Portland

Our president's day weekend was spent in Portland, exploring our surrounding and hanging out with the best of company. Jessica went above and beyond, by being a brilliant tour guide. Our first day there we headed out to the coast towards Cannon Beach, the day was cloudy, rainy and windy and couldn't have been more perfect. The first stop was Ecola State Park, in which we found ourselves in the windiest conditions of our lives. The scenery was beautiful with dramatic cliffs looming over a turbulent ocean. The wind was so strong, that raindrops stung has they met our faces but the weather conditions positively added to the experience. We hiked around some in a lush wooded area, where I was blown away (pun) by the beautiful shades of greens. By the time the hike was over all, but our torsos were soaking wet. Then we were off to Cannon Beach in search for a hearty meal, and settle on Sweet Basil's. The warm soup was just what we need.
After lunch we drove up to Astoria, to see where the Columbia meets the ocean. It was a neat looking town and we stopped to get some coffee to prep for the drive home. The remainder on the day was spent grocery shopping, making dinner and relaxing for the evening.


The following day Jessica drops us off in the pearl district, where we checked out Powell's Book. Jessica had told us it was a huge bookstore but from the outside it looked pretty unimpressive, but looks are deceiving. It was huge and it's apparently the largest independent bookstore in the nation. We hung out there from a good while, getting lost among the many floors and color coated sections. Afterwards we checked out Deschutes which was participarting in Zwickelmania brewery tour. We got there a little early so we ordered a sampler, even though it was only eleven am. Then it was our turn to do the tour which was free and included a beer. Their brewing setup was cool and since we've been home brewing recently, we had a good understanding of the process. Then we were off the next brewery, Rogue, which was less impressive and we didn't get any free booze. Jessica meet us there and then we went off to Hopworks brewery, which was much larger than the previous two but by then I was pretty over the whole beer thing. I started too early and was ready for a nap but I soldiered on. After that we headed over to St. Johns neighborhood, to meet up with Jessica Collins. From there we went off too the By and By for some food and drinks before heading back to Jaylah's to rest up for a night more food, at Dove Vivi and dancing at Holocene in celebration of Jessica Collin bithday.

On Sunday we had brunch at Portabello's, which as quite unique and delicious. We were all pretty tired from the night before but we gathered up the energy to walked around Forest Park and I'm glad we did because it was quite pretty. Later that day more food was made and hangs outs occurred. (I'm clearly losing interest in writing) On Monday we went up to Mt. Hood for snowshoeing. We rented shoe on the way up for only $12 a day, pretty good deal. When we first arrived there were a good amount of people near the parking lot but once we got hiking we didn't spot another soul. It was breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful. On our way back we even came across an abandoned sled, so we took advantage up the opportunity and made our way down a hill. It was incredibly fun to be in snow. Once again thanks to Jessica Latus for showing us such a wonderful time.


For only a few days in Portland we sure did a lot.