Portland, Oregon
Play Hard • Work Hard

Jimmy had a business trip in Portland, Oregon so I decided to join him and make a little vacay out of it.  We had to fly and it is rare we fly anywhere, as we almost always take our camper. My aunt Becky also lives Hillsboro, which is just outside of Portland, so we made plans to visit with her. She invited us to stay with her, so we saved money as well! Jimmy was working the whole time but we managed to work in many mini adventures along the way.

My aunt is a great tour guide in training. We say “in training”, because we did see a number of really great things in the area but got lost several times. Hey! That is part of the adventure, right?!?! We started our trip with a drive along the Columbia River Gorge.  Our first stop was to the Bridge of the Gods. Well actually our first stop was suppose to be the falls.  Luck would have us miss the turn.  Instead of backtracking our tour guide, Auntie Becky, suggested we check out  some attractions just up the road. As many people know, it was Cheryl Strayed from the movie/book, Wild, crossed the Bridge of the Gods at the very of her journey having completed 1,000 + miles of the Pacific Crest Trail and ate her ice cream cone at the local shop along the road.

Once we hit the bridge we had a quick lunch at the Bridgeside in Cascade Locks and made our way back along the highway to see the Bonneville Fish Hatchery, Multnomah Falls, and Horsetail Falls Loop. The fish hatchery was very interesting showing how the fish are still able to migrate up the gorge despite the dam. Both of the falls were amazing. When we hiked to Horsetail Falls Jimmy dared me to get in the freezing cold water and go under the waterfall. I can’t say no to an adventure, so in the water I went!  Yes- It was freezing and totally exhilarating.

We drove to the coast the following day and we hit up the Tillamook Cheese Factory .  The coast is much different than Southern California.  It is much cooler in temperature and it is rather windy. The scenic drive there was one of the best parts about driving to the coast. The trees during the Fall change color and everywhere you look there are amazing Fall colors.  I was awestruck at the gorgeousness of this state, especially during this time of year. We got to drive on the sand in our 4×4 Jeep that we had for the weekend. We drove several miles right next to the waters edge and got to see the Peter Iredale Ship Wreck. This ship wrecked on the beach over 100 years ago and there are still remnants of the hull on the beach. After our ship wreck adventure we made a mad dash for Astoria, home of the Goonies!  We had to snap a picture of the city welcome sign just before dark.  (Joe and Leandra we did not check out the city with out you guys, just snapped a pic 🙂 ).

We went to the Orenco Station Farmers’ Market in Hillsboro and enjoyed looking at the beautiful flowers as well as trying all of the different types of food they sell there from cookies to liquor. We also drove a route they call the “Hood River Fruit Loop” in which you can visit several vineyards, orchards and nurseries. We saw more gorgeous dahlias and had some of the most delicious fruit.  My favorite apple was the Spitzenberg, which also happened to be Thomas Jefferson’s favorite too!

Jimmy and I also managed to get cleaned up for one night. We went to the Portland Art Museum for the 3D Printing Jewelry Symposium event. We walked through an art gallery and saw several famous paintings from Monet, Van Gogh and Salvador Dali ( Jimmy’s favorite) just to name few. After the event we found the famous donut shop, Voodoo Doughnut Too. We had the Dirty Old Bastard donut, a glazed donut with drizzled chocolate and peanut butter with Oreo cookie crumbles on top. It was delicious and highly recommended.  We are still putting in extra hours at the gym to burn off the Old Dirty B!

Maggie’s Buns

While in Oregon we came across a quaint little town that we absolutely loved, Forest Grove. It had a wholesomeness feel to it. Everyone was so nice and the little old homes had so much character. We hope to make it back there again soon. While there we recommend checking out the large antique store, Corner Antiques, the local breakfast spot, Maggie’s Buns, the local art gallery, Valley Art Gallery, a Framers Touch, for little gifts and last but not least, Urban Decanter, where I had the tastiest salad and beer.

The Northwest has captured our hearts. We fully intend to return sometime soon as we only scratched the surface of the natural beauty and enchanting landscape. The forests and countrysides have a hue unlike anything we have ever experienced. We would often find ourselves lost in a dreamlike state commenting on the never ending lush greenery. Until next time Oregon!