Reston

We were sad to leave Portland and even sadder on the flight over night to Washington DC, via Newark. The overnight flight was hell. The seats didn't recline at all, the flight was packed, and the guy sitting next to me liked to spread out. Plus I wasn't felling very well (my stomach problems were back) so I felt violently sick all night. 

The flight from Newark to Washington was short and the views were nice, which thankfully, along with the use of headphones, helped to ignore the demon child on the plane, who screamed blue murder the entire flight. His parents didn't helping, getting out of their seats frequently to try to do something about him, including when the plane was attempting to take off. 

Leaving Newark

Approaching DC.

When we got there, we begged the lovely lady at the hotel to let us into our rooms early, which she did. I got an hours rest, unpacked (my suitcase made the trip successful this time) and a little nap, before we headed out to Reston. We were staying near Dulles airport, in Reston VA where our offices are located. First thing we found somewhere to eat. The lady at the desk has suggested somewhere to eat and even given us some vouchers. So we started with Mimosas.

Mimosa.

Then we ordered a seafood feast. I also convinced Demi to try Biscuits and gravy. She said it wasn't too bad but was not impressed. My tuna was amazing.

We had a wonder around Reston to find a supermarket and a bit of shopping. Reston is weird, like a gated planned community sort of weird. But it was very clean and it seems like pedestrians have right of way, which is almost unheard of in the US.

We need up back at the hotel for early nights as we at work the next day, so I enjoyed my treats from the supermarket and watched US netflix, which is so much better than the UK one. I miss it already.

Around Portland, Oregon

We arrived in Portland on the Saturday so had a free day to explore. We booked a trip to see some of the sights and waterfalls and it turned out we were the only ones on it so got to ask lots of questions. 

The first stop was a lookout over the river.

We got to see Vista Point rest stop at Crown Point on the Columbia River Gorge. (Washington State is on the other side of the river.) It was built as a memorial to the early Oregon pioneers, and is the fanciest rest stop I have ever seen.

View down river at Vista Point

Up river.

Vista Point.

Ceiling inside. 

Obviously a Trump supporter. (He had a sicker too.)

After this, we headed to a group of waterfalls along the historic highway. The first was Latourell falls.

Latourell Falls.

The largest waterfall was the one I wanted to see the most, Multnomah Falls. I have seen photos of it for years. According to Native law, it was created to win the heart of a young princess who wanted a hidden place to bathe.

It is the tallest waterfall in Oregon, over 2 levels with Benson Bridge spanning the middle. (The bridge was named after Simon Benson, a prominent business man who gave the waterfall to the city of Portland and was did a lot for the city in general.)

On the bridge

First tier

Looking down over the second tier.

We were really glad we were there in the Winter. We saw some photos of it int he summer and we wouldn't have been able to get close. But on a semi-raining day (typical of Oregon and Washington state) in winter, there weren't too many people around, though the car park was still full.

The next stop was Horse Tail falls. And there is another one above called Pony tail falls. You can't see it from there, but we did get a glimpse from the road later on.

Horse Tail falls.

We headed down to the river and around some of the docking areas. At one of the areas, there were a lot of brass statues. I really want one like this in my garden when I get one.

The weather mostly held off and only rained when we were in the car. But the cloud cover was quite dramatic. 

The last stop was at the hydro-electric dam. It was an odd stop but interesting. We went into and saw how they built it and how they make sure the fish can still get up and down the river. 

We saw some pretty big fish. They have a lot of salmon around the around and we stopped by a local fish shop owned by a native American family where they caught and smoked their own fish. It was amazing and I brought some which become my breakfast for the next few days.
We got dropped back off at the hotel in time to head to a bar to catch the Super Bowl.

Isle of Cumbrae and Millport

This weekend I went up to Glasgow for the long weekend to visit Caroline. On Friday we headed over to the Isle of Cumbrae. And the weather was amazing! It didn't rain. In Scotland!

The trip took a while but it was worth it. After an ice-cream, we got the ferry to the isle. It was a tinkly little ferry but crazily efficient. They started putting down the car ramp quite a while before we got to the shore. Everyone was looking a little nervous as it started be lowered. But they have it timed to the minute.

On the ferry across (with an ice-cream)

The ferry lands on the north East side of the island. Where there is nothing. So we got the bus to the south and the main (only) town, Millport. It is a beautiful little town which some gorgeous beaches.

Beach.

Enjoying the sun

They were holding a country music festival that weekend (sadly it didn't start until the Friday evening so we missed it) but the whole town got into it with a lot of flags. (Even a Confederate flag - I am guessing they didn't know what it meant.) Embarrassingly it took me a while to figure this out. 

Lots of flags.

We found the cathedral which is the smallest cathedral in the UK. And it was pretty small. It took us a while to find a way in but the walk around was nice.

UK's smallest cathedral.

Not sure what is in here.

Before lunch we wondered along the sea front to visit the crocodile.

Caroline told me to pose - I think she expected serious. 

The crocodile is famous on the island. It's a rock that someone has painted a crocodile face on.

Crocodile

After lunch, we went for a walk to the tea rooms. The path started off as a path. Soon, as with all the walks I seem to go on, it soon become less clear.

Walking.

Less obvious.

Then we ended up going through a field of cows. They watched us suspiciously but thankfully were mostly more interested in the grass. And then the path just become a suggestion down the hill with some lovely muddy patches. Next time I am having no input. I always pick dodgy paths. 

But we did make it to the tea rooms. 

And then we realised the only other way back (other than back up the hill we just slide down) was going to take an hour. But the route was only the coat so very pretty. We stopped part way to investigate some rocks. Why not?

War memorial.

We were very happy to get back to the bus, which broke down on the way to the ferry. We did make it in the end and we're on holiday. We didn't care.

We ended up at thai for dinner and back at Caroline's early, both knackered. I am really not used to walking that far.