Summer Bucket List
Fall has officially arrived here in the Pacific Northwest (and I LOVE it!). Every year, I welcome the changing of the leaves and the much cooler temps. But the rain. Oh, the rain. That part is always an adjustment. I wouldn't mind it so much, except that I know it will be a regular part of our lives until oh, you know, the fourth of July. That's about nine months from now, people. Nine months. To be fair, fall is usually not the worst of the rainy season, it's just the opening gate for the rainy season, and we still have plenty of nice days that usually stick around through the end of October.
All of that to say, I joked all summer long about having a bucket list of summer activities. Except, I wasn't totally joking. I legitimately feel that you have to prioritize and squeeze in some family fun when you KNOW you can count on sunshine and good weather. The rain IS coming. Now, we are five years in to this whole Oregonian gig, so we rally with the best of them and go outside even when it's gross out, because the alternative is never going outside, ever. (And that seems even more impossible.) But, there are a few things that require sunshine (in my opinion) and here's what that looked like for us this summer:
The Oregon Zoo
This almost didn't make my list because we have actually done the zoo in the rain a couple of times before and it was awesome! The animals in the Northwest exhibits, in particular, are (obviously) a lot more active when it's cool and wet outside. But we took Lyla for her 2nd birthday over Memorial Day weekend, and since that is informally the kick-off to summer, I figured it deserved a place on the list. The World Famous San Diego Zoo it is not, but we really do love going there, and it's a very manageable size with a toddler in tow. Worth the drive up to Portland, for sure! Also, it's worth mentioning here that Lyla's favorite (or at least most memorable) part of the day was getting to take a school bus to the overflow parking lot at the end of the day. Who knew that could be so exciting?!
Oregon Garden Brewfest
Historically, we have been to a lot of brewfests. Jake, quite obviously, goes to several brewfests (mostly for work, but also for pleasure). And this one is our favorite. It's kid-friendly (for part of the weekend) and you get to drink craft beer in the beautiful Oregon Garden, for a super reasonable price. What's not to like? We got in for free this year, so I actually went (the last time I was pregnant, and it was hosted earlier in the year, I opted out). And despite the fact that there was an epic summer thunderstorm, hail and lots of rain, and we spent the entire day totally soaked, we had a great time! Jake also got to go the Brewer's Dinner earlier in the weekend which I WILL go to someday--it's a 6 course meal, and each course is paired with a different Oregon brew. All of that to say, this is a great way to celebrate dad on Father's Day weekend and we will keep coming back.
The County Fair
We actually passed on the county fair last year because it was so impossibly hot (like 104 degrees hot). So we were pleased when it was a pleasant 80 degrees this year. Highlights included the usual suspects: piglet races (they're always the cutest), 4-H/livestock exhibits, exotic animals exhibit, and the bubble guy!
Detering Orchards & Agrarian Ales
We discovered these two gems last summer when we visited Agrarian for Jake's work party. We loved both spots so much, we decided to make them an annual thing. They're both located just about 35-40 minutes south of our house. Detering's has fantastic produce and my main priority is always their stonefruit--the nectarines, in particular. They also have a play area for kids and farm animals, which is always a win.
I don't know about all of you out there with littles, but I literally cannot remember the last time we took Lyla to any kind of dining establishment outside of frozen yogurt or picking up takeout. She is so busy and active that it is just not worth having someone else cook and serve me food. (Because, let's be real: we'll spend all our time entertaining her and then have to quickly eat cold food. That sounds super fun!) But you know what is totally our jam? Going to breweries that serve food and have huge outdoor spaces. Game. Changer. Jake enjoyed beers (lucky dog. 13 more weeks till I can get my hands on one.) and we shared a wood-fired pizza at a picnic table while Lyla happily collected rocks and played with the bean bags from the nearby cornhole game, just wandering over here and there to have a bite of pizza. The sun was shining, we got to talk like grown-ups, and everyone was happy. It was a beautiful thing. I highly recommend this place for families!
