OREGON!!

Logan and I got to go on a trip just the two of us!!! It was so much fun and a great week for us just to hang out together. Mallory and Jason had been to Oregon earlier this year and it had sparked outrinterest. Then, Southwest put their airfare on sale so we decided to jump on it and plan it. We flew into Portland and drove to different towns, basically making one big circle while we there. On our flight into Portland, we were able to see Crater Lake (pictured below) from the plane. It was one of the things we wanted to see but weren't able to get to. It was awesome to see from being up so high!

After we got into Portland, we got our cool rental car and decided to try one of the famous food carts that they have in the city. Basically it's a big trailer that they serve food out of. The one we went to served grilled cheeses. But they were grilled cheeses with a kick! They were awesome and we loved every bite! They actually had turned an old school bus into a place to eat with tables and chairs.

From Portland, we headed east. We got to stop and see this gorgeous view of the Columbia River Gorge.

Then we stopped at several amazing waterfalls that were right off the road. They were breath-taking!

This is the most famous one called Multnomah Falls. It was the highest one and it was beautiful! We hiked to the top and got a gorgeous view of it.

Sadly I don't have a picture of this, but one of our favorite things of the trip happened right after the waterfalls. We met some local people at the falls that told us about a local farmers market at one of the middle schools in the town (Hood River) that we were going to that night. So we headed straight there. It was awesome! There were just little table set up on the lawn and everyone had their produce sitting out to sell. It was SO SO good!!! We got all kinds of berries, some bread, and almond butter. It was our breakfast/snack/lunch the next day.

Our first night we stayed in Hood River at the Vagabond Inn. We tried not to stay at any chain motels but instead at the local places so we could meet more of the people. This room wasn't anything fancy but it worked......yes 2 beds.....can you guess which one I got??? Romantic isn't it?

We also agreed not to go to any chain restaurants while we were there. So the first morning we went to Bette's. She makes homemade cinnamon rolls that were as big as a plate! She had just pulled some out of the oven when we got there. Oh my! There were SO yummy! They melted in your mouth. So that was definitely another one of my favorites :)

This was another picture of the Columbia River.....it separates Washington and Oregon.

After breakfast we headed to a place called Lost Lake. It's right outside of Mount Hood and we read that it was a fun place to go hike. On the way we drove through and area known as the "fruit loop". It was so beautiful. This picture doesn't do it justice....but it was the most amazing fertile land with orchard after orchard and vineyard after vineyard as far as you could see. It was like something out of the movies. I just couldn't get over how green and lush everything was!

Lost Lake was basically in the boonies. We did a long hike once we got there up to a place that opened up and we had an awesome view of Mt. Hood. It was really beautiful to see it from there.

This one Logan took for his parents......acting like he was falling off the cliff. His dad would have been nervous just watching him get that close.

After the long hike, we rented a canoe and paddled out on the lake. It was an awesome, perfectly calm lake. We got some cool pictures of the mountain.

From there, we headed back to Portland for the night. We had heard a lot about the Saturday market and wanted to see it. We stayed in downtown Portland Friday night and then got up early and headed down to the market. It was really neat to see all the things that they were selling.

We stopped to watch these 2 guys that were entertaining on the street and somehow I got called up to be in their show :( Logan took a video of it on his phone but basically they were throwing stuff around my head while I stood there.

We heard about another huge farmers market at the University of Portland. So we headed up there and it was awesome! This is what had booth after booth of amazing produce, more berries, and tons of fresh flowers. We ate the best peach I've ever had in my life! (Sorry Parker county)

From Portland, we headed south to a town called Bend. We had heard really neat things about it and that it was a neat, outdoorsy town. These were the hanging baskets on our way there! How sad it made my hanging basket look here at the house :(

We had an interesting night stay while we were in Bend. We went cheap on all of our rooms and while I was looking for a place I found a bed and breakfast for $55! It was a one night stay and a full breakfast! So we did it. Well it was interesting to say the least. This was our room in the picture below. TINY! It was just a bed in a room with hardly any room to even walk around. The other really awkward thing was that we had to share a bathroom with the other guests and it was down the hallway. So it wasn't the worst but it was a little awkward. Another guy that was staying in another room was walking to the bathroom down the hallway in his underwear the next morning! I mean REALLY? The walls were paper thin but oh well, we got through it :) The breakfast was really good the next morning!

