This year, we had a spring holiday break in April, which is the best idea ever. It made April go by so much quicker & now there are only 3 more full weeks of school left until the summer!!! Nate is switching from teaching to Edward Jones this summer, so we will have a month of vacation & then he will start studying for tests & training. Since it is going to be a tough couple of years with him starting a new job, we decided to go to Portland for the break. Nate loves Oregon & the cold, rainy weather so much (I love the green and the food there, but not the cold). We stayed with our friends, Sean & Erica 4 nights & then in an Airbnb on the coast our last night. It was such a perfect trip & a great refresh to finish the end of the school year.

Day 1:(THURS) We got to Portland at 2:30 & it stays dark until 8, so we got to do a lot the first day! We went straight to the food trucks on Hawthorne & got a Margherita pizza & cream soda at Pyro's & the PB & J fries from Potato Champion & everything was AMAZING!!! Better than I even remembered because we were starving from traveling all day without food. The weather was perfect & the perfect amount of warm! We drove to the Rose Garden & sadly, hardly any roses were blooming yet, but lots of other flowers had bloomed & the view of the city is gorgeous! Then we headed to see some waterfalls. We drove past Wahkeenah Falls, Multnomah Falls, Oneonta Falls, & Horsetail Falls, stopping to walk to some of them. Then we went to my favorite waterfall, Elowah Falls & hiked down there. We were the only ones there, just like I had hoped!!! Then we drove back to Portland to get French onion soup and some appetizers at Petite Provence & then to get Salt & Straw ice cream. My new favorite is once scoop of brittle & salted ganache & one schoop of woodblock chocolate, sooo good!!! (All of the food was way to good to waste time getting pictures of!)



Day 2: (FRI) We started the day getting breakfast at Pine State Biscuits getting the Reggie & I had to try and recreate a picture of Nate there, but he wouldn't smile for the picture... Then we did a really pretty drive through the forest, it was amazing! We pulled over at a sign for a hike & it was SUCH a gorgeous hike! So green with a little creek running along most of the hike. It had just rained so everything smelled so fresh! Then we got hot chocolate and gibassiers at Pearl Bakery, looked in Powell's Books & Anthropologie (they had redone Anthro there and it was 2 stories & incredible, decorated way more fancy than usual!) I found the cutest, softest jeans at Lucky for a "souvenir" & then we got dinner at Urban Fondue. Urban Fondue will always be a special place because we ate their when we were visiting before moving up there to decide if it would be a good place to move. We ate there to celebrate Nate getting the job offer there & we would also go there for other special occasions. So this year we celebrated Nate getting hired at Edward Jones. Everything was just a delicious as we remembered. We got two smoked cheddar cheeses since that is our favorite, with pears & apples, & then were too full for more, so we got the Heath chocolate fondue. Soooo good!!!! Then we watched a movie with Sean & Erica.







Day 3: (SAT) We went on a morning hike to Elowah Falls with Sean & Erica & then while they went apartments shopping, we got lunch at the "Good Food Here" foodcarts. We split mac 'n cheese w/ broccoli & breadcrumbs & spring rolls & panang curry from a Thai truck. My mouth is watering just thinking of all of the amazing food. Good thing we hiked everyday so we didn't gain 10 pounds! Then we walked along the Columbia River. That evening, we went to a Jordanian place for dinner, Petra House, with Sean & Erica. It was so fun to eat there! We sat on cushions on the ground around a silver table & they brought rose water to wash our hands with at the table. It made my hands feels so smooth & smell so good. They had amazing mint lemonade that was like a slushy! We got grape leaves for an appetizer which I have always wanted to try & I really liked them. Then I got a falafel wrap, lentil soup, & fresh pita bread, all amazing. It was fun to try a new place, I've always wanted to go to a place like that where you eat on cushions, & the decorations and ambiance were incredible!




Day 4: (SUN) We made breakfast & hung out with Sean & Erica in the morning & then went for another walk along the Columbia River. Then we went to our old ward for church & talked to a few people after that were still in the ward. After church, we did a drive on the Washington side up to our favorite view in Washington. Then we drove to the dam & saw about 30 HUGE sealions! They were just swimming around waiting for fish! We headed back & had dinner & a relaxing night at Sean & Erica's.



DAY 5: (MON) We went to Pine State Biscuits for breakfast again & got the Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes. They were soooo good & now I really want to try and make them myself! And I also got a biscuit with Marionberry Jam which I looooove!!! Then we headed up the coast. The drive was beautiful , so much green & so many streams everywhere. We did a long hike, Cape Lookout Hike, along the coast. The view were amazing! Then we went to the Tillamook Factory & ate some cheese curds & looked around & then we had a picnic outside with smoked cheddar (from the factory), a baguette, Crater Lake cream soda (tradition), sun dried tomatoes & Honey Dijon chips. We had pretty much that exact picnic there 2 years ago! Then we got ice cream from there & headed to our airbnb. Tillamook is so beautiful, tons of rolling green pastures with cows, horses, & sheep. We were staying in Bay City & only 3 minute walk from the beach! We walked down to the beach for sunset & were the only ones on the beach! After sunset, it felt so nice to have a relaxing night, watching a movie.



DAY 6: (TUES) Our last day, we had breakfast from the lady who owned the airbnb (it was a bed & breakfast). She was so nice & used to live in Scottsdale! Then we drove up the coast to Cannon Beach. I love the huge rocks that the waves crash on & there were also tons of birds!!! We saw TONS of Puffins!!!! We walked along the beach & in the tidepools & bird watched for awhile & then headed on the road, back to Portland. We got lunch at the huge group of food trucks on Alberta (Ma's dumplings from the "Dump Truck" & Korean tacos) & then stopped at Voodoo Donuts to get some to bring home for family. Then we were off to the airport & back home.




It was such a fun trip & just what we needed! I am so glad Nate & I have so much fun traveling together & having adventures!!! (There may have been a few arguments when I was starving & wanted to use my gps (geepy) to find the food spots while Nate wanted to find them by memory- hangry + wrong turns= not a good combo) but everything else was perfect & it was such a fun trip! The weather was so nice & only rained a few times! It was so nice to be able to see Sean & Erica! & to have no plans other than hikes we wanted to do & places we wanted to eat! That area will always be special to us since it was the place we lived our first year of marriage!!!