sunday strolling in goose hollow.

Yesterday was just made for strolling. A bit warm, but not too warm. Flowers and plants exploded in color, birds chirping in every tree...

Portland has some incredible neighborhoods that are wonderful to stroll through, and one of our favorites is called Goose Hollow.

Like everything around Portland, it's easy to get to either by car or better yet take the MAX light rail train, get off at Goose Hollow, and head north.  You'll soon be in this wonderfully shaded, old neighborhood.

Goose Hollow is chock full of picturesque homes perched high on hills, with forest views and commanding views of the city. Not to mention character galore.

Like this purple house I showed you earlier. Can you believe?

It has a mass of wisteria next to it that we could smell from a block away.

[wisteria!]

Even the side view of the house is gorgeous, check those corbels and the little spires!

There are century-old rock walls with moss and vines hugging them, and gates leading up to the houses:

[rock wall and gate]

If you need a little breather or just want to sit and soak it all in, there are stone benches flanking the viaduct bridge:

Around every corner there's another gem of a home, like this brick red one tucked high in the trees, with an amazing forest view out the back:

or this beauty with its wonderful balustrade, not to mention that amazing tree out front!

As our mild Spring days get longer and longer, I imagine we'll be taking more of these neighborhood strolls. If I'm smart, I'll make sure my phone is well-charged!




Have an incredible week, friends!

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the Rebel's Thanksgiving - 2014 version.

[Portland, Park Blocks].

I know I might've turned a bunch of you guys off with the post title.

It's really not that serious.

More of a joke between my cousin and myself to deflect the blowback we get by spending Thanksgiving 1,000 miles from the chaos that is dinner with my in-laws.

Let me explain...

My cousin is actually my husband's cousin, she just happens to be a good friend of mine.  A few years ago we decided we'd had it with the chaos and inevitable fights and tears that go down during the family's Thanksgiving get together.  So every year, she flies to Portland for what we've dubbed Rebel Thanksgiving. So named because we get a lot of flak for our choice, while we just smile and nod and secretly plan our super-fun agenda.

Mostly it involves eating our way through the entire city of Portland.

[breakfast at Mother's Bistro, downtown Portland].

Breakfast at Mother's Bistro in downtown Portland is a must. Seriously. You must go if you're ever in town. I recommend the Wild Salmon Hash, it's simply incredible.

If the Winterhawks hockey team is playing at home [yes! they were at home this year]: we take the train to the game, yell ourselves hoarse, and yes, they always win when we go! It's like we're some kind of crazy good luck charm. Or it may have to do with their skill...they've been Western Conference Champions for the last 4 years.

[puck drop at 7pm].

A trip to Powell's is always a good idea. Love this mug I saw there!

[you know that's right].

To work off all the food we eat, a good hike is in order. This year we got soaked at Multnomah Falls, then hiked to the top of Beacon Rock. We barely got off the rock before dark. Whew!

[beacon rock].

Thanksgiving morning we took a beautiful walk through the Park Blocks in downtown Portland. There were still lots of gorgeous yellow leaves on the trees and barely a soul around. It was so peaceful.

[Portland, Park Blocks].

Das boots!

The shining cap is our annual Thanksgiving dinner at Jake's Grill.  My cousin and I probably have 2 drinks a year and this is it  :-)

Wild, I know.

[yay Disaronno!]

This year we added a new member to our Jake's club, my niece who recently moved to Portland.
We were pretty raucous...gee I hope we didn't scare her off!  She doesn't look too appalled in this picture so we might convince her to join us old ladies again next year.

[at Jake's].

I hope you guys had an amazing Thanksgiving too!
Do you have any activities you like to do every year? Like a Turkey Trot?

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perfectly portland - Columbia River Gorge sternwheeler cruise.

it's September and to me, this is hands down the best time of year to go sightseeing in Portland. the weather is cooling down and for the next few months, the city has been returned to it's residents.

one of our favorite things to do is take the sternwheeler cruise down the Columbia River Gorge. The Gorge is the incredibly beautiful dividing line between Oregon and Washington.

[columbia gorge sternwheeler]

every year between May and October, the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler offers cruises up and down the Columbia River, expertly narrated by the captain.

what could be better than a couple of hours lazing down the river with a fascinating history lesson thrown in?

[the wheel. natch].

we start off heading West, downriver to pass under the stunning Bridge of the Gods...

[bridge of the gods].

there's a wonderful Native American legend that tells the story of the Bridge of the Gods.

[columbia river].

there are so many amazing vistas along the river, and the trees stretch out to eternity.

once we hit the Bonneville Dam, it's time to head back upriver.
there is a Landmarks cruise where you actually get to pass through the Bonneville Lock...that would be so fun!

[heading back up river].

further upriver we pass by the wonderful Skamania Lodge, on the Washington side of the river. shortly after is the turnaround point to head back to the dock at Cascade Locks.

[skamania lodge].

another perfectly Portland day.

bidding our Portland summer adieu.

it's mid-August here in Portland Oregon and my thoughts are inexorably turning to my all time favorite season, Fall.

but I can't do that till I bid summer a proper goodbye...

here in the Pacific Northwest, we're so lucky to have a gorgeous forest playground just 1 hour away, high in the Cascades.

[incomparable Mt. Hood, view from Timberline Lodge].

huh. while I'm super pleased with my picture of Mt. Hood, it sure doesn't look very tall! but it's over 11,000 feet. must've been my angle...

but I digress. wasn't I talking about summer and how lucky we are?
and we felt doubly lucky this summer because two of our cool nieces came to visit, one for a week and one for a whole month!

now I should start by saying that these girls don't necessarily love being dragged all over the place...so naturally the first thing we did was pile everyone in the car and drag them out to Skibowl at Mt. Hood for some summer fun. oops, sorry girls.

perfectly portland - summertime marionberry picking

Oh to be in Portland now that marionberry season is here....

I'll let you in on a secret. Portlanders are seriously proud of [and not to mention crazy about] their local magical blackberry hybrid known as the Marionberry. A native Oregonian, it was developed at Oregon State University in 1956, it's a cross between two blackberries and it's pure heaven!

[marionberries and blueberries. yum!]

So as you can imagine, no summer in Portland is complete unless you've been marionberry picking [or blueberry, or raspberry or whatever floats your boat...for me it's always and forever marionberries!].

[marionberries]

Last weekend we joined some friends at the beautiful Blueberry Hill Farm in Sherwood, Oregon. The wonderful staff at the farm gave us shallow boxes [marionberries don't like to be squished] and directed us to where the marionberries were planted. They're at the back, high point of the farm so we got to meander along a lovely lakeside path to get to them.

[lakeside path to the marionberries]

We picked like crazy for an hour or so.
I just couldn't stop. It's possible I overdid it.

But that's ok, when I got home I separated out about a gallon's worth, rinsed and tucked them into the freezer. I'll bring those out this winter when I'm seriously jonesing for them and probably make some great muffins.

I confess that I did manage to pick a bucket of blueberries too:

[blueberries too]

[at the entrance to the farm...don't just love hay rolls?]

Bumping along the farm road on the way out, I had my husband snap a shot of these hay rolls. I just love seeing these every year in the fields around our house. But I usually don't catch them when they're stacked so this was a lucky shot.

So what's in season in your neck of the woods?

another lovely portland christmas.

every year come september, I start to get excited for winter and christmas in the pacific northwest. strolling in downtown portland, dropping into the always lovely benson hotel for a spiced cider and a little tree-gazing...

[christmas tree - benson hotel - downtown portland or].

[christmas tree - benson hotel - downtown portland or].

then heading down to the pearl district, where it seems that the lights on the street trees twinkle the brightest.

[pearl district trees - downtown portland or].

ah, christmas in portland. sigh. however did I live without it for so long?

an icy gift from a lovely Thanksgiving snowstorm.

thanksgiving 2010. my cousin samantha flew up to portland for our second annual 'rebel thanksgiving', so called because we skip the family chaos and spend the week in peace. it snowed on the monday [a near miracle for portland metro in november], then stayed below freezing for four days. leaving behind gorgeous scenes like this:

[ice fountain.]

[ice fountain].

not to mention our own bit of slipping and sliding in my hilly neighborhood.

autumn drive.

autumn is my favorite season, without exception. here in the pacific northwest we see glimpses of it in late august, but she really starts to strut her stuff around the autumnal equinox.

yesterday we were hit with a 'let's go on a big drive' bug, so we made our leisurely way down hwy 26, dubbed 'sunset highway'. with the headlights pointing west and the fleeting scent of woodburning fires in the air, we passed through forests and over creeks with magical names like nehalam, tillamook, & clatsop.  interspersed with the deep green of cedar and pine I glimpsed what will surely be flaming oranges and reds before October goes.

once we reached the end of the sunset highway, the question had to be answered: north or south? it had been a while since we'd been to Astoria, so north it was. 

[view of astoria bridge from astoria column].

I love visiting Astoria. I love the Astoria Bridge, the Astoria Column, and gazing at the mouth of the Columbia River where she oh so reluctantly gives up her freedom and joins the Pacific.

[liberty theatre, downtown astoria].

[crossing the astoria bridge].

[crossing the astoria bridge].