Our trip to Washington DC!

I was very excited when I received an email months ago from Jeff telling me he and Patti were engaged. Then, I found out the wedding was in Washington DC (where Patti is originally from) and was even more excited because I had NEVER been to DC! So, when Andrew and I were making plans to travel cross-country for the wedding on October 17th, we decided to build a couple days into our trip to go out and see the DC sites. Plus, we wanted to incorporate time to see Andrew's cousins Brian and Erin who live in the DC area.

So we took the wonderful red-eye out on Friday night and had one layover in Atlanta before landing in Baltimore. Andrew's friend from high school, Meagan met us at the airport and we headed to Ruby Tuesday for lunch and some time to catch up with her. She's currently living in Baltimore and working on her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins. After lunch, Meagan dropped us off at the train station where we boarded for the 45-minute ride to DC. After arriving in DC, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Sofitel, located right in the heart of DC. Andrew left to go pick up his tux a few blocks away and I took a quick power nap before we had to get ready for the wedding. When we got off the elevator in the lobby on our way to the ceremony, I was so excited to see Artie standing there. It had been almost two years since we'd seen each other and with him living in Germany, I had no idea when we'd see each other next. He introduced us to his long-time girlfriend, Nele who is extremely sweet! We boarded the bus to head the church and it was unfortunately pouring down rain. The cermony was absolutely beautiful though and Jeff was grinning from ear to ear the whole time. The look he had on his face when Patti walked down the aisle was priceless and Patti was a stunning bride. We headed over to the Metropolitan Club for the reception and everything was 4-star. Wonderful cocktail hour, excellent dinner, great atmosphere, an expresso bar during dessert and a well-stocked bar. It was so much fun to reconnect with friends from the past like Ben (and his new wife Leanne), Brian (Jeff's best friend from college and his Best Man) and Rob. The dance floor was full the entire night and we closed down the club. Everyone was exhausted so we all hit the sack soon after getting back to hotel.

The next morning, Andrew, Artie, Nele and I planned to spend the day together site-seeing around DC. After brunch at Cosi, we started with a trip to the Holocaust Memorial museum. It was a sobering yet eye-opening experience and considering the heavy topic and graphic history, I have to say the museum was very well done. After the museum, we decided to explore the reflecting pool side of the National Mall. We started at the Washington Memorial and then headed over to the World War II Memorial. Next we walked along the south side of the reflecting pool down to the Lincoln Memorial, which was probably one of my favorite things we saw in all of DC. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln, the view from the steps of the Washington monument over the reflecting pool, seeing the spot where Martin Luther King gave his "I Have A Dream" speech - it was inspiring. Next, we headed over to the Vietnam War Memorial which was also a sobering experience. The number of names on the wall of black granite - all those people who gave their lives in the name of freedom. Before heading back to the hotel for the evening, we took a stroll by the White House for some photo opportunities. While there we got to see a member of the First Family - Bo the First Dog!! When we got back to the hotel, Andrew and I had to get ready to meet the family for dinner. We were meeting Brian, his girlfriend Marisa, Erin and her husband Ben and Andrew's aunt Becky and uncle John (who were in town for a conference) at Brasserie Beck, an excellent French restaurant. Dinner was so good and we had so much fun visiting with all of the family.

The next morning, Artie, Nele, Andrew and I grabbed breakfast at the Old Post Office building before Artie and Nele had to get on the road to head to Philadelphia. Then Andrew and I headed over to Ford's Theatre to get a quick photo before boarding the site-seeing tour bus. The bus took us all over to see all the major sites in DC - the National Mall, Foggy Bottom, Embassy Row, Georgetown, the National Cathedral, Arlington National Cemetery, the White House, Capitol Hill and of course the National Mall. It was a hop-on, hop-off tour so Andrew and I had our planned stops in mind. We first got off at Georgetown to walk along M Street past all the shops and to grab a quick lunch. Our next stop was at Arlington National Cemetery. We got tickets for the tram that took us around the cemetery and we got off at two of the stops offered - one at the Kennedy Grave Site and the other at the Tomb of the Unknowns. When we got back on the tram after the Tomb of the Unknowns to head back to the Visitor's Center, we sat down and all of sudden I hear, "Megan!" I turn and sitting across the aisle from us are Kathy and Matt Haubert. Talk about a small world!! After the cemetery, we got back on the bus to continue our tour. The next stop we got off at was Capitol Hill. There we took lots of photos in front if the Capitol and then headed over to the Supreme Court to look around. We then got back on the bus and got off at the Smithsonian American History Museum. There we saw the original star-spangled banner, explored the pop culture exhibit, saw many artifacts from the lincoln era, walked through the First Ladies and American Transportation exhibits and saw Julia Child's kitchen. We decided to call it a day after that. We grabbed a quick drink at bar before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Brian and Marisa. Brian met us at the hotel on his way home from work and we took a cap up to his and Marisa's apartment. We had a quick drink at their place before grabbing dinner at a restaurant right downstairs from their place. We wrapped up the night early though since both Brian and Marisa had to work the next day and Andrew and I had an early flight.

