Trip to the Northwest

Once we got back on the road with the rental car we arrived in Portland, Oregon about 11:30pm and went straight to bed. On Saturday we woke up and drove about 15 minutes back to see the beautiful Columbia Gorge and the falls! We were also able to stop and see the Portland temple! It was absolutely breathtaking! We then continued our journey on to Seattle. We arrived in Seattle in the early afternoon and checked into our awesome hotel, The Crowne Plaza!!! That evening we walked down to Pike's Place and watch them throw the fish, walked to Pioneer Square and then went to a Seattle Mariner's game! Sunday we drove over to Bellevue where Ryan's uncle and cousins live and we had a great little family get together! Ryan's Uncle Ron is quite the chef and he has a soda machine and a big meat cutter like what they have in the delis at grocery stores. He also just recently purchased a Smart Car! (It gets 50+ mpg) On Monday we had some struggles getting the ferry we planned on taking to Victoria, but fortunately we were able to catch a ferry in BC once we waited in a 90 minute line to cross the border from the U.S. to Canada. We took about a 2 hour ferry ride into Victoria! We stayed there for the night and walked around and got a nice seafood dinner! There was also a big concert going on in front of the Parliament building and we heard Sarah Machlachlan sing a few songs. Tuesday morning we woke up and went to Butchart Gardens and it was absolutely beautiful! Tons of lovely flowers, garden sculptures, waterfalls, and all kinds of things. Definitely a sight to see! We spent a few hours there and began our journey back to the states. We drove through Vancouver and ended up staying the night in Yakima, Washington. Wednesday morning we woke up and left the hotel at 8am, drove real hard and got to Boise about 3pm or so and picked up the car and returned the rental and continued back to SLC, Utah!

Thursday morning we woke up and invited my sister and Jake to come over and eat breakfast! They had been staying in Utah for a wedding and then celebrating their one year wedding anniversary by staying at our Uncle Fred's mansion up the Ogden Canyon! We continued the day by running some errands and had a great cookout at Ryan's friend Tyson's house! The evening came to a great end by Ryan and James jamming out on the guitar and singing, it was great! I have never seen so much talent eminate from people!

Friday we did a little shopping at the Gateway mall in downtown SLC! What a great mall!!! We went to This is The Place Monument and had a great dinner with Ryan's parents! We also spent the night with my sister and Jake up at my our uncle's house! (Another post with pics will accompany that fun event!)

Saturday we went up the Logan Canyon to have a family get together at Ryan's aunts cabin! It was a great time!!!!!!

Sunday it was finally time for us to go home. We had been away from our bed and bathroom for awhile and I was ready for a great nights sleep!

Now unfortunately it is back to the grind for us. Poor Ryan had to go to work today and I am just savoring every last minute of freedom I have until I go back to work next Monday! Summer sure was great and went by way too fast!



Falls in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon Temple

Pike's Place

Mariner's Stadium


Sno Qualmie Falls Resort

View from Space Needle

Up in the Space Needle

Space Needle

Cars loaded up on the ferry to Victoria

Hanging out on the ferry

Parliament Building in Victoria

Butchart Gardens in Victoria
(I look fat, but the clasp on my shorts is kind of weird and pokes out)

Butchart Gardens