Welcome to Portland aka "Bridge town"

Welcome to Portland, known for their endless amounts of bridges... I arrived in Portland around 11:30pm, their time--making it 1:30am in KCMO. I was a little delirious with an extremely full bladder upon arrival; so naturally, I went straight to the ladies restroom and saw this sign.



Honestly, I thought it was a joke and I laughed with delight and took this wonderful picture. For those who cannot read that tiny print it states: "Water Saving: Press up on the handle for liquid waste and down for solid waste." Yeah. Going green has taken on a whole new level.

The next morning EK took me to the beautiful rain forest (I thought she was joking again... rain forests are only in South America, etc, right?, until I saw the sign 'rain forest') Here's waterfall #1.

Meet EK (my MAID OF HONOR!!!)-- this is our quick picture behind that waterfall. How romantic. Elizabeth says the waterfalls looked almost dried up and weren't as voluptuous as before. (I take it Portland is going through a drought)...

I took this pic below because the cave has a mild resemblance to a butt-crack. Haha.



This is a picture of the waterfall #2... behind it! This one had the potential to soak us, so we kept on trekking' on.

I don't remember how long the hike actually was--but I wasn't prepared for the steep, treacherous climb at the end. We had to stop a few times to catch our breathes and take it in the view. Here's a pic of me... exhausted mid climb.

Next we drove about two hours to the coast of Oregon and got to play on the beach.


No... I don't know why I'm pointing to my feet. Obviously I'm not a very good model.

Jealous?

We hiked up a huge sand dune and saw this message before climbing on the cliffs. Kind of threatening I must say... "Do not enter dangerous areas your life may depend on your good judgment." Ooooh, scary.....

This is just one of my many pics taken on that dangerous intimidating cliff. On the way down the sand dune, we got stuck mid leg into the sand. When I got home Sunday I was showing Kevin my pictures and he told me "Hey, you gotta be careful, there are sand lice deep in the sand." Ewwww. Gross! Don't tell me that after the fact!

After frolicking in the sand for a couple hours, we took hwy 101 (it runs up&down the coast) back to Portland. On the way we saw numerous signs for entering and exiting a Tsunami Zone. (Ok, I admit, I had no idea Tsunami's were an issue in Oregon either). I didn't get a picture unfortunately, but it was pretty darn funny... The bright blue sign would show a little man running away from a wave that was approximately 2 inches higher than him. Damn, I wish I took a picture. At least it will forever remain in my mind.

Day 2 started out with shopping at IKEA! My dream has finally been fulfilled! IKEA was everything I wished for--and more. Too bad I couldn't buy anything. I just drooled over the accessories.

After IKEA it was Margarita time!!! EK & I enjoyed a couple 22 ouncers. They were delicious!


After margaritas-- we hit up the Oregon Brew Festival located on the beautiful river walk. Local & nationwide breweries were all together under 2 tents... one North & the other South.


I have never seen anything so packed before... every beer lovers dream. Those are empty kegs in the pic below.

Finally, some lovely self pics. (yes, my eyes are squinty from the sunshine--wink, wink)

Can I point out that I totally went out of my comfort zone drinking this kind of beer-- look how DARK it is! Holy man-oly!




Meet Troy-- EK's boyfriend. I miss these two people!!!!

This weekend was a perfect girls getaway retreat. I only wish I could have stayed an extra day. Two days is NOT enough... Oregon in general is gorgeous. Here are a few things I've learned on this exciting trip: (1) People who live in Oregon are called "Oregonians" ( I prob spelled that wrong); (2) They love to conserve water; (3) Hippies are everywhere; (4) They have a lovely selection of local breweries; (5) They grow more than just trees... they have winery's; (6) Their forest's are actually considered 'Rain Forests'; (7) They have the potential for Tsunami's.... (8) It's gorgeous!!!

hmm, okay, the list can go on and on. I'll stop for now and will get back to work!