Getting Back Into the Routine....Maybe....

Oh this poor, neglected bloggity blog!  Hello friends!  I'm finally getting the "oomph" to get back on track with everything....sort of.  My hubby and I returned a couple of weeks ago from an amazing belated honeymoon, and right before we left, was the marion arts festival, the busiest day of the year for our store!  We had such a great time!  I was very good about taking photos with my phone, here are some of them.....

We flew into Portland, and headed north into Washington state, and stayed on Lake Quinault for a couple of days.  We hiked the Olympic National Rain Forest, and it was the most amazing place I've been! 

Very lush, and green, with moss growing everywhere.  And we were cursing Columbia, makers of our so-called "waterproof" jackets.  Whatevs.

This is the gorgeous Lake Quinault Lodge.

This is Lake Quinault.  LOVELY.

We drove south to Cannon Beach, OR and stayed a night...right on the ocean!

A dream come true for this flatlander!  I put my toes in the Pacific for the first time, officially.

(not bare toes....no, no....too cold for that!)

Then we drove back to Portland, where we stayed a few days.....our landing spot was the Kennedy School....an old school that has been renovated into THE coolest hotel EVER.  Stay there if you ever get a chance.  Above, is a picture of us enjoying artisan ice cream at Salt and Straw.  To die for...can you see we are happy??? 

Portland is a city you can feel comfortable wearing stripey knee socks!!  And I did!

The Japanese Gardens were heavenly....like a different world.

Our final evening was spent on the Columbia River Gorge with this breathtaking view.

This waterfall was right outside our hotel.

We absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed everything on this trip. 

Perhaps subconciously,  perhaps not, we intended to devour every morsel of this experience.

We ate lots of good food, met many kind people, saw nature's wonders all around us,

heard the ocean as we slept, and we laughed a lot.  A lot.  We napped when we wanted to, and we read a couple of books.  I feel so lucky to share it with my guy.

Things have been kind of funky since I've been back....I've really struggled to get back into the groove again.  It's true when they say that travelling changes you....it really does.  Looking back over the photos makes me relive all those memories/feelings/experiences all over again.  You are not the same person as you were before the trip....you are richer after them.  Grateful and happy.