Washington or Bust

We decided to get out of town for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Our destination of choice? Washington, to spend the holiday with family (hubby's younger brother and his family, to be exact).

In addition to an AMAZING home-cooked Thanksgiving day meal (compliments of my SIL), we opted to visit some of the local tourist attractions.

We started at the Portland Japanese Gardens:

 It was a {much} colder in Washington/Oregon than we had expected it to be. Brrrr!

The gardens were beautiful, despite the time of year. One can only imagine how amazing they are in the spring, with everything in bloom.

We moved to the Portland Riverwalk, where we saw some gnarley bridges. Having never been to the area, and living in an area where the only bridges we see are overpasses, the bridges are quite the sight. 

We actually stood under this bridge, as it has an open-grate like construction. We could see the under carriages of the cars as they drove overhead.

Before the setting of the sun, we stopped to see the Portland Temple. So beautiful!

The visitor center provides a fun activity sheet for the kids, that points things out to them and asks them questions- directing them around the grounds. It was fun to see the kids so intrigued and in awe. The building itself is quite awe-inspiring. {I have pictures of the kids, but they are on my other camera}

And NO Thanksgiving would be complete without our traditional making of the turkey hats. Each year they differ, but the tradition remains the same.

 

 These 'Turkeys' are the only ones that would sit still long enough for me to get their photo. 

It was a high energy week!