I LOVE Family Vacations!

My cousin Pattie got married in Portland last Saturday!

Congrats, guys! It was a beautiful and FUN wedding!

Since no one in my family has ever been to the Portland area, we decided to make an extended vacation out of it, instead of just flying up for the weekend. And what a fabulous idea that was! We spent about 2.5 days in Portland and then headed to drive along the Oregon coast for the remaining 2 days. It was beautiful - and we couldn't have asked for better weather! It was slightly chilly, however, even though the weather forecasted 5 days of rain we only actually got about 1/2 day of rain as we were driving to the coast.

Some highlights:

Day 1: PORTLAND

• Ate breakfast overlooking Waterfront Park

• Walked really far to Powell's Books, the largest new and used bookstore in the world
• Rode the Portland Aerial Tram and got a beautiful view of the city

• Rehearsal dinner at BridgePort Brewery - LOVED their beers!

Day 2: PORTLAND

• Went to Pittock Mansion for beautiful views of the city

• Found some floating neighborhoods!

• Had lunch at a really cute little restaurant called Rose's and shared (six ways!) an eclair that was as big as my head
• WEDDING - total blast dancing the night away with my extended family

• Walked REALLY far, in heels and rain, to a bar recommended by the hotel staff, VQ, which was the exact opposite vibe of what we were looking for... instead of dancing and fun, it was dark, quiet and "classy"... but Audrey got a birthday shot!

Day 3: DRIVE TO THE COAST

• Stopped at Dobbes Winery on the way - loved the wines here! Don't think they sell them in Dallas, though. *sad face*
• Had cheese, crackers, salami, and more wine at a cute little shop in Dundee, OR
• Stopped at several small towns along the coast for some rainy sightseeing/pictures

• Toured Tillamook Cheese Factory... I <3 cheese!!

• Found our FABULOUS beachfront hotel in Cannon Beach - Surfsand Resort (highly recommend it!)

• Delicious dinner at Wayfarer - had a delicious chicken meal (although, there was a bone in it, which caused a slight moment of panic! Mom and the waitress quickly solved the problem...) :)

Day 4: DRIVING UP THE COAST

• Walked on the beach and saw Haystack Rock

• Spent the morning exploring cute little shops in Cannon Beach - I bought some salt water taffy! YUM
• Drove through several towns along the coast including Seaside and Astoria
• Drove back to Portland to check into our hotel by the airport
• Had dinner at Beaches... across  the river in Vancouver, WA - delicious and beautiful view of the river!

Day 5 was a LONG day of travel back to Dallas. Had a few travel hiccups both on the way there and on the way back, but overall it went pretty well. 

I HIGHLY recommend traveling to Portland and/or the Oregon coast if you've never been! It's absolutely beautiful up there. Everyone recommended Multnomah Falls as well, but we didn't end up making it there. Maybe next time! ;)