West Coasting :: Summer 2014 Edition
After a wonderful weekend in Ashland it was time to head north for the week! I hit a few more travel bumps in the road (that’s what I get for not listening to my horoscope about traveling during Mercury retrograde!) Lucky for me, I have some great friends in Portland who were happy to have me for an extra night in Portland until I rescheduled my train ticket.
These two cuties are the best! :) Not only did they welcome me into their home but they also greeted me with some delicious Dave’s Killer bread and their hedgie babies!
Travel mishaps aren’t so bad after all, huh?! I had a great time catching up with my friends for the evening! Before I got on my train and headed to my final destination, we went to an amazing restaurant in the Alberta neighborhood called Gravy!
I may not get to Portland all that much, but this place is definitely getting added into the rotation! I got their friend chicken with gravy and pan fried hashbrowns and boy, