So Much Adventure

September 25, 2021 - Arlene Instagram:

“Some of our most wonderful memories are beautiful places where we felt immediately at home.” - John O’Donohue

On our way intending to see to Multnomah Falls, we drove up on Wahkeena Falls - I squealed at @bmlassie to pull over! I jumped out of the car - 😍 - awestruck in the beauty of the Lord’s art - the sound of the falls, water splashing you as it bounces off the rock. I am in heaven. My heart is happy & my #innerchild is PLAYING TODAY! 🤸🏼‍♀️“

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When I was little, I loved playing outdoors - whether it was riding bikes all over town until dark (yeah, you could do that back then as a child!), collecting grasshoppers at recess and storing them in my pencil box (5th grade), or walking the pond at Grandmother & Grandpa’s farm collecting skeletons of Lord only knows what kind of animals.

I like to explore. I like to go on adventure. I love nature. I love being outdoors.

When Bryan and I travel, we are often: destination food. Meticulously researching all of the local spots, making sure we try ALL of the best places. We like to eat!

When we touched down in Portland on September 24, 2021, we could not wait to start our adventure! We only had a few days & were bound to squeeze in as much as we could. We didn’t have time to eat. Or shall I say, time to “destination food”. At this point, stopping to eat would greatly hinder our ability to see the sights. Aside from one sit-down dinner that long weekend in Portland, I am not sure I could tell you what we ate. (I need you to know how shocking this is!)

We had a short list of “must-do” places to visit. If we were scoping this city out for hopes of potentially moving here, we had a lot of ground to cover! St. Johns Bridge, Forest Park, Downtown Portland, Mt. Hood, Farm Country, Hiking, Waterfalls, Bridgetown Church, Cannon Beach & Tillamook. We quickly realized that our time wasn’t long enough. However, our time did seem to magically extend itself within each minute we were there.

After listing the places we visited, you would expect that our weekend trip was rushed and too jam packed. But it didn’t feel like that at all. I’ll compare it to…wine tasting. Getting a little sip of all Portland has to offer, enough to decide whether you like the taste or not. Time stood still in moments and we were the most relaxed and joy filled we had been in years. Maybe ever.

Within an hour of Portland, there is so much to discover. We explored to our hearts content. We loved every second. This felt like us. This is what we wanted more of. To live in the great outdoors & share this with our girls and with our family! If we could have bottled up this feeling of transcendence, joy, adventure - we certainly would have.

A variety of adventure. The kind of adventure where we felt immediately at home.