Parkdale & Portland.

This past Thanksgiving Break, I visited the Northwest for the first time. It honestly took my breath away with how beautiful it was. I like road-trips, but honestly, some states are a lot harder to roadtrip through than others (see: Nebraska). However, Oregon is a completely different story. Oregon is one of those states that's ridiculously easy to drive through just because of how stunning the scenery is.

The break was a great mix of relaxing and exploring and full of good memories. Here are a couple of the highlights.

We arrived in Parkdale, OR late on Wednesday night. For the most part, we spent Thursday just relaxing (think bed, bathrobes, books, bubblebaths, and chocolate. So much chocolate). Thanksgiving dinner was eaten in a restaurant on Mount Hood. Mount Hood is just beautiful--there was snow, and the roads were so curvy and adventurous, and the mountains were wrapped up in such mysterious-looking fog.

Driving.

Bed and breakfast.

Mount Hood.

Midnight Thanksgiving celebration on the floor of our room. 

The next day, we headed to Portland. It was raining, of course, because that's what it does in Portland. Nonetheless, it was a great time. We got stopped by activists, shopped around a bit, ate some of the best ice cream I've ever had, and did lots and lots of walking around and looking. we also visited Powells, the largest bookstore in the world! We stayed there for...hours? I can't remember. Most girls buy clothes. Jenny and I--we buy books. We also bought a dozen doughnuts at Voodoo Doughnuts. It was entirely worth waiting in the long line outside in the rain.

Portland has this really cool vibe going on. It's full of things like rainboots, scarves, recycling bins, street art, and cobblestone. Old brick buildings. Trees. Layering. Hipster glasses and coffee shops. Street artists. I like it.

Here's a couple snapshots of the day.

Portland, U rule.

Portland streets. 

Ice cream at the Salt & Straw. 

Voodoo Doughnut.

Keep Portland Weird. I love it. 

After the day was done, we headed to a small, cozy hostel in Camas, Washington. We ate doughnuts for dinner and I tried being productive, but got entirely distracted (of course), and ended up doing nothing at all until I fell asleep.