Portland, Oregon

In the summer of 2020 we found ourselves returning to our favorite vacation spot, Portland, Oregon. Sadly, this return visit was for that dreaded four letter word - work!  

First work....if that's what you call it!  We are actually wedding photographers and don't really consider what we do work, especially when we are photographing a beautiful wedding at the lush Bridal Veil Lakes Event Venue located along the Old Columbia River Gorge Highway.

With "work" out of the way, and we met up with our life long friends, Bill and Jill.  This was their first time visiting Oregon and we had many beautiful spots to show them! 

Meeting Jill and Bill at Council Crest Park in Portland to start our journey

We drove through the old Columbia River Gorge Highway to the small town of Cascade Locks, Oregon.  Cascade Locks is situated at the very heart of the Columbia River Gorge, where the mountains tower up to 4,000-feet above the river, and waterfalls tumble from the heights to reach the river near sea level below. Surrounded by stunning natural beauty, you can relax, slow down a bit, and take in the grandeur.  That's exactly what we did! We slowed down and enjoyed a delicious lunch and an adult beverage at Thunder Island Brewing by the Columbia River and then toured the old locks (hence the name).  After one last stop at the Eastwind Drive-In for ice cream we moved on to the next site on our itinerary, Mount Hood.

Mount Hood, Oregon, offers scenic recreation ranging from camping, hiking and fishing to nearly year-round skiing. Being from Texas, we are always amazed that people are still skiing on Mount Hood in the middle of July.  We roamed Timberline Lodge with Jill and Bill and threw a couple of snowballs at each other!

We left the snow covered mountain and headed west to the Oregon Coastline stopping at Cannon Beach, Oregon.  Cannon Beach is a charming village by the sea where you can savor the culinary bounty of the Pacific Northwest, stay in luxurious accommodations that are right on the beach and explore the many art galleries and quaint shops making their home in town.  Again, we stayed at the Schooner Cove Inn and from our hotel lawn we could view the magnificent Oregon icon, Haystack Rock.  

A short drive north of Cannon Beach is the town of Astoria, Oregon.  With Victorian-era homes etched into hills overlooking the Columbia River, this picturesque settlement (the oldest west of the Rockies) is a port city with Scandinavian flavor. Astoria is surrounded by forests, three rivers and great local brews. We showed Jill and Bill the Gooney House and the Astoria Column before making our way to the pier for lunch at one of Astoria's breweries, The Astoria Brewing Company.

It was a sad day when we had to leave our beloved Oregon and head back to reality.  Stay tuned for our 2022 vacation when we travel with Jill and Bill, again, to Scotland!