making friends
taken seconds after we met!
I spent the first half of this Spring Break traveling to Portland, a city I've been dreaming of visiting for some time. I fell in love immediately; when we arrived the sun and the evergreens and the fresh air embraced us. Our flight got in around 11 am on Wednesday, and we were on our feet from there!
at Everyday Music
My mom and I went to experience the town, but I also went to see my friend Allison! We met online over a year ago and clicked instantly so we decided to be pen pals. We've been writing to each other and sharing all these parts of our lives for a year, but this week was the first time we actually got to see one another face to face! Our friendship translated to real life exactly as we hoped it would.
After dropping our bags off and grabbing a quick taco lunch, I dragged my mom to Powell's Books, the largest independently owned bookstore in the world! If you know me, then you know that I had butterflies even thinking about this place, so actually visiting it left me entirely full of joy. I spent my time wandering through the aisles, admiring the fully stocked shelves, and debating with myself which titles to buy. I made it out with one of DFW's essay collections and some independently published poetry. Since Portland is a dreamland, the next stop was the Doc Martens store across the street! I purchased the Mary Janes that have been sitting in my online shopping cart for months. Allison met up with us, and it felt unreal to hug her and be with her in real life!
We then tried Blue Star donuts (fantastic!), went to an enormous record store called Everyday Music, and shopped around on 23rd Street (the cutest area). One of my most successful first days of vacation ended with pad thai for dinner.
On Thursday morning I toured Lewis and Clark and fell in love. The campus is indescribably stunning, and it just felt so welcoming and open. After that we went downtown to see the cherry blossoms by the river and try out the famous Stumptown Coffee. My latte lived up to the hype. Once Allison got out of school, we met up at the Japanese Gardens and went to the Pittock Mansion for the lookout of the whole town. Sushi- and a Shamrock Shake- completed St. Patricks Day.
pumped for Stumptown!
Pittock Mansion
in love with Lewis and Clark
Friday was our designated "Explore Oregon" day so we drove out to Multnomah Falls to do some hiking then took the scenic drive back to the city, stopping to admire the incredible views. Oregon is truly stunning and unlike anything I've experienced. Once we made it back to the city, we went out to pizza. Allison took me to Salt and Straw and my life was forever changed by the salted caramel ice cream.
Powell's Books is so epic. You could really spend an entire day or even couple days in there. :]
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