It was a great first trip to our nation's capital! And it only took me 28 years to get there!

Our 5th Anniversary Trip to Newport!

Andrew and I had a wonderful weekend trip in Newport, Oregon to celebrate our 5-year anniversary. On our actual anniversary, October 9th, we headed out to Newport that evening after work and arrived in Newport in time to have a late dinner at April's, a quaint local restaurant in historic Nye beach. After dinner, all we had to do was walk across the street to our hotel - the Silvia Beach. This is the hotel we stayed at six years ago while in Newport on our Western US Road Trip. It is a unique place because it is literary-themed with a 3rd floor library, each roomed designed around a particular author and a restaurant called the Tables of Content. That night we stayed in the Edgar Allan Poe room and it was FREAKY!! Stuffed ravens all over, black and red wallpaper, red velvet curtains and bedspread, a bricked-up closet and a pendulum swinging above the bed. So much fun!

The next morning, we had a good breakfast down in the Tables of Content restaurant before heading out to Yaquina Head. We took a 3 mile walk around the Peninsula - up the hill to get a view of the surroundings and then down towards the quarry to see the pelicans. Next, we headed over to the Historic Bayfront to walk around before having an excellent fresh seafood lunch at Local Oceans restuarant. Then we headed to the Newport Aquarium for the afternoon. The special exhibit was called "Oddwater" and focused on those creatures found in the deep seas - lots of cool and unique marine species to see and some we could even touch. After the aquarium, we headed over to Rogue's brewery to hit up the warehouse sale and for happy hour. Then we headed back to the hotel where we planned to have dinner at the Tables of Content. Before dinner though, we headed down to the beach to watch sunset. We had dinner there six years ago and the food was good and it was fun because you eat family-style with other guests and play "two truths and a lie." It was just as fun and the food was just as good as we remembered it. That night we spent in the Herman Melville room - complete with it's "large white" king-sized bed, ship portal mirror, model ships and whales all over the room.

Sunday morning after breakfast and checking out from the Silvia Beach, we decided t walk along the beach for a bit and then walk around historic Nye Beach, ducking in and out of all the little shops. We had lunch at the Chowder Bowl (a Newport favorite of ours) before heading back to Portland.

It was a great weekend!

Mom & Dad's Visit To PDX, 9/2009

Just like last September, Mom and Dad decided to take a week to come visit us in Portland. Although, they weren't here over my actual birthday, they came the week after to celebrate. Here's a recap of what we did while they were in town...

Wednesday. Andrew had to work, so I had Mom & Dad to myself during the day. We first took a morning walk up into the West Hills. I took them on Chase's and my standard three mile loop and they had lots of fun taking in the great views and checking out the amazing homes up on their stilts. We had an awesome breakfast at the Heathman hotel - Dungeness Crab Omelets and Salmon Hash. Yum! We then headed down to Dundee (my personal favorite town for wineries in the Willamette Valley) and did tastings at three of the wineries there - Erath, Lange and Tori Mor. When we came back to PDX, we decided to head to one of Mom & Dad's favorite places from last time for happy hour - VQ. Andrew met us there for drinks and appetizers. We ended the evening at A-Pizza Scholl's, possibly the best pizza place ever, with lots of good microbrews, awesome pizza and Caesar salad! After dinner, we met Ashley & Justin at Pix Patisserie for dessert and a nightcap.

