June Stop Part 1: Quick 2 weeks in OR

June has been an exciting month because we got to travel twice! We split the month into two weeks in Oregon and two weeks abroad. My stories about Scotland and Ireland are in the next post, but this one is about our Oregonian adventures.

Once we drove across the two Canadian borders and down through Washington, we got to my sister’s house in Hermiston, Oregon.

The drive was beautiful through tree covered mountains and over waving fields of crops. I was really excited to get quality time with my sister and brother-in-law over the next couple weeks, and they did not disappoint.

We tried lots of local food and restaurants in neighboring towns like Walla Walla, Pendleton and Stanfield.

My sister works in the wine and food industry as a sommelier and bartender, so we got to go to two of her restaurants which were both such a great time.

Speakeasy is one of the places she worked at and took us to dinner to.

It was in the basement of an older building in downtown Pendleton, and the décor was very 1920s Prohibition styled. We had a fun dinner there of wine and pasta.

A special memory from the trip happened at one of the other places she works at called Keg & Kork. It is a new restaurant that opened in downtown Hermiston, and we got to go to the family and friends’ night. It was the celebratory soft launch before the ribbon cutting the next day which officially opened the place. They had a great turn out, and the space was filled with drinks, snacks and laughter.

One of my favorite activities my sister and I did was go on a tour of the first Pendleton wool mill.

The city of Pendleton is about 30 minutes from Hermiston, and it is where Pendleton Woolen Mills began in 1909.

The tour was of one of their currently operating mills, and they walked us through different sections of the production phases used to make their famous blankets.

Even though the tour was quick, it was incredible to see mass fabric production, and to see all the colors of spools of wool.

I could’ve been in the mill for hours, it was fascinating!

After the tour, my sister and I drove to Walla Walla where we did olive oil and wine tasting. The olive oil tasting was a new experience for me and there were over 20 different varieties we could try, along with delicious balsamic vinegars to make different combinations. Our afternoon was so enjoyable!

My sister and I also did fun activities closer to home like walking the dogs at the park and painting the sunset from the front yard.

Of course we got coffees and gushed about how cute their local bookstore is, The Next Chapter.

And the picture to the left is from the Echo Ridge Cellars where we sampled a few more delicious wines.

I had a blast getting to spend time with her, I loved catching up.

Connor and I went on an excursion just the two of us as well. We spent one of our Saturdays at Multnomah Falls where we saw three waterfalls and hiked nine miles.

The trails were very well kept and the waterfalls were stunning. I posted videos about them on my Instagram if you want to check those out. I loved getting to see all of streams and falls as we hiked up to the beautiful views of the Colombia River Gorge. My calves definitely felt the gain in elevation to those views.

Once evening came around, we went to a nearby town called Hood River. We had actually gone there in the morning as well for coffee. Our coffee run in the morning was so fun because we walked around shops, went to the farmers’ market and did some thrifting.

Now, we were on the search for drinks and dinner which led us to pFreim Brewery. It is one of Connor’s favorite beers, but this was our first time at one of their breweries, and it was fantastic.

The food and service were great, along with the six beers Connor got to try in a flight. We sat outside as the sun set, and after dinner we crossed the road to the Hood River Waterfront Park. We enjoyed walking around the busy park until it got too dark outside to see without a flashlight. Then, we wrapped up the day with the two-hour long drive home.

Even though the Oregon trip was quick, it was packed with love and activities. The next two weeks also included lots of family time and activities, but in quite a different setting. We went from the rolling, agricultural hills of Hermiston to the rainy, cobbled streets of Scotland and Ireland.

Read the next blog post to hear all about it!

Princess update:

Princess was not the biggest fan of my sister’s dogs and cat, but she was very well taken care of there while Connor and I were abroad.

I am extremely grateful my sister cared for her during our trip, and Princess had a whole room to herself.