Category Archives: Weekends

Portland in the city

April 10, 2014

This past weekend we took the bus down to Portland to meet our friends who traveled from Texas. It was the perfect place to meet because it was new to everyone and for us it was just a quick trip down. The first night we had dinner and drinks and caught up a bit. The next day we walked around Powell’s, did some shopping (I showed a great amount of self control when I did not buy the cute handbag), and then we had lunch at Deschutes Brewery.

After a few more stops we rested for the day and then went to our dinner location. I was super excited because they offered a tasting menu which everyone agreed to get (I’m always wanting to do this but we save it for special occasions of which this was one). They brought out plate after plate of tasty food but I was most intrigued by the chickpea fries with butternut squash ketchup. By the time dinner was complete we had been there for 3 hours! Yes 3 hours! Crazy! Needless to say everyone was tired so we called it a night.

The following morning I had made plans to meet some blogger friends. One who lives in Portland and one who was visiting from New York. Thank you blogging conferences and instagram for bringing us together. Yvonne blogs over at Dress This Nest and lives in Portland. We got to meet her super cute son and husband who was really nice. Elita blogs over at inside, out and about she is so sweet and fun and she bought me a donut. Aww.

I couldn’t stay long so after saying goodbye I met back up with my group and we had second breakfast at Pine State Biscuits (sooo good!). With full bellies we headed out to the Hood River area for hiking and waterfalls which I’ll be sharing tomorrow.

Ruby beach, wa

March 25, 2014

It’s taken me forever to get these up! This was our last great destination while on the Olympic peninsula in Washington while my dad was in town back in February. We had spent the weekend further in the on peninsula and on the last day we drove to the coast before swinging around to head back to Seattle.

The weather was crazy that day. It was pouring rain all day long. As we drove up to the beach we got an insane view of the ocean. The wind was whipping the trees around and the waves were crashing onto the beach and up against the rocks. It was a little scary but we braved the weather and went to explore the beach. Despite our rain gear we all ended up soaked and cold but for that view on that day it was perfect.

After a long ride home driving in the rain and me serenading everyone along with the radio we made it home. We got takeout for dinner and watched Moonrise Kingdom which my dad really loved. It was a pretty great ending to a really fun trip.

cresent lake

March 14, 2014

During our time on the peninsula we also visited Cresent Lake. On one really rainy day we did a hike around half of the lake. Side note: the Cresent Lake trail is one of the only trails in the Olympic National Park that allows dogs. The hike was pretty impressive but after a while of getting pretty wet in the rain it starts to seem a little less exciting. We hiked on a bit farther and it was a pretty good thing because we came across the most amazing bridge and the view from it was fantastic.

At the insistence of my dad we walked on and when we were even more wet and getting cold we turned back. But first we quickly ate our lunch before it got too soggy. We hiked back trying our best to avoid all the puddles that had formed and after a somewhat uncomfortable car ride we were back at our cozy cabin.

On our last day we drove by the lodge to see what it was like and found it all boarded up for the season. Luckily the weather wasn’t quite so bad (yet) that we got to see the pretty turquoise that Cresent Lake is known for. Then we started our long drive home. More on that soon…

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