April 27, 2014

Oregon III - Terwilliger Hot Springs

I recently returned from my third trip to Portland since October. My wonderful girlfriend Mattie lives out there so I visit as often as I can. Each time I'm out there we plan at least one out of town adventure. So far we have hiked Mt. Hood back in October and road tripped to Astoria in February. This time we traveled to the Willamette National Forest East of Eugene to check out the Terwilliger Hot Springs. We spent the afternoon relaxing deep in the woods, soaking in the hot, rocky pools. It was hard to get a full photo of the springs without accidentally taking the picture of a dozen naked strangers, but the photos I took hopefully do the beauty of the springs justice. It was one of the most peaceful afternoons I've had in a long time. Unfortunately that night Mattie got sick with the flu and spent the next few days resting. In a lot of ways it was exactly what we needed since we never get to have couch time together, dating long distance and all. Looking forward to the summer when we finally close the distance for good.

February 22, 2014

Oregon II - Astoria & The Coast

Visiting Portland for the second time I was able to stay several days longer than my first visit. On the days that Mattie had to work I would borrow her car and check out new parts of the city. One of the places I stopped by first was the flagship store of one of my favorite brands Poler. I met a couple of super friendly girls working there and struck up a conversation. I told them that I was visit and hoping to plan a trip somewhere with my girlfriend. They highly recommended a trip to Astoria in the remote, northwestern corner of Oregon (where they filmed the Goonies). They also suggested we stay at the Sou'Wester - a cool vintage travel trailer park across the Columbia River in Seaside, Washington. We took their suggestions and ended up having such a unique, fun experience. That night we played games of poker, had a two person power hour, and listened to records all night. You can watch me do the truffle shuffle in front of The Goonies house here.