Oregon "Road Trip" pt 1 of 3

DID YOU KNOW! that southwest lets you use paypal to pay for flights?

and if you spend more than $99 on paypal, you have 6 months no interest to pay it off?

this ain't an ad, folks. its the truth!

that's how i got us tickets to Oregon.

and then headed into Seattle and Canada from there!

we actually went back in November buuuut because i was too lazy to edit my pictures, its taken me this long (i haven't even scrapbooked this yet). and the reason for this trip was simply, The Capilano Suspension Bridge!

we of course could have just flown to Canada but we've been wanting to go to Oregon (+ i have family there) and we also wanted to hit up Seattle! so driving just seemed like the best idea.

we flew in on a Thursday...or Friday, i don't remember.

but we landed, got our rental (haha. I'm no longer allowed to book stuff) and went to our hotel.

we stayed in Troutdale Or. as opposed to Portland.

mostly because i booked it and i was trying to be considerate towards B since he was paying...so when i saw a $40 savings, i took it because well, its the least i could do. ....that's the other reason I'm not allowed to book. lol. he hated the location.

i do not regret staying in Troutdale but i could see why he'd rather stay in Portland.

but anyway, we stayed in troutdale. i think it was around noon and we didn't really have anything planned. we did want to see Multnomah Falls BUT it was closed because some a-holes burned it down during the summer and then the rain created a giant mudslide in the winter so it was a no go. (you can see it from the road but you can't go up there. at least not when we went. i'm not sure about now).

we asked the receptionist what there was to do in the area and she mentioned something about a bridge (that we didn't find) and the Mt. Hood drive so we set off.

THIS WAS MY FAVORITE PART OF THE ENTIRE TRIP!

and it happened all on accident. bah!

on the one side it was nothing but rain. and luckily since i wasn't driving i got to enjoy the view and OMG it was B E A U T I F U L !

we drove and drove and drove and it was so stinking beautiful but noooothing could have prepared us for what we saw when we finally turned the corner.

(but les, you would have known had you looked at the weather! for the record, my cousin lives in Portland and she didn't even know so haaay!)

IT WAS SNOWING!!!

to know me is to know that i LOVE snow.

(but like this kind of snow. not like real snow out on the east side where you gotta prepare for like a 2 week stay-at-home-cation)

it started out pretty slow and it wasn't much but the further we went in THE BETTER IT GOT!!!!

(best freaking $50 i have EVER spent at Target! i LOVED this jacket!)

i know these aren't much, and i know those of you with real snow are over it, but this was so beautiful to me! that drive was soooooo goood! i live for these kind of drives. they're the best. and if you throw snow into it (but like, safely) i LIVE for it!!!!

afterward, we went back to the room to drop our stuff off and we headed into Portland.
i of course, went to Powell's while B had drinks at Deschutes (I think).
we then met up with my cousin and her husband for dinner and that was basically it.

we also went to the Japanese Gardens but because it was raining we didn't go in.
overall, it was fun and i liked what we did and all that walking around, but i would love to go back and go into all the little shops and explore a lot more.
(this is a good post to read if you're heading out there soon and want to know where to go eat/what to see & visit)

we'll definitely be going back. (hopefully, at the end of this month if it works out.)

originally, we were supposed to go to Seattle, then Canada, then Seattle one more night to spend Sunday in OR before our flight but after Canada, we went to Seattle for a bit and then just decided to drive straight to OR.

the night we came back, we were at my cousins house and for some reason we started talking about scary/paranormal stuff. she told us about this tour you can take that takes you underground and gives you the whole history and everything of i forgot what. I'm okay with having forgotten so i wont even bother to remember. BUT...that night we went out to Voodoo Donuts because its the thing you do (although i hear that blue star donuts are 100 x's better) and afterward, we wanted food and drinks so we started walking around (also, i do NOT miss the clubbing scene) we found this random pizza place that had brews and food so in we went.

i go to the bathroom and it was THEE creepiest thing EVER.
it was all wooden and it reminded me a bit of where Harry Potter lives with the Dudley's as a kid under the stairwell. it was all covered with magazine clippings, some people had drawn faces on the faces and it was just dimly lit. i was creeped the fuck out.
my cousin and i go get drinks and i find this little flyer and it turns out that we were at the place where the tour takes place.
apparently the building is haunted and of course we decided to sit all the way in the back next to a dark ass section where we had no out. i was so creeped out.
definitely not going back at night nor when it's empty.
thanks but no thanks.
although, thanks to the guy who gave us free ranch and got in trouble for it. bahh!