We just got back from our trip to Portland, Oregon! I don't have my photos ready yet (we got home late last night and I'm at work now) but I will hopefully get those done tonight or tomorrow. I just wanted to get down what we did before I start forgetting everything!
On Tuesday, we got up early and drove to Anderson, California. We took a longer way into Oregon because we wanted to drive through the forest-y parts of northern Cali. It was absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad we decided to go that way! Miles and miles and miles of pine trees and it was great! I collected a few pine cones and we drove with the windows down because it they smelled so good. That night we got to our hotel around 5:30 or 6pm and just relaxed for the evening, after eating at the hotel grill. I had steak and Cody had a burger, pretty yummy!
On Wednesday, we got up a little early and headed into Oregon. This was a very pretty drive as well, so even though it was a long drive, we enjoyed it! We got to our hotel around 3pm and headed over to Bora Parts to visit our VW part-supplier Aaron. I was glad to be out of the car, so I enjoyed seeing his warehouse and listening to the conversations there. They were busy, but we were able to chat and spend some good time there. They even let Cody drive one of their go-carts they had. He had way too much fun driving it around the parking lot. Aaron later took us to his house to look at two TDI Passats he was selling. They were both very fun and in great condition, but the logistics and costs just didn't work out. Who knows, maybe we'll go back and get one later! While we were waiting for Aaron to get back from a delivery, we ate some dinner at a Lebanese restaurant that was pretty great! We had a chicken kabab pizza and it was way too filling. First time I'd tried Lebanese and I wasn't disappointed!
On Thursday, we decided to head to the coast (in Newport) to beat the rain that was coming. We were so glad we went when we did! The coast was beautiful and I know that it would have been very different if it had been raining. We saw the Yaquina lighthouse and we even got a tour! It had a very cool spiral staircase and the tour guides were even dressed up like the watchers back in the late 1800's. We loved the rocky beach in this area. It wasn't as warm as the Newport Beach we're used to, but it was much prettier. I even saw some sea lions poking up to check us out. From Newport, we headed over to Tillamook to see the cheese factory! It was great! We've always been fans of the cheese and ice cream, so we got both while we were there! AND an awesome t-shirt, I'll post a photo of it later. We saw some very beautiful look-out points all day. We hurried back to Portland for Beyond Bizarre, a walking-tour where we learned about some local hauntings. We hadn't intended to sign up for this tour, but it ended up being a lot of fun. Sometimes I get scared, but I am always interested in hearing about local legends and stuff like that.
On Friday we went to Multnomah Falls in the morning and it was amazing! It was a little rainy, but it worked out! We went to Powell's City of Books back in Portland later on. It was a pretty great book store! Way too big to handle in the 25 minutes we spent there. I'd like to go back if we ever go to Portland again and spend more time in there. After the bookstore, we went to dinner at Applebees because I had a gift card leftover from a birthday. It was delicious! We drove over to the temple after eating, but it was much too rainy and dark to get decent photos. It was beautiful, I'd love to go back to get some photos some day.
On Saturday, we went into town for the Saturday Market they have every weekend. It's a lot like what Spanish Fork is like during Fiesta Days. Food carts, t-shirt vendors and everything else you could think of! We got some great t-shirts and ate great food. The people-watching was exceptional as well! After the market, we went to the Oregon Zoo and we were very impressed! It is organized very well and we got to see most of the animals even though it was rainy. They had a great enclosure where we fed Lorikeets and I had 5 of them on me at the same time! Cody got some great photos on his phone. After the zoo, we got back into town to eat at Flying Pie Pizzeria. We had salads and BBQ chicken pizza, very delicious!
All in all, it was a great trip! I can't wait to go back, though I'd rather fly if we can. Cody thinks we should move there, but we haven't talked about it seriously yet. It would be very hard to leave family and friends behind, but I think it would be good for me personally and for our relationship. This is the kind of thing I wish we would have considered when we were first married. It would have been VERY hard to leave, but I don't want to move out of state when we're getting to the point when we want to have kids. Obviously, there will be a lot of praying involved if we consider moving there. I loved it there, but living there might be a completely different story. ANWAY, hopefully photos will come soon. Great trip!
