridge is a shopping center with unique stores and restaurants right next to Progress Lake Park. Some of our favorites here are Piccolo Mondo Toys and Ava Roasteria.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park - Portland, OR

We packed sandwiches for a picnic dinner by the river. After dinner we walked along the river and eventually over Steel Bridge to the other side of the river.

Independence Day - Portland, OR

Last year at this time we were renting a vacation house near Portland, dreaming of what it would be like to live here. Now that we're here, we had no idea what to do to celebrate the 4th of July. We ended up watching the fireworks from the top of mommy's work, which happens to be one of the tallest buildings in downtown Portland. We had 360° views of the city at night.

Wintler Community Park - Vancouver, WA

It was a dark and stormy night... No wait, that's not right. It was a hot summer day and we were looking for a place to play in the water. We thought it would be fun to pop into Washington, just because we haven't done it since living here and it's only 25 minutes away from us. Wintler Community Park is a 12 acre park on the banks of the Columbia River. We splashed in the water while watching boats race by and planes coming and going at PDX directly across the river. With it being a clear day we also had a view of Mount Hood in the background.

Tryon Creek State Natural Area - Portland, OR

Imagine a lush forest in the middle of a major city. That's what we found when we went exploring today and found Tryon Creek State Natural Area, 660 acres of forest and all kinds of native plants and animals.

Festival of Balloons - Tigard, OR

The local morning news reported live from the Festival of Balloons at Cook Park here in Tigard. With no appointments scheduled for today we decided to see what the fuss was all about. We got here late in the morning. Although we saw no balloons (they run early mornings or into the evenings) there were all kinds of food booths and rides.

Shriners Hospital - Portland, OR

This is our first visit to Shriners Hospitals for Children. The Portland Shriners specializes in Orthopedics so we will fit in great here.

Cook Park - Tigard, OR

After we left the Police Open House, we weren't ready to go home yet. We went exploring and found Cook Park. It is a 79 acre park in Tigard along the banks of the Tualatin River. The park has many features, including wooded trails, open spaces, sports fields, picnic areas, and even a butterfly garden.

Tigard Police Department - Tigard, OR

Tigard Police Department held an open house and invited the community in for small personal tours. There were police cars open for display, motorcycle cops performing stunts, and non-lethal weapons demonstrations. It was a great experience! Definitely one of the highlights was meeting Chief McAlpine, Tigard's new police chief.

SJ Earthquakes @ Providence Park - Portland, OR

We had a chance to see the San Jose Earthquakes here in Portland!!! And on field level!!! Sadly, they lost to the Portland Timbers. It was still a great experience. Also, Chris Wondolowski was on the field warming up about 20 feet from us.

Peninsula Park - Portland, OR

We met up with friends from our stay at Canine Companions. Dundee got to play with his friend, Amaya.

NWSL Portland Thorns - Portland, OR

We got free tickets to see Portland Thorns at Providence Park. The Thorns won 2-0 against Boston Breakers.

Pittock Mansion - Portland, OR

This is Pittock Mansion, originally built for Henry Pittock (owner of The Oregonian newspaper).  It is 16,000 square feet with 46 rooms. It sits on 46 acres. We got to explore the grounds of Pittock Mansion and admire the view, but we didn't have tickets for the tour. We'll have to come back for that.

Clackamas Town Center - Clackamas, OR

 This was our first visit to Clackamas. We came for our annual spring pictures at Picture People.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park - Portland, OR

We grabbed Voodoo Doughnuts and walked to the fountains at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Woodard Park - Tigard, OR

Woodard Park is a short walk from our house. It is a 15 acre park filled with oak and pine trees with segments of Fanno Creek and Derry Dell Creek running through it.

Council Crest Park - Portland, OR

We came here mainly to check out the view. Council Crest Park is a nearly 44 acre park. It is the highest point in Portland so it is an amazing view on a clear day.

Safari Sam's - Sherwood, OR

We had lots of energy to burn off and this place wasn't too far away. We will have to come back to try the glow-in-the-dark indoor miniature golf.

Pathfinder-Genesis Trail - Tigard, OR

 We discovered this trail at the end of our block. You'd never guess you were in the middle of a neighborhood!

Avalon Going Away Party - Burlingame, CA

The staff and students at Avalon threw the largest going away party before our big move to Oregon. We will certainly miss everyone!

Goodbye Old Friend - Philippines

This postcard is about the continuing journey of Jilly's first wheelchair. A friend started an amazing organization, called Fenixia, whose goal is to provide outreach for special needs children in the Philippines. We were so thankful to hear that our friend was able to match her old wheelchair with an adorable boy named Earl. We wish the best for him and hope he gets a lot of miles out of this old friend.

Please check out Fenixia at https://www.fenixiafoundation.org/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fenixiafoundation/

Avalon Field Trip to Pier 39 - San Francisco, CA

Got to go on the Avalon bus for a field trip to Pier 39.

Seal Point Park - San Mateo, California

This was one of our first outings since we returned home with Dundee. This was his first visit to Seal Point Park.

Canine Companions for Independence - Santa Rosa, CA

After being on a waiting list for two years we received a call to come down to team training to receive a skilled companion dog. It was a crazy, but exciting two weeks of intense daily training and lectures with quizzes every evening and a written exam and public certification test before graduation day. We stayed in a very large dorm room with room for all of us + one dog.

On the morning of the third day of team training they revealed that we were pre-matched with Dundee III. Several days after that we were told that he would be the one going home with us. Dundee is the most amazing dog! Canine Companions for Independence absolutely picked the right dog to go home with us. We are loving every minute with him!!!

History Park (Kelley Park) - San Jose, CA

History Park is a 14 acre park inside Kelley Park in San Jose. The park includes many original historic buildings such as: print shop, firehouse, trolley house, hotel, ice cream parlor & candy store, post office,  and stables.

After ice cream at O'Brien's Ice Cream Parlor and a free ride on the trolley, we visited the  Portuguese Historical Museum at the Imperio in partnership with the Portuguese Heritage Society of California. The docent, a nice lady that was the daughter of some immigrants from Portugal, gave us a personal tour.

Madame Tussauds - San Francisco, CA

After lunch at Hard Rock Cafe, we made our way to Madame Tussauds. This was our intended destination for the day anyway. We will have to come back again because we were going to eat at Rain Forest Cafe before we stopped at Pier 39. Rain Forest Cafe is right next door to Madame Tussauds, along with The San Francisco Dungeon.

Pier 39 - San Francisco, CA

We didn't exactly plan on spending time at Pier 39. By the time we found a spot in the parking garage, we were in need of a bathroom break and some lunch. We went to Hard Rock Cafe to take care of both those needs in one shot.