Journey to the Pacific Northwest

It's been a whirlwind 100 (or so) hours, but I'm back from our quick trip to Portland and Spokane.

Since Joe and I are spending April with my family (gotta get some quality time in before the big move!), we figured we should start saying goodbyes to other family and friends along the west coast.

The first stop on Goodbye Tour 2013 was to Portland. One of my dad's aunts and her kids and grandkids live there, so I wanted to be sure to visit before the move. I'm so glad we did! I've always wanted to spend more time with them - so it was the perfect opportunity to get to know them better and to have a great (albeit short) time in PDX.

On Tuesday, my parents, Joe, and I flew out of Santa Rosa at 11 a.m. and arrived at 2 - just in time for a late lunch at my dad's aunt's sports bar.

The next stop was Powell's bookstore - my one request for the trip. Powell's is an amazingly huge bookstore with both used and new books. For a thrifter like me, "used" books are a huge draw :) Unfortunately, Powell's is so gigantic that I got a bit overwhelmed, and I spent a ton of time trying to figure out which section to peruse. Next time I'll have a plan of attack and make a list of books I want before I go.

After that was dinner with most of the family. Great company, lots of chatting, and yummy food and drinks = a great time had by all!

We started out the following day with a trip to Voodoo Doughnut. I've always wanted to go there, and was super excited to finally get to try these famous doughnuts. We all shared bites of the following: Voodoo Doll (chocolate frosting and filled with raspberry jelly), Bacon Maple Bar (topped with real bacon!), Captain my Captain (vanilla frosting and Captain Crunch), Marshall Matters (cake doughnut with vanilla frosting and m&ms), Old Dirty Bastard (chocolate frosting, Oreo's, and peanut butter), and an Apple Fritter!

For the first time on the trip, I busted out my camera and started snapping away.

**Side Note** I am in NO WAY a photography expert, so don't expect too much haha. I am still learning my new Canon Rebel, and so I had it on automatic shooting to save time. My goals right now are to learn how to compose a good picture (framing, subject selection, etc), and then I'll gradually start experimenting more with aperture, ISO, shutter speed, etc. **End of Side Note**

A Must-Do When You Visit Portland!

I Love Pink ;)

Clever Doughnuts!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The Bacon Maple Doughnut was my Fav!

After gorging ourselves, we headed up to Mt. Hood. There is a lodge there that was used for the exterior shots of the hotel in The Shining. Being a ridiculously huge horror movie buff (I wrote my college thesis on slasher movies for gosh sakes), this was a site I've always been curious to see!

More pictures...

Exterior - I tried to avoid cars in my shots, which made it difficult to capture much of the hotel lol

High Up on Mt. Hood

Cool Ceilings!

Delicious Hot Chocolate

Wine is Good Too ;)

After our trip to Timberline Lodge, we went back to my dad's aunt's house and she made us a delicious dinner! The family came for dinner again - so it was more great company, lots of chatting, and yummy food and drinks!

Bright and early the following morning (I'm talking 6:30 a.m. here people!) we piled into the mini-van and drove up to Spokane, where I went to college and where my aunt and uncle live. We made a detour to visit my best friend from college who just had a baby. I took over 150 photos of him - he's TOO PRECIOUS FOR WORDS!

Such a Sweetie Pie!

Mommy Practice ;)

Around 4 p.m. we rolled into Spokane - tired from the drive, and my biological clock ringing from adorable baby exposure haha.We enjoyed some wine, an excellent dinner, and had fun catching up with my aunt and uncle.

The next morning we visited Gonzaga! I was so excited for Joe to finally get a glimpse at where I went to school. I took too many pictures and spent too much money on Zag apparel. Oops - sorry Joe ;)

I'm realizing now that I missed a bunch of shots - but it was raining and I couldn't have my camera out the whole time we were walking around. Here's some of what I got:

St. Al's

Love the Stained Glass!

The Wall - You Can Write Announcements About Your Club, Etc.

Can You Tell How Much is Wall and How Much is Years of Paint?!

Bing Crosby - Probably Our Favorite Alum!

Another Shot

Where My Beloved Zags Play

We're the Bulldogs!

Afterwards we went out to lunch, I forced us to make a detour to the Goodwill (this thrifting obsession won't fade - and I am glad it hasn't since I found a Zag shirt for me, a Ralph Lauren Polo for Joe, and a ton of cheap books!), and then we drove to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho so the guys could hit up Cabella's and the gals could do girly shopping. Unfortunately, most of the shops were closed by the time we got there - but we were able to find a fun restaurant for dinner.

The restaurant had an awesome self-serve wine station in the basement. I'm adding this to my Christmas wish list ;) I'd like one for my kitchen and one for next to my bathtub.... hey - a girl can dream, right?!

Best.Invention.Ever.

Joe Agrees

It was another early morning this morning - with another 6:30 a.m. departure. We had to drive back to Portland for a 2 p.m. flight that was pretty delayed because our co-pilot was missing.

And now we're home! I'm uploading pics, eating leftover Easter candy (because I apparently didn't eat enough calories over the last 100 hours haha), and gearing up to watch more Walking Dead. My parents LOVE the show, and even though they are finished, are re-watching season 3 with us. We are two episodes in, and it is already my favorite season.

What a way to spend my first week as a free (from work) woman!

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