Last year we went to
Seattle with my parents. Our returning flight was over sold, so Alex and I volunteered to take a later flight in exchange for free flight vouchers. We had the vouchers for about three months until they were burning a hole in my pocket so I did what anyone would do, I booked a trip to Oregon!
We didn't have a lot planned while we were there, but we ended up having a great time and relaxed and unplugged. We arrived in Portland late Thursday night so all we did was check into our
airbnb house. It was the cutest little suite and very cozy. It was our first
airbnb experience and I highly recommend it. It was so easy and much more affordable than a hotel.
Friday we slept in a bit and then headed out to explore the city. We started our day at
Sterling Coffee. Alex got a cuppa joe and I got a chai (I still don't like coffee). After our coffee we drove a couple of streets away and window shopped our way to
Blue Star Donuts. I got the apple cider fritter and Alex got the raspberry donut and both were delicious! After our donuts we decided to take a hike in Forest Park. Their Forest Park is actually in the forest unlike St. Louis' Forest Park that has very little forest. We hiked up one of the trails and had a nice time talking and exploring.
When we finished our hike we decided to drive out to see the famed Multnomah Falls. It was so pretty and worth the drive. We even got to witness a proposal on the bridge....but if I were her I'd be scared the ring would have fallen off the bridge and be gone forever...they didn't ask my opinion.
After going to the falls, we headed back into Portland to grab lunch at
Sizzle Pie and visit the famed
Powell's Bookstore. We overheard some interesting conversation at lunch, so it may not be my fondest memory, but it was memorable nonetheless. After the labyrinth that is the bookstore, we headed back to our cozy suite for a nap.
Following our nap we headed out to get some dinner before we crashed again (sightseeing is a lot of work). We ate at
Fifth Quadrant and it was very good. I had their mac 'n cheese and salad and Alex had their blackened chicken and we were both stuffed to the gills.
Saturday morning we woke up and headed to
Slappy Cakes. It was the restaurant that I was most excited about and it did not disappoint. The premise of the restaurant is: there is a griddle on each table and you choose your batter and toppings and get to make your own pancakes! It was so much fun and it was very tasty! Everyone needs to go when they're in Portland!
After brunch we said adios to Portland and headed west to the coast. We drove to Cannon Beach and then headed south to Lincoln City. We stopped a few times to soak in the view, which was beautiful. It was a little windier and chillier than we had expected, but it was fun anyway.
When we finally got to Lincoln City, we went to the grocery store and grabbed some basics and checked into our second
airbnb condo. It was clean and very nice and right on the beach. After we settled in, we took a walk on the beach. We got to see some people crabbing and there were even seals just across the bay that we could see.
Sunday after we woke up, we drove to Drift Creek Falls for a hike. It wasn't a very long hike, but it was so pretty and I'm glad we went. We got to walk over a suspension bridge and then we disobeyed the signs and climbed down the boulders to sit right by the waterfall to eat our lunch.
When we made our way back to the car we drove back down the mountain/large winding hill (?) to see the Devil's Punch bowl (I affectionately referred to it as the fruit bowl). The tide was in so we couldn't explore inside it, but I could see how it would be fun!
Then we got back in the car and drove a little further to see what Newport had to offer...we surmised that there wasn't a lot there that interested us, so we headed back to our condo. We got back and cleaned up and found a nice little bistro for dinner. I can't remember the name, but it was a good dinner.
Our plan for the second half of our trip was to just unplug and we definitely accomplished that. We rented some Redbox movies and just vegged the rest of Sunday night and that was the theme for
Monday too. I stayed in my pajamas all day and so did Alex and we watched movies, read, chatted and dozed on and off all day. We ended up making a Papa Murphy's pizza and watching the Cardinals game.
Tuesday came very early (4:00am early). We woke up, packed up and drove back to Portland to catch our flight home.
We had a great trip and we both enjoyed our time away to unwind and unplug from work and everyday life. If the weather was a little warmer, you would have had a hard time getting me to leave the beach, but the hiking and exploring were great too. I don't know if we would
have to go to Portland again, but that doesn't discount the rest of the state. Next time we'll need to see everything else, but we will definitely go back to the great state of Oregon.
*all of the links will take you to the places we visited/stayed etc.*