Craft Beer Picnic
This is a local event that we had not made it to until this year and we really enjoyed it. Super low-key, kid-friendly outdoor event with local beers and live music. This year it fell on our anniversary, so it was basically our family outing anniversary date, + takeout from our favorite Hawaiian place on the way home. Are you sensing a theme here?? The vast majority of our favorite family activities involve outdoor spaces and good beer. It's just the Oregon way! We celebrate most of life's events over local beer, cider, or wine (I recently went to a baby shower at a brewery). We aren't complaining; we're big fans of this culture (except when I'm expecting).
Lake Days
We only got two of these in this past summer (next year, I am definitely planning on more!). We spent one Sunday afternoon at Foster Lake, about a 45 minute drive from our house. They have a huge "beach" area and the water was so refreshing (some lakes around here are COLD, even in the summer months). During one of our visits to my parents' house in Klamath Falls, we made a trip up to Lake of the Woods which, while often super packed, is pretty darn dreamy. Minus the yellow jackets. I HATE yellow jackets. (Thank you, rain, for making them go away.)
Molalla Train Park
This might be the most random and successful trip we took this summer. Honestly, had we not seen the train park featured on an episode of Grant's Getaways (a local show dedicated to highlighting fun things to do in Oregon), I would not even know this place existed. It's a bit of a trek (I think it took us a little over an hour to get there) and Molalla is a super small town. But tucked away in a rural neighborhood, there is this huge, FREE train park! (Donations are very much welcomed, of course.) It is SO cool. And surprisingly busy. There were families having picnics and birthday parties everywhere. So random. Anyway, they have multiple trains and tracks looping all over the property and kids and adults alike can climb aboard and take unlimited rides. The place was popping, but wait times were super short and we got at least two rides in, easily, while we were there. And they weren't short either. It's only open on Sunday afternoons from 12-5 PM (which I know makes things tricky when you have kids that still nap--we were not there as long as we would have liked to be for that reason), and I think they are only open during the warmer months. This is totally worth a trip if you have a kid who is into trains. Lyla talked about the "choo-choo park" for weeks on end after we visited.
What didn't make the cut? Well, we were really hoping to make it to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and up to Silver Falls (our favorite hiking spot), but we just ran out of weekends. The plan is to try and squeeze both of those in during the coming weeks.
I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are enjoying the changing of the seasons!
All of that to say, I joked all summer long about having a bucket list of summer activities. Except, I wasn't totally joking. I legitimately feel that you have to prioritize and squeeze in some family fun when you KNOW you can count on sunshine and good weather. The rain IS coming. Now, we are five years in to this whole Oregonian gig, so we rally with the best of them and go outside even when it's gross out, because the alternative is never going outside, ever. (And that seems even more impossible.) But, there are a few things that require sunshine (in my opinion) and here's what that looked like for us this summer:
The Oregon Zoo
This almost didn't make my list because we have actually done the zoo in the rain a couple of times before and it was awesome! The animals in the Northwest exhibits, in particular, are (obviously) a lot more active when it's cool and wet outside. But we took Lyla for her 2nd birthday over Memorial Day weekend, and since that is informally the kick-off to summer, I figured it deserved a place on the list. The World Famous San Diego Zoo it is not, but we really do love going there, and it's a very manageable size with a toddler in tow. Worth the drive up to Portland, for sure! Also, it's worth mentioning here that Lyla's favorite (or at least most memorable) part of the day was getting to take a school bus to the overflow parking lot at the end of the day. Who knew that could be so exciting?!
Oregon Garden Brewfest
Historically, we have been to a lot of brewfests. Jake, quite obviously, goes to several brewfests (mostly for work, but also for pleasure). And this one is our favorite. It's kid-friendly (for part of the weekend) and you get to drink craft beer in the beautiful Oregon Garden, for a super reasonable price. What's not to like? We got in for free this year, so I actually went (the last time I was pregnant, and it was hosted earlier in the year, I opted out). And despite the fact that there was an epic summer thunderstorm, hail and lots of rain, and we spent the entire day totally soaked, we had a great time! Jake also got to go the Brewer's Dinner earlier in the weekend which I WILL go to someday--it's a 6 course meal, and each course is paired with a different Oregon brew. All of that to say, this is a great way to celebrate dad on Father's Day weekend and we will keep coming back.
