The trip was great. I missed my sister so much I was so happy to see her. I am also very happy that she got to spend the summer in Washington because it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The day we flew in we drove up to Mt. St. Helen's. The drive was amazing and the volcano was astounding. It is amazing that 30 years ago it literally blew up. The top blew and a huge chunk blew off spewing ash and poisonous gas up to 5 miles away. They are markers on the road saying when we are either entering or leaving the "blast zone" as they call it.
I took this picture on my phone as we were driving up to the observatory. I didn't zoom in at all. We were that close! (Just instagrammed it some). It was quite beautiful and it is still an active volcano. So it could erupt at any time. Knowing that fact made it kind of erie being up there and a little scary but the beauty of it over shadowed the fear.
The next day we spent the entire day in Portland. We started out at Voodoo Doughnuts, if you ever go to Portland you have to get one the wait is worth it I promise! We waited in line for about 45 minutes probably but like I said it was worth it! After that we went to Powell's book store. It is the largest new and used bookstore in the world. It is 3 stories and they have maps for the store to help you get around. They even have an app for your phone to help you know where you were. We only got to be in there for about 40 minutes but it was amazing. It is one of those places that you have to plan on spending a day or at least a few hours in. After that we went to the mall in downtown. After the mall we went to this place called The Grotto. No, not like Hugh Hefner. It is this place that is (I think) maintained by the Catholic church. If it is not maintained by the Catholic church there is just one on the property. It is gardens and sculptures of Jesus all around. The church was beautiful and they held services outside also. It was a very peaceful place.
Since we didn't eat lunch until about 3 o'clock none of us were that hungry so we went to the store and got some junk food. Needless to say Som and I went a little crazy at the store. We felt like we were little again spending the night at Gram's getting to buy and eat all this food we weren't aloud to have at home.
So this was our "dinner."
Saturday we went to the Seaside beach in Seaside, Oregon. It took about an hour and a half drive through the forest to get there. When we got there they were having the biggest junior volleyball tournament in the country so the beach and the town were packed! The beach was huge! It was the biggest beaches we had ever been on. It took a long trek through dry sand to get to where high tide came in and the water was still a ways away. We on put our feet in the water because it was freezing! (and none of us wore a bathing suit) But it was worth the trip. I love the pacific. I've only been in it twice. Once in Canada and then in Oregon the next step will be in California. The town was a cute seaside community. There were loads of shops and put put type places. It reminded me of a small town you would see in a movie. We also went to the Vancouver farmers market. There were so many different tables set up with fruits and veggies and flowers. They would make you a huge bouquet of flowers for 10 dollars! I wanted to get some but since we left Monday it wouldn't have been worth it.
Sunday we went on a tour of Portland and the waterfalls in Oregon. Multnomah Falls is one of the most amazing places to experience in the world and has water falling from 620 feet! We saw 4 falls but Multnomah was definitely the most stunning of them all. We also stopped at a view point that showed the Columbia River Gorge which is a body of water that separates two states (this one being Washington and Oregon). Our tour guide pointed out that you could see the house where they filmed the prom scene from Twilight from the view point. When we got back in the car she asked if Som and I wanted to go try and find it so we did. It wasn't hard to find at all. Unfortunately they had a fire not long after filming the movie so no one lives there. (It was a bed and breakfast). But we walked around and figured out where the gazebo would have been. I even looked up the scene on YouTube to make sure we had the right house, which we did. It was really cool and definitely a high light of the trip. We toured Portland and learned about the history of the city and some weird Oregon state laws. Like that you get fined if you pump your own gas or try and tip the gas pumper person.
Multnomah Falls. The Twilight House.
Sunday night, our last night, we went to Beaches which is a restraunt in Vancouver. After dinner we walked along the boardwalk and watched the sunset along the Columbia River. It was a perfect night with perfect weather.
Unfortunately we had a 6 AM flight Monday morning so that was the end of our trip. I didn't want to leave. I fell in love with Vancouver and Portland and I loved spending time with my sister. I miss you so much and I can not wait for her to come home. 2 more months!
It was a great trip and I am so happy I got to see my sister finally after almost 4 months.
