DAY 1 in Portlandia

Ryan and I have a tradition. For our anniversary every year, we pick a city (preferably one we've never been to) and spend a couple days exploring and relaxing in it. This year, March 19th 2013, marked our 9 year anniversary. NEXT year is the big one, but we knew I'd either have a newborn or be big and pregnant at that point, therefore unable to really travel. So we decided to chose a destination for year 9 that was far enough away that we'd have to get on a plane, but not SO far away that we'd break the bank. It came down to Seattle or Portland. We decided we want to do Seattle later with Ryan's best friend Sam who served a missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there. So Portland it was!

The very first thing I noticed about Portland, before even leaving the airport, was how environmentally conscious they were. Two flushers on every toilet, reminder posters to love the earth all over, and to top it off, our rental car was a prius... so we fit right it. The second thing I noticed about Portland were the trees. Millions of christmas trees on either side of the freeway and everywhere. We learned that Portland is also known as "The Evergreen District."

We thought it was a funny coincidence and SO APPROPRIATE that we would be driving a Prius around Oregon. We fit right in with all the Portlandians helping save the environment. (It was either a Prius or a minivan, and I got nothin' against minivans, but we were looking to spend a couple days AWAY from life, not trying to feel even more like the middle aged parents we are).