So I arrived on May 5, 2011 via airplane at 10:45am their time. No delays or missed planes, the travel to was perfect. Derrick picked me up and we grabbed some lunch, and then went to see Jenn. I was so excited to see her. You know when you walk outside and it had just rained and the air smells rain fresh? Well, that's what it was like to see my dear friend. A breath of fresh air. I think it is so cool how God brings people together. He is so good. After work we went to pick up Parker. I was very excited to see Parker. I hadn't seen her for a little over a year and it is crazy how much they grow, so I wanted my first impression to be a good one, and surprisingly it went really well! After all of that it seemed like I was a part of the family.
We ate out a ton! I got to try many new places. To name a few... Deshutes Brewery, Burgerville, Black Rock Coffee, The Screen Door, Via Delizia, a BBQ place at the Saturday Market, Stumptown Coffee, yummy taco place on the coast, Nordstrom's Cafe, Claim Jumper, this market cafe, and the list could go on and on... Although every place was delicious, a few of my favorites were The Screen Door, Via Delizia, Voodoo Donuts, Stumptown Coffee, Black Rock Coffee, and the BBQ place. I'll explain why:
The Screen Door: Derrick raved about this place. Apparently if you did not show up about an hour before they opened you would have to wait outside because of the popularity. This was a southern style restaurant. They had INCREDIBLE food. Soo good, not to mention the atmosphere was really unique. I got the Vanilla Bean French Toast, and it was delicious. I also tried some Praline Bacon... lemme tell you, AH-mazing. Jenn got these Praline Bacon Waffles. Sounds strange, but it is delicious. One of their specials is the chicken and waffles. That is what Derrick got. They looked pretty yummy.
Via Delizia: A group of gals from the church invited me out for a night on the town and they took me to this adorable gelato place. I got a scoop of raspberry and a scoop of chocolate. Carissa got coconut in hers and it was sooooo good! I had a ton of fun with those ladies!
Voodoo Donuts: This place had any kind of donut you could imagine all the way to a Maple Bacon Donut. The shop had several coffins and I guess people get married there. Weird! I got the Peanut Butter Oreo Donut and let me tell you.. the BEST donut I have EVER eaten! Yum, yum!
Stumptown Coffee: This is the same coffee shop that Donald Miller, Christian author, went to to write. This little coffee shop reminded me of an old school diner with a hip flair to it. Everyone had such a fun style and the coffee was pretty yummy too.
Black Rock Coffee: So, there were these little trailer type things in the parking lots of strip malls and that is what the coffee was served from. I found it quite interesting, such a great idea! The people at the Black Rock Coffee were incredibly nice and their coffee was SCRUMPTIOUS! I got one of the fun named drinks that was a mocha hazelnut coffee. YUMMY! I knew that if Jenn liked it I would too! She has a coffee thumb!
BBQ Place in the Saturday Market: Picture this: the Elkhart County Fair food section mixed with the flea market downtown in a big city. That is the Saturday Market, and they do this every Saturday during the summer. This event was HUGE! There were so many people there. All of the little tents set up with items for sale were so neat. All of the displays were incredibly cool. The BBQ place that we ended up eating at was super yummy! One of the best BBQ's I've had.
Not only did we eat GREAT food, but they took me to many places (Let's see if I can remember everything). Here's what I can remember: Multnomah Falls, the Coast, Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt, and many beautiful views.
I will begin with Multnomah Falls. This place is beautiful. Wow. The sights, smells, sounds, everything about it shouts God's workmanship. When Derrick mentioned Multnomah Falls I knew it sounded familiar yet I could not figure out why, then I remembered from the book "The Shack." I started reading that book on the plane to Portland and became hooked. Well as you know Mack stops at the falls with the children on their way to go camping. It was such a neat experience to see something you read about in a book. While that is very special, the fact that Jenn and I were able to climb up there together made it even more special. I love quality time and I never realized how much I love nature. As we were climbing up to the bridge and then some more we noticed some of the smallest flowers and plants and the intricacy of them. How "______" (amazing/incredible/astounding/you fill in the blank) is it that God would make such little unique, intricate plants and flowers yet he still created the whole universe. WOW! I loved the Multnomah Falls experience and if I ever go back to Portland I would love to visit it again, and again, and again.
The Coast. I loved, loved, loved, the Coast. The sand, the water, the sand dollars, the dead crab, the little shops, the sea shells, EVERYTHING ABOUT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! I now understand why so many love the ocean coast. I had only been once (to the East Coast) and I think I was too young and didn't care to appreciate it. We had so much fun playing in the sand and water. Parker was just too much. She loved playing in the water, even when she fell down and her face got wet and even when she was shivering because she was so cold, she did not want to go back to the towel. I loved just walking on the sand and letting the water wash over my feet. It was beautiful. It amazes me how brave that little girl is. She has no fear. Beyond just walking on the Coast and playing in the sand, there were these adorable shops. We walked through, bought goodies (salt water taffy, chocolate, gifts for family, a picture, etc...) and then enjoyed dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I really enjoyed being introduced to it by Jenn. And then after I talked about how wonderful the whole experience was she said she had thought about having a girls getaway weekend there with me while I was there, but wasn't sure with moving and such. What a tease!! Hehe... next time!
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| Beautiful. |
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| Covered in sand, but still having fun! "Girlie Tomboy" |
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| Waiting for the waves! |
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| At the Mexican Restaurant. Jenn had a shark taco! |
More than anything we did or saw or ate, I enjoyed the deep talks Jenn and I were able to have. Many awful and hard things came her way while I was there and I can't help but think God had me there for a reason. Those deep talks are what make Jenn one of "those" friends you know you can always count on, a person you know who will always pray, and one you know will always care for you. Its those friends that you are connected to because God brought you together. I am very thankful for the wonderful trip I had to Oregon. God blessed me in more ways than one from that trip, and who knows maybe it will be my home one day, but until then.. here I sit in Minneapolis learning to live and love and I wouldn't trade it for the world!
I hope you have enjoyed reading my entire, incredibly long, post about my trip to Oregon. I hope it has made you want to visit Portland sometime. The next time I go I want to visit Seattle! =)
I also got to hang out with Parker 2 days a week... here are some pictures of our adventures!
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| Learning the skills of putting on socks and shoes, she pretty much had it down. |
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| The blessed ikea bag... she loved to swing in it. The funny thing is she was really good at doing the more sign and then the please sign so we were trying to get her to do them together. Well, because she loved this ikea bag whenever I would stop she would do the "more, please" signs together. Hmmm.. makes ya wonder. |
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| She loved reading! She gets it from her Mom. |
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