Blacklot

 About a week ago (ugh, I'm behind) Wojc and I hiked out to a beautiful piece of the coastline called Blacklot. Just recently, some city council members tried to swap this land and build a golf course on it. Thankfully, it was shot down and saved for all of us to continue our hikes and mushroom gathering.

 It had just poured for about five days straight and the trail had massive puddles that threatened to overflow into my rubber boots. It was crazy flooded and Wojc had to take detours in the woods to avoid them. We managed to catch a break in the rain and enjoyed our hike thoroughly.  It's a really magical place out there full of lush swamps, creeks and dark forests.

 After a few miles you come to a more sparse forest and begin to see the blue sky. Take a few more steps and you break out of the woods and into a bright and shiny and spectacular view from the cliffs above the ocean.

God. So beautiful. This place takes my breath away.
On the way back we spent time mushroom picking in the woods. It was prime mushroom hunting time following a heavy rain and we came back with some treasures.

On the way back you can cut out to an old airport that was built during World War II when the coast guard were stationed in my town. I flew out of this airport once in a four person team. Definitely a cool experience.

And so it begins.

Thursday was my last day of work (hallelujah). I will miss my coworkers but not 8 hours in front of a computer and definitely not the exhaustion circles under my eyes.

Thursday night we, foolishly, met up with one of my best friends and wandered around Last Thursday in the Alberta Arts District. It was amazing fun, with a dance party on every block, delicious vegan bratwurst and beer...the next morning, not so fun.
My boyfriend and I had to turn in the keys to our apartment by midnight that day and we hadn't packed, rented a u-haul, moved or cleaned. From 7:30am-10:30pm we worked non-stop only breaking to scarf down pizza and coffee. Luckily, a couple friends helped us with some stuff and we were able to get it done. After scrubbing the last floor we finally turned in our keys and said good bye to Portland.

We immediately hit the road south and pulled  into my dear friend's driveway in Eugene at 1am. What a day, what a day. I was disturbingly exhausted and never more appreciative of a warm bed.
Day 1

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Rainier

My BF and I embarked on yet another road trip recently. We initially planned to drive straight up to Seattle to visit his family, but the urge to avoid the freeway led us to take an extreme detour and pass by both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier.

Mt. St. Helens

Just woken up

 I really love road trips. I think that's one of the things I love most about the West Coast: plenty of room to roam.

Creepin'  

Surprisingly, this was my first time to Mt. Rainier. I must say, I was blown away. With our late arrival, the park was nearly empty. WE drove up the winding road and the views took my breath away. Wide open sky. Huge looming mountains. River beds washed white from the churning water.

Mt. Ranier National Park

Beauty

I love exploring new places in the Northwest. I've seen so much of it that I have a mental image of the region, with the parts I've been marked out. SOon I want the whole region crossed off of my "to see" list. 

Currently listening:

Last Thursday, my boyfriend and I packed up the car and headed down to the last stop south on the Oregon coast. I took off a few heavenly days so I could watch my mom graduate. It was such a beautiful moment. My mom did not have it easy and yet she devoted so much of her time, energy and love to raising three children. After we left home she started going back to college and slowly made her way through school while working more than full time and graduating with honors. If there is ever a person I admire and look up to, it's my mom.

My mom has always been so supportive of my education that it was nice to be able to show some love for her and cheer as loudly as I could when they called her name.