Remember when I said I as going to be a better blogger...neither do I.
Here's a bit of a travelogue of my trip to Seattle and Portland. It was a nice break from the warmth and sunshine of Atlanta. That may sound weird but it was nice be in a place where everything was lush and green not because of torrential rain, 100% humidity and 90 degree weather; but due to a crisp, lighter rain and weather that generally still requires you wear a jacket even on a summer's night.
I flew into Seattle and met up with my friend Amy, who you might recognize from some of my other travels. I love that she is still willing to entertain my travel whims. We stayed at a place in a central location. It was a little dingy but for $55 dollars a night I thought it was a steal. Plus it had a DVD player, which enabled the initiation of my latest addiction, watching Veronica Mars.
In Seattle we bought a City Pass. If you are into the touristy stuff I definitely recommend it. 59$ for a pass to see all the major sights. It got us into the Seattle Aquarium, Seattle Zoo, Experience Music Project, Space Needle and we took a ferry around the harbor. Another highlight was visiting the world headquarters of REI, I am proud to say I didn't buy anything, though was sorely tempted.
After two days in Seattle we headed for Portland. It was a beautiful drive. We stopped as a little mom and pop place for breakfast. We both ordered from section of the menu labeled lite breakfast choices. You know things like pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits... I imagine the reason it was peddled as lite was because it came with an orange slice and parsley as a garnish.
We tried to see Mt St. Helens on the way down but cloud cover and closed roads foiled our attempt so it was on to Portland.
Near Mt. St. Helens, you can see where the lava flowed through the valley.
Before we met up with our friend and tour guide Brian, who we know from Michigan, we stopped at a cemetery and Washington park. Upon arrival I was struck by the number of homeless people I saw in Portland-- I am told that Portland does actually have one of the highest numbers of homeless people in the US-- however I quickly realized that many of the people I pegged as homeless were indeed not, but instead just northwest hipsters. Most homeless people don't usually drive around in Outbacks or on $1000 bikes.
The night we arrived we went golfing at a temporary miniature golf fixture. I say fixture because the golf course was made by artists and despite their not being engineers worked quite well, if not a little dangerous. Sadly I didn't take any pictures.
Sunday was mother's day and we spent it with Brian's sister and family. We also took the chance to take a hike in a place where they filmed scenes from Twilight. I'm a bit embarrassed about this but in the spirit of full disclosure we reenacted one of the scenes as they had the screenplay info right there for us.
The three of us hiking around Twilight filming area.
Monday was another nature and hiking day. We hiked Multnomah Falls and Punchbowl Falls. Both were amazing hikes with great views of the water falls. We also took a tram ride, went to Powell's Book store (the biggest bookstore in the US), and Voodoo Doughnuts. Then it was off to the airport for me as I had redeye to Atlanta.
Multnomah Falls
Array of Voodoo Doughnuts
Overall I really enjoyed the northwest but fear the cloudiness might be too much. However, as I stepped out of the Hartfield Jackson Airport on to the MARTA platform after my redeye to 85 degrees and 95% humidity weather, I almost longed to be back under the cool, dreary, gray blanket of the northwest sky.
Other Pictures:
Pike's Place Market
Seattle Zoo
From the top of the Space Needle
At the Experience Music Project they had a special exhibit on the early 90s music scene and grunge (i.e. Nirvana). I took a picture of this as it incorporates two things that consume my life, music and breastfeeding.
Old Industrial complex that has been turned into a park.
We went to a cemetery (I love them) in both Seattle and Portland. I think this picture is from the Seattle Cemetery.
Famous park view looking over Seattle.
Me eating a Voodoo doughnut.
Did you know you can't pump your own gas in Oregon? It's against the law. Here's a picture of someone pumping our gas. 
5 comments:
Looks like fun! Nice Twilight acting. As I scrolled through the post, Annabelle came in right as I passed the Industrial Building/Park photo. She said, "Look mom, Temple!" Guess we better be off to church!
I'm a bit jealous as I've never been to that part of the country since I was 3-ish and lived in Washington.
I like the idea of the breastfeeding art, but was kind of freaked out by the woman's likeness to Michael Jackson. I had to look several times to make sure it wasn't supposed to be MJ.
It drives me crazy when they won't let me pump my own fuel!!!!
How cool you got to go to all those places! I love Pike's Place Market (especially the place where they throw fish around and they have that big scary fish with a kids shoe in its mouth) and the music museum. Hey, nice poster!
That is awesome you were able to see so much in such a short amount of time. To tell you the truth you have seen more of Portland then I have. I so need to be more adventurous! I do love the men that pump my gas though. I just wish they would wash my windows once in a while.
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