Thursday. Andrew had this day off of work so we decided to do the scenic drive around Mt. Hood. We started with a drive down Hwy 30 and stopped off at Vista House - which is basically an ornate rest station that was built way back when. Next, we headed onto Multnomah Falls, one of the most famous of the many picturesque waterfalls along the Columbia Gorge. We did the two mile round-trip hike to the top of the falls. The first half up the many switchbacks was fairly strenuous but well worth the views from the top. After the falls, we drove on to Hood River where we stopped at Full Sail brewery for lunch. We sat out on the patio and watched the wind surfers while sipping on some beer and enjoying our food. Next stop after lunch was Pheasant Valley winery for a quick tasting and Draper girls farm to pick up some apples, pears and cider for a snack on the road. We then headed on to our final stop - Timberline Lodge. There we walked around the lodge for a bit and headed up to the Ram's Head bar for a drink. Then it was back to Portland to quickly get ready for dinner at Leaky Roof and the Timbers game. Coincidentally the Timbers played the Cleveland City Stars that night - Portland won.

Friday. This day did not go as I initially planned because we received a surprise package at our door around 10AM - the Roger Haas custom-made headboard that used to be in Dan's room. I was speechless. So after Mom & Dad got back from a morning walk on the waterfront, they helped me set the new headboard up. By then it was lunchtime, so we headed back to the waterfront to meet Andrew for lunch at McCormick & Schmick's. That afternoon, Mom, Dad & I headed to the Columbia Outlet to do some serious shopping - we got lots of good stuff! We then took Chase for a walk in the South Park Blocks before heading to Ringside, a nationally known steakhouse, for dinner. Everyone enjoyed their dinners immensely, especially the famous Ringside onion rings. After dinner, we picked up some chocolate truffles from Sweet Masterpieces and headed back to the apartment to watch Jack Nicholson in The Shining (since we had just been up at Timberline Lodge the day before).

Saturday. We woke up to a very rainy day. But, despite the rain, we still decided to make a quick trip to the farmer's market. Mom & Dad were good sports standing there in their Columbia Jackets in the "beautiful" PacNW rain. But we came back with lots of goodies - some groceries for Andrew & I for the upcoming week, Oregon hazelnuts, Stumptown coffee and breakfast burritos! After drying off, we got all packed up and ready to head to the coast while Andrew dropped Chase off at the kennel. We set off for the coast and as we headed over the Coastal Range, the rain started to lift. We were greeted by sunshine when we reached the coast - a very rare thing to see on the Oregon Coast. We began our coat trip by taking a walk along Cannon Beach all the way up to Haystack Rock. After the walk on the beach, we headed into town to Bill's Tavern to watch some football and have some beer. Then we (or more accurately Mom) did some shopping. After that, we headed down to the Ocean Lodge to check in. The lodge was decorated in a Northwest feel and both of our rooms faced the ocean and had balconies with amazing views of Haystack rock. We decided to split a bottle of wine out on the balcony before heading to dinner at The Bistro. While we were enjoying our wine, we noticed how low the tide was and decided to go check out the tidepools at Haystack Rock. So we set off for a short walk on the beach before dinner. The tide pools were full of sea anemones, starfish and mussels. One surfer even found a crab! We stuck around examining the tide pools long enough to catch the gorgeous sunset as well. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. At The Bistro, in the tiny little restaurant, we had a fabulous seafood dinner while listening to a local musician play the guitar.

Sunday. It was a beautiful morning on the Coast. We started the morning with a good continental breakfast at the Ocean Lodge before checking out and heading up to Ecola State Park. There we took a three-mile round trip hike from Ecola Point to Indian Beach. All along the hike we had great views of the shoreline as well as the Tillamook Rock lighthouse. After the hike, we headed up the coast to Seaside and had lunch at Goose Hollow at the Cove. The original Goose Hollow Inn in Portland is only blocks from our apartment and is know for its ruebens. And the ruebens at the sister restaurant were just as good. After lunch we continued north to Fort Stevens State Park which sits on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Fort Stevens was originally established during the Civil War but is best known as the only mainland fort to ever be fired upon during World War II. At the state park, we were able to roam the remains of the military fort - the barrack foundations, the batteries, the war games building (now a museum) and an old Indian log home. It was very interesting to learn about all the histry of the fort. After we finished at the fort, we headed elsewhere in the park to check out the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale and also to head to the viewing platform to see the mouth of the Columbia River. After we finished at the state park, we drove to Astoria and checked into the Cannery Pier hotel - a gorgeous hotel that sits where an old cannery used to be out in the Columbia River. The Astoria-Megler Bridge is right next to the hotel and we loved being able to sit right out on the pier in the river with a glass of wine and watch the amazing ships go up and down the river under the bridge. For dinner that evening, we headed right across the parking lot to the Bridgefront Bistro - a fabulous restaurant that also sits where an old cannery once stood. There we had yet another amazing seafood dinner.

