It had been far too long since we had a cousin reunion, so we decided to meet up in Portland to visit 2 cousins who live there! One cousin flew in from St. Louis and I flew in from Dallas - meeting up on a layover in Phoenix. After a few beers and some catching up, we boarded a flight to Portland. We arrived WAY past our bedtime, but took time to take the classic #pdxcarpet shot. Once at the Courtyard Marriott City Center, we jumped straight into bed and caught some zzz's.
The next morning, we met up with Rachel and walked to Blue Star Donuts for some sugary goodness and some Stumptown coffee. We divided up all of our purchases so we could try all three: Raspberry Rosemary, Lemon Poppy-seed and, my favorite - Blueberry Bourbon Basil. Wanting to burn off a few of those calories, we hiked around Forest Park to the Witch's Castle and onto the Portland Audubon Society. It was an easy 1.5 - 2 mile hike, where we got to chat and catch up!
We made our way to the nearby Alphabet District to wander around some cute shops, like Will Leather Goods, pictured below. After, we had some yummy food at Sante Fe Taqueria. We ate outside - soaking up the AMAZING weather!
After lunch, we stopped by the Pendleton Woolen Mill store where they sell all of their lovely merchandise, as well as yards and yards of fabric! I grabbed a 1/2 yard so that I can (with my mom's help) make some beautiful pillow shams! (It's the fabric with the bright pink on the left middle in the picture below.)
Shopping really got us in the mood for some drinks, so we hit up Migration Brewing and Cascade Brewing! We had some yummy pizza at American Dream to cap off a lovely evening.
The next morning, we headed out to the Columbia River Gorge. We ended up skipping Multnomah Falls due to the crazy parking situation and took a trail up to Horsetail Falls instead. This ended up being a great option to get away from the crowds and we still got to see all of the beauty of the area. It was fun to walk right behind the waterfall as well.
After we left, we stopped at Rachel's place for a bit and wandered across the street from her house to Peninsula Park. I love all of the beautiful parks EVERYWHERE in this city! We stopped in to a photobooth to take some photos to send to our grandpa, eating a delicious lunch at Thai Food Cafe afterwards.
We saved a bit of room for desert at Salt and Straw. They let you sample as many as you like, but I ended up going with the Snickerdoodle. Holy cow, I see why the lines are always insane here. It was DELICIOUS!
That evening, we got to see my cousin's wedding venue and had a picnic in Laurelhurst Park. We stayed, drank wine, listened to Jewel (HA), and chatted until we couldn't see our hands in front of our face. Not quite ready to end the night, we stopped by Rev Nat's Cider for a glass!
The next morning, Jenna had to leave really early. Having friends in Portland, it was a perfect chance to meet up for some breakfast with them and met their son at The Original. I did wake up a little early though, so I was able to walk around downtown. There was already a line at Voodoo Donut at 7:30am!
It was so nice to catch up with family AND friends on this trip! Portland is quickly becoming one of my favorite places (see my first trip recap here) and I can't wait until next year when we get to come back for my cousin's wedding! I already have a wishlist a mile long of things I want to do - mainly a trip to the coast and a few stops at wineries.
What a great first annual Cousinfest! Thanks Portland, you were grand!
No comments:
Post a Comment