The County Fair
We actually passed on the county fair last year because it was so impossibly hot (like 104 degrees hot). So we were pleased when it was a pleasant 80 degrees this year. Highlights included the usual suspects: piglet races (they're always the cutest), 4-H/livestock exhibits, exotic animals exhibit, and the bubble guy!
Detering Orchards & Agrarian Ales
We discovered these two gems last summer when we visited Agrarian for Jake's work party. We loved both spots so much, we decided to make them an annual thing. They're both located just about 35-40 minutes south of our house. Detering's has fantastic produce and my main priority is always their stonefruit--the nectarines, in particular. They also have a play area for kids and farm animals, which is always a win.
I don't know about all of you out there with littles, but I literally cannot remember the last time we took Lyla to any kind of dining establishment outside of frozen yogurt or picking up takeout. She is so busy and active that it is just not worth having someone else cook and serve me food. (Because, let's be real: we'll spend all our time entertaining her and then have to quickly eat cold food. That sounds super fun!) But you know what is totally our jam? Going to breweries that serve food and have huge outdoor spaces. Game. Changer. Jake enjoyed beers (lucky dog. 13 more weeks till I can get my hands on one.) and we shared a wood-fired pizza at a picnic table while Lyla happily collected rocks and played with the bean bags from the nearby cornhole game, just wandering over here and there to have a bite of pizza. The sun was shining, we got to talk like grown-ups, and everyone was happy. It was a beautiful thing. I highly recommend this place for families!
Craft Beer Picnic
This is a local event that we had not made it to until this year and we really enjoyed it. Super low-key, kid-friendly outdoor event with local beers and live music. This year it fell on our anniversary, so it was basically our family outing anniversary date, + takeout from our favorite Hawaiian place on the way home. Are you sensing a theme here?? The vast majority of our favorite family activities involve outdoor spaces and good beer. It's just the Oregon way! We celebrate most of life's events over local beer, cider, or wine (I recently went to a baby shower at a brewery). We aren't complaining; we're big fans of this culture (except when I'm expecting).
Lake Days
We only got two of these in this past summer (next year, I am definitely planning on more!). We spent one Sunday afternoon at Foster Lake, about a 45 minute drive from our house. They have a huge "beach" area and the water was so refreshing (some lakes around here are COLD, even in the summer months). During one of our visits to my parents' house in Klamath Falls, we made a trip up to Lake of the Woods which, while often super packed, is pretty darn dreamy. Minus the yellow jackets. I HATE yellow jackets. (Thank you, rain, for making them go away.)
Molalla Train Park
This might be the most random and successful trip we took this summer. Honestly, had we not seen the train park featured on an episode of Grant's Getaways (a local show dedicated to highlighting fun things to do in Oregon), I would not even know this place existed. It's a bit of a trek (I think it took us a little over an hour to get there) and Molalla is a super small town. But tucked away in a rural neighborhood, there is this huge, FREE train park! (Donations are very much welcomed, of course.) It is SO cool. And surprisingly busy. There were families having picnics and birthday parties everywhere. So random. Anyway, they have multiple trains and tracks looping all over the property and kids and adults alike can climb aboard and take unlimited rides. The place was popping, but wait times were super short and we got at least two rides in, easily, while we were there. And they weren't short either. It's only open on Sunday afternoons from 12-5 PM (which I know makes things tricky when you have kids that still nap--we were not there as long as we would have liked to be for that reason), and I think they are only open during the warmer months. This is totally worth a trip if you have a kid who is into trains. Lyla talked about the "choo-choo park" for weeks on end after we visited.
What didn't make the cut? Well, we were really hoping to make it to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and up to Silver Falls (our favorite hiking spot), but we just ran out of weekends. The plan is to try and squeeze both of those in during the coming weeks.
I hope you all had a wonderful summer and are enjoying the changing of the seasons!
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