Over the Moon, Honey

After finding out we were planning to spend our honeymoon in Costa Rica during the peak of monsoon season, Daniel and I explored other options.  He had been to the Northwest before with his family and absolutely loved it, and I've always wanted to go.  Everything we read said it was absolutely beautiful in the fall, and with only five or six weeks until the wedding, we went for it.  After we changed our flights and found places to stay, we pretty much didn't talk about any honeymoon plans again.

Which meant we spent our wedding night packing and asking one another, "What all are you wanting to do?" (We did other things that night, too--don't worry :) This is the part where I embarrass Daniel.)  We were going into our honeymoon pretty blind, but at that point I was completely fine with that.  I'd done enough planning for the wedding--I was up for just winging it.

After a flight delay that caused us to miss our next flight and get rerouted, we arrived in Portland, Oregon on Sunday--about five hours later than we were supposed to.  That was okay.  We picked up the rental car and drove the 45 minutes to Carson, Washington, where we had a cabin right off the Columbia River Gorge rented for the first two nights.  It was beautiful.

It was on the verge of getting dark when we arrived, so we decided to just settle in and relax for the evening.  We were probably asleep by about 9:30 because of the time difference.

Monday morning we woke up at about five because it was seven in NWA--it felt like we'd slept in! After failing at trying to go back to sleep, we waited until the sun started to come up and jumped in the car to find some yummy local coffee.  Breakfast wasn't until nine--we needed a little something!

The people at Carson Ridge Cabins were awesome--great service.  Delicious hot breakfast, too!  After stuffing ourselves, we grabbed our stuff for a day of hiking.  

We picked the Dog Mountain trail because the manager of the cabins told us it was the most challenging hike in the area--she said only serious hikers attempt it.  She wasn't lying.  It was crazy steep and took about three hours, but SO beautiful at the top.

Although my attitude temporarily turned to crap immediately after this hike, I choose to remember it as a really wonderful few hours of encouragement, affirmation, and laughter between my new husband and me.  We worked really hard together to make it up, and only considered turning around once (SO glad we didn't!).  

But, honeymoons are still real life, which means I shouldn't have left my purse in our rental car at the bottom of the trailhead.  We were planning on stopping by a local brewery on the way home, so I brought it for my I.D.  Boo.  When we got back, one of the windows was shattered and my purse was gone.  [We received a call Thursday that it had been found, so we drove all the way back to get it.  My debit card was still in there (which I had already cancelled), but my cell phone, drivers license, social security card (DON'T KEEP THIS IN YOUR WALLET. I'LL NEVER FORGIVE MYSELF), and two week old glasses were all missing.]  

I had a good cry/panic attack/I ruined our honeymoon moment (or several moments.  Okay, a couple of hours.) while Daniel called the police. We eventually made it back to the cabin, where I discovered my passport stuck in the pages of my Bible, which I had removed from my purse right before we left for the hike.  We thought my passport had gotten stolen, too, and weren't sure how I was going to be able to fly home with all my forms of I.D. in the hands of a stranger, but there it was, in my Bible. PRAISE THE LORD. For real.

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After breakfast Tuesday, we packed up our second rental car for the drive to Seattle.  We stayed at a hotel right across the street from the Public Market, which is right off the water.  We were on the top floor, and our balcony had a pretty sweet view.

For the next two days we did a lot of walking around exploring shops and restaurants.

One of Daniel's roommates got us a reservation at a fancy steakhouse--so sweet of him. Wednesday night we got dressed up and I tried to look like I knew how to walk a mile in heels. Ha, nope. But the food was wonderful!

After dinner, we walked back to the room to change into warm clothes. We had tickets to the Seattle Sounders playoff game!

Thursday we met our friend James at a local donut shop.   James wasn't able to come to the wedding because he's in med school in Seattle, so it was great to see him.  After breakfast, we packed up the car again. Last stop--Portland!

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Our time in Portland was fantastic.  The food was ridiculous, the people were nice, and our hotel was super cozy.  I definitely recommend staying at the Ace!

Grassa served us the best pasta we've ever had, maybe the best food we've ever had.  We were pretty much high off of the whole experience. PLEASE do yourself a favor and eat there if you're ever in the area.

On Friday we got out of downtown for a few hours and drove to the Pendleton Mill.  I was in heaven--so many beautiful prints!  We purchased one of our most special souvenirs there--a pretty blanket we'll always associate with one of the happiest moments of our honeymoon.

We had the best, weirdest honeymoon! It really was such a special time for us--the wedding was a big responsibility to pull off, so getting away for a week was a great way to recharge.  But, if I'm being honest, I think I love doing this whole everyday life thing with Daniel even more.  Waking up beside and eating breakfast with my new husband makes me stupid happy.  I'm a fan of marriage.

-J