We ate an amazing restaurant while we were there....Blacksmith. We had read in our travel book that they had a 4 course meal for a decent price. When we got in there we got a menu and both read it and were about to leave....it was SO expensive. We asked the waitress about the special we had heard about and she agreed to do it for us! It was some of the best food I've ever had. It was a really fun, fancy night! The town of Bend was neat and relaxed. Everyone was outside enjoying the weather. We met some really nice people while we were there.

We did some hiking the next morning outside of Bend. Once again we saw some amazing waterfalls! I think we hiked over 7 miles this day! I was pooped when we finished.

Didn't want to forget this amazing sound!

After the long hike, we headed into town and got a quick bite to eat and went white water rafting on the Deschutes River. It was really different than Colorado rafting but it was perfect for being pregnant. They called it class III rapids and that was enough for me. It was really short and didn't last very long. The one thing I kept saying before we went was that I didn't want to get stuck with overweight, uncoordinated people on our boat because I didn't want to fall out! Well, that's exactly what we got stuck with. It was really interesting and somehow we made it down with out anyone falling out till the end when a larger lady in our boat fell out. I was sorta glad when it was over :)

After rafting, we got in the car and made a pretty long drive over to the coast to Newport. We had some yummy pizza on the way. This is what it looked like while we driving most of the way! Amazing pine trees everywhere!!!

We stayed right on the beach in Newport. We actually left the windows up at night and heard the waves all night. It was awesome! The next morning we went to the Oregon State aquarium. It was pretty cool to see all the animals. We got to touch a bunch of stuff and see the biggest crab and starfish I've ever seen! We also got to see an octopus!

They had this one part that you walked through huge tanks! It was neat to see the fish that close.

After that we went to the lighthouse. While we were walking up to the lighthouse we saw a whale!!! This is a really quick video but you can see it!

After we finished there, we headed up the coast until we got to Seaside. Once we got checked in, we drove out to an area called Saddle mountain natural area and did some hiking. It was late but the time we got there. We did a REALLY hard and steep hike to reach this peak. Unfortunately the clouds started coming in and we couldn't see anything when we got to the top :( It was a big bummer because it would have been amazing! We saw some really pretty views on the way up though.

This isn't the top but it's a 360 degree view of everything we could see.

This is us at the top.....tired and it was freezing being up that high!!!!

That night in seaside we stayed at the Hillcrest Inn in the "sweet retreat". The people there were so friendly. It was one of the smallest bathrooms we've seen. But it worked and we had a great night. You could sit on the toilet and wash your hands all at the same time.

Our last full day we headed to the beach. We did another hike in Ecola state park down to a secluded beach called Crescent Beach. It was so beautiful! The waves were huge and it was so peaceful to watch. The water was FREEZING!! You couldn't even stand in it without it hurting your feet!

On our hike down a HUGE tree had fallen on the trail. We had to climb over it and on it to get through it. It was a little scary but we made it. Needless to say, there weren't many people down at that beach since you had to take that trail to get there.

The beach was awesome because it was cool enough to not sweat, yet warm enough to be comfortable. After we sat on the beach most of the afternoon and talked and watched the waves, we ate an awesome burger and then headed back to Portland. We checked in to our motel right by the airport and Logan noticed this on the wall when we checked in.

We were the guests of the day at the Rodeway Inn! What does that get you? Well not much.....2 bottles of water and some trail mix. But it was a good laugh too. Yes, they actually change that frame out everyday for a different guest!

We flew early the next morning and got to see our squishy boys!!! I missed them sooo much. But thanks to Mimi and her iphone we got plenty of texts and videos of them which made it easier. It was a great trip and really great time to get to be with Logan. I'm so thankful that he's my best friend and we have so much fun together. We love doing the same things which makes going on vacations together a blast!