Portland/Seattle Travelogue - Part I

Man, I've been out of commission for a week!  Who knew a marathon/girl's trip could take so much out you...  I'm slowly feeling back to normal.  Slowly...

So get ready for a lot of pictures...There was other fun to be had while up in the great Pacific Northwest!  One of the main reasons I chose the Mountain Marathon was to go visit some friends that live in Oregon and Washington.  I went to Oregon first, flew in to Portland with a couple of friends, Jodi and Julie and we went to stay with our friend Lindsay!  Lindsay had our itinerary packed with everything we needed to see while there. 

First day there we hit up some downtown shopping at Nike and H&M where I almost blew my whole wad of cash in the first day of my trip... : )

Second day was sight-seeing...

We started our day in none other than Starbucks...

(me, Lindsay and Jodi - Julie is behind the camer..)

I think Jodi and I were asked 3 or 4 times if we're sisters... : )

 
We headed to Seaside first... but because of such blustery weather we decided to skip all the touristy shops and stop and have donuts and hot chocolate instead.  While there, the young lady working the counter gave us the insider's guide of places to stop while going up the coast!

Does that rock look familiar?  Goonies anyone?

(Julie, Jodi and me)

While here at Cannon Beach we hit up Mo's for the World's Best Clam Chowder.

Not sure about world's best but it was pretty dang good.  Funny thing about this place?  Every single thing had a price tag on it.  The balls hanging on the ceiling, the framed pics on the wall, buckets on the table...everything.  Kinda funny.

We ran out to this half burried shipwreck on the beach.  The wind blew so hard out there that we had to walk backwards back to the car as to not be blinded my gusts of sand.  I guess there was a reason why we were the only one's out there that day.

                       

We followed up the coast a little further and found these cute little yurts.  Have you ever seen or heard of a yurt?  Me neither.  They are cute little cabins with bunkbeds, stoves and heaters.  There were 10 together - perfect for a big family reunion!  There was also cycling/jogging paths all through this area.  Beautiful scenery, right on the Columbia River.

The cute townie from the donut shop gave us perfect directions to this little hidden waterfall.  If it hadn't been pouring rain we would've hiked closer.  Still it was so pretty.

Still going...we headed to Astoria and there is a bridge that is like a roller coaster.  As you circle up onto it, you quickly head straight down and as you're driving it looks like you're going straight down into the water...  Talk about queasy tummy...  It looks like we're driving off into the great beyond...

As it got closer to dinner we decided to stop in Longview to enjoy some of THE BEST PIZZA EVER!!!  If you are close to Longview... eat here!  It was so good. 

Before the night was over I made it to Big 5 with five minutes to spare before closing to pick up my Yaktraks.  So lucky.

We had such a fun day...full of rainy adventure.  Definitely a trip with friends that I'll never forget!!  Now to just convert those three girls from cycing to running... ; )

Next up the Seattle escapades...