The kids and I enjoyed the beautiful sights, sounds and fresh air of OREGON, while visiting my cousin and her family. I appreciated the laid back attitude, the slower pace of life, and the beautiful surroundings.

My cousin had a gorgeous view of trees, the woods and the white capped Mount Hood. I enjoyed this view every morning with a great cup of hot coffee with the quiet stillness and serenity of the morning.

We ventured to down Portland to experience a well known landmark, Powell's Books. They had books galore with different rooms to help categorize your way through the massive three story bookstore that carries over a million books!

While in downtown and after experiencing the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), we ventured and attempted to enjoy the structural architecture of Portland by riding a surrey through downtown. We got our workout in by struggling to peddle 7 passengers for three miles! It was not an easy feat but we accomplished it! We saw amazing bridges,water and buildings to complement the Portland skyline.

The next adventure was our trip to Seaside, Oregon. Driving along the two lane highway, you experience endless green pastures with thousands of green pine trees with sporadic ventures through the woods. We ended up at my favorite place, the beach! We got to play some competitive beach volleyball, enjoy the soft, wet sand along with cold, crisp fresh ocean water. We ate delicious donuts, had tasty fish and chips and ended with ice cream in a waffle cone. It could not have been a better day!

We ventured for a second time to downtown Portland to go shopping at a local Portland Company called Portland Gear. https://portlandgear.com/pages/ourstory An amazing story that brings lots of motivation! From their inspiring and humbling beginnings of driving their VW Westfalia to opening a storefront in Downtown Portland, I had to support! We also enjoyed the Mom and Pop shops of downtown Portland.

The character and architecture of the local businesses with encompassing mature trees made eating vanilla ice cream with caramel ribbons in a waffle cone that much more of an enjoyable experience!

We can't wait for next year!