Portlandia Weekend
I get to spend a lot of time in Portland because I have family there, including my adorable niece and nephew, and I wanted to make this trip particularly outdoorsy since I don't get much nature in the big city. The first day, my sister and I did a morning Barre 3 class at a winery followed by a wine tasting which was a lot of fun, then that afternoon my dad and I drove out to Mt. St. Helens. Since its explosion in the 1980s, where the entire top of the volcano blew off, it has been brewing for another eruption and we saw a bit about the bubble that is apparently growing. Well, here's hoping it doesn't actually erupt any time soon. The next day we did a great hike with the kids along the Colombia River Gorge to see Horsetail Falls and Upper Horsetail Falls, where you can walk behind the waterfall, which was super cool! It was a more strenuous hike than expected but we took our time and it was really fun and I got some great photos. Afterwards, we ate lunch at McMenamins Edgefield, a delicious and popular nearby spot that was converted into a hotel and restaurants from being a Poor House and Farm in the early 1900s. It's always a great time spent with family, even though it was only for a few days.