Monday. We started our last day with another good continental breakfast at the hotel before heading out for Cape Disappointment, across the river in Washington. So we crossed the 3.5 mile Astoria-Megler bridge and after a couple detours due to construction finally made it to Cape Disappointment, where we took a mile-long round trip walk to the Cape Disappointment lighthouse, one of the few remaining active lighthouses in the PacNW. From the lighthouse, we had amazing views of the mouth of the Columbia. It was absolutely amazing to see where this mammoth river met the Pacific Ocean. We also took some time to check out the Interpretive Center, where we got to delve into the history of the Lewis & Clark expedition and the treacherous shipping industry. After Cape Disappointment, we had lunch back in Astoria at Baked Alaska - the owner/chef started his culinary business as a mobile soup car in Alaska before settling in Astoria. I had quite possibly the best fish tacos ever. We then headed back to Portland, picked Chase up from the kennel and took him to the dog park up at Council Crest to run around a bit. It also is the highest Western Point in Portland and offers amazing views of the City and the Cascades (including views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens). After the park, we had our last dinner at Pambiche, a favorite Cuban restaurant of ours. We ended the night with NFL football and leftover birthday cake (Carrot Cake from Pearl Bakery) back at the apartment before dropping Mom & Dad off at the PDX Airport Clarion hotel.

An unexpected surprise!

On friday morning when Mom and Dad were in town, I was on my way to the gym (Andrew was at work and Mom & Dad were walking along the waterfront) when I was stopped at the elevator by our apartment manager. He told me not to go anywhere because there was a huge package downstairs that was being delivered to us. The next thing I know, there is a delivery guy stepping off the other elevator wheeling a HUGE box. While I struggled to hold open our door for him while keeping the dog in check, I asked what the heck it could be and he said the delivery slip said it was a headboard. I know right away it was one of my Dad's custom headboards and I started to cry. I quickly signed for it, leashed up the dog and ran down to the waterfront to find my parents. When I saw them, I ran up and tackled Dad in a hug - he was so startled and didn't even know it was me! I told them how excited and appreciative I was and the whole story of how I almost wasn't there when it was delivered.

Turning 28...

So, here I am - 28 now. To celebrate, we had a laid-back get together at our apartment on Saturday. Andrew, being told all the cool kids have theme parties, decided that we were all to wear green as a theme, to honor my obsession with all things green. In a way, it could have been viewed as a halfway to St. Patty's Day party also. It was a lot of fun - we watched lots of college football, downed beer and wine, snacked on munchies and enjoyed an awesome carrot cake from Pearl Bakery.

There were lots of people in attendance with birthdays around this time of the year. Pictured above are four of us - Ashley (Oct. 1st), Sean (Sept. 10), Justin (Sept. 7) and me (Sept. 12). Two others not pictured were Kristen (Aug. 25) and Jamie (Aug. 30).

Ecola State Park Hike & Cannon Beach Camping

Last weekend we took our last camping trip of the season. We headed out to Cannon Beach to Wright's Campground with Ashley, Justin and Lisa. Although it was rainy a bit on Friday and Saturday morning, we still had a wonderful time. Thankfully, Andrew and I had bought the picnic table shelter because we would have been miserable without it. On Saturday, we took a nice 3-mile hike from Ecola Point to Indian Beach and back along the coast of Ecola State Park. It was still damp, but the sun did eventually come out to greet us for a bit. For you Twilight fans out there, Indian Beach is where they filmed the beach/surfing scene in the movie.

Cheesemaking fun!

One night a couple weeks ago, Andrew and I went over to Ashley & Justin's to make cheese. We were actually successful in creating our own homemade rosemary mozzarella, although it was looking a little sketchy at times during the process. It was tasty and just as good as (or better than) the fresh mozzarella you get at the grocery store. It was a lot of fun to make too!