Our first day in Portland, and I have to say I was quickly a fan. The neighborhood where Seth's brother & family live has a bit of a small town feel to it - houses, yards, porches - yet, they are within a few blocks of some really great blocks with many thrift stores (!!!!), coffee shops, restaurants, bars, their grocery store, etc... Yet, for feeling like a small town, it also feels cool like Brooklyn. Everyone does their own thing, the light poles are covered with stapled signs, and there's graffiti!!
We spent our first day hiking, hiking, and hiking.
We woke up early our first morning in Portland (as in normal NY morning time). After getting coffee at a neighborhood coffee shop, we jumped in the car and headed to Multnomah Falls for a morning hike with Ethan.
The view was breath-takingly (made that up??) beautiful! Up, up, up we hiked.
All the way to the top, where we could look down as the water flowed over the edge and plummeted down.
Flowers bloomed everywhere along the trail.
After our hike, we headed back and grabbed brunch at a local restaurant. As we finished up, P called to inform us he was waiting for us and we needed to get home to see him!
We spent the rest of the day hiking near/on Mt. Hood.
The smell of nature was so intense and wonderful! I had been craving it for way too long.
You can see the snow-capped Mt. Hood in the background.
After hiking up to Mirror Lake, we headed toward the top of Mt. Hood. The snow had melted down quite a bit since they had been up there last month, but there was still some for us to hike on. There was also enough for skiers and snowboarders to continue to enjoy.
Seth and P enjoyed rolling rocks down the hill for quite a while. I guess the boyhood novelty doesn't wear off after all these years ;)
What a beautiful day in such a beautiful place!
He's really lucky to have such a sweet mama too!
Today, we spent half the day exploring Arches National Park. We didn't end up hiking up the the Delicate Arch, but we did hike to the Upper Viewpoint. I really want to come again soon (in better weather) and do some more hiking to the arches that are further off the road. 
The Catskills, where New York City gets most of it's water from.
The whole time I wished Seth were there to enjoy it with me... I think a trip upstate is in order! (And Jac, we must all go together, because P would LOOOOOVE it!)
The sisters before shopping. Like my teal sweater?? My siblings gave it to me yesterday for my birthday!! It was such an amazing present! I had mentioned how much I loved it in passing and was shocked to be holding it right before blowing out the candles for my birthday! 
