Multnomah Falls - Portland, Oregon

When my recent adventure in Portland led to a visit to the Multnomah Falls I found myself breathing deep, literally, a breath of fresh air! Having just survived a cold and snowy Michigan winter, the sight of anything green was enough to send me into photographic overdrive! The benefit of that is a super, earthy-green blog post full of photos!

The falls are located on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge and at 620 feet tall, is the tallest waterfall in the state.












Emily and Eryn served in Peace Corps Ukraine together. Here they are practicing their best Russian expressions. At right:
Adam shows off his best ninja in a cave expression.

Hello Portland!

Hello Portland! It's about damn time! Around 2006 I became very interested in visiting Portland, Oregon.  I heard friends
and strangers alike boast of it's laid back, earthy "hipness." I mean, what's not to love? Mountains, coffee, every type of
artisans known to (wo)man, shoot, I was sold. It may have taken several years to get there, but this past weekend I finally
did. My life-long BFF (Emily! seen in such previous blog adventures as D.C. for the Holidays and A weekend whirlwind) mentioned that she had a good friend from Peace Corps (Eryn) who lived in Portland and we should go visit. No-brainer!

Below is a view from my seat on the plane. If you look far off into the distance you can see two mountains. There were
some discrepancies on the plane, but they are some combinations of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helen or Mt. Rainier.


Eryn and her boyfriend Adam met us at the airport and mentioned that it was the first day of the Portland Farmer's Market,
we all know I never turn down a farmers market!




Portland is known for having food cart communities grouped all over town. They offer every genre of food you can think of
and it's cheap too!






We spent an afternoon wine tasting outside of downtown in Dundee, Oregon. It's a beautiful area.




Tastes from Erath.




Beautiful view, with a little sunshine, from the 30th floor at the Portland City Grille in downtown. What a great way to end a
great trip!


Big thanks to my favorite people in all of Portland, Eryn and Adam! Thanks for taking us in and showing us a super time!

Travel: D.C. for the Holidays

Somehow I racked up over a hundred hours of vacation at work. With the year winding down, I figured it was time to commit to a trip. So I booked a ticket and flew out to spend the Thanksgiving weekend visiting my friend Emily in Washington D.C.

Along with Emily's parents and boyfriend Adam, we checked out a few of the must-sees in the area starting with George Washington's digs, Mt. Vernon.


Some of the animals (yes a camel!) living on the grounds of Mt. Vernon. Apple the turkey is one of the birds that President Obama pardoned this year. After the holidays Apple will be moved to a special pen where he will live out his days with his brother, Cider!




After Mt. Vernon we made it over to Arlington National Cemetery. We were lucky with a little left over fall color. It really is a moving experience.






A view of the Washington Monument from Arlington. Can you see it? Right in the middle.




The sky as the evening sets in on a long day!


A view of the Capitol building from a terrace deck at the Newseum in downtown D.C.




Special thanks to Emily and Adam! Thanks for showing me a great time and being great friends!

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Featured: Jersey Shore

My recent blog post about the Jersey Shore was picked up by the NY Daily News and featured in their travel section online. Pretty cool stuff!

The Jersey Shore

Well, not that Jersey Shore, well, maybe a little of that Jersey Shore.

I took a four-day vacation and flew into Atlantic City to meet up with family staying at a house on the shore in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. I know it seems strange to vacation in New Jersey, especially seeing as none of us had ever visited, but my mom placed a bid on a weeks stay during a charity auction, and bam, we were going to Jersey. We had a great, and HUMID time enjoying the beach, the food and a little Jersey (or is it Philly?) "wurta ice," or water ice.

Sunset over Sea Isle and the nightclub across the street from the nice house we stayed at.


The beach was just steps from our door.




A masterpiece dinner we prepared with all local ingredients, so tasty!




Here is the view from the balcony, we had a good view of the ocean and the only open air bar in town.






One random brother, who wishes to remain anonymous, mom and mark make their way down the street at sunset. On the right, we stayed in the left side of this lovely duplex.


Everywhere you look there's a pizza. I'm not gunna argue that.


When seagulls attack, Atlantic City boardwalk.


I started this post with a sunset, so I guess I'll end it with one too. Sunset through the windows of the Atlantic City airport overlooking the runway, as we wait out a delay.