In October:

We were able to spend a week in Oregon, it was Amazing!

We started our trip inPortland and spent 3 days there:

We stayed in the historic Mark Spencer Hotel.

Benjamin's must see was the Japanese Garden. It was beautiful.

We also walked through the Rose Garden (not the best time of year for roses but there were still a few blooms).

I love going to the zoo, so we went there next.

We went to the Chinese Garden, which is this little garden right in the middle of the city.

We rode a tram up to the OHSU Hospital so we could see Mt. Hood and Mt St. Helens

While were were in the city we also went to Powell's Bookstore, which takes up a whole city block.

After Portland we rented a car and drove to the coast for a few days.

We had to stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory:

We stayed in a town called Depoe Bay and our hotel was on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was stunning. Benjamin kept the window open all night so he could listen to the waves crashing...luckily the weather was really nice so I didn't freeze!

I insisted that we go whale watching...probably not the best idea in hindsight but we did see some whales and it was totally worth it!

We enjoyed driving up and down the coast checking out state parks and beaches as well as a few lighthouses.

The reason we decided to visit Oregon was to celebrate my Great Grandma's 90th birthday. So after our few days on the coast we drove over to central Oregon for the birthday bash.

Oregon is beautiful, and will remain on our list of places we'd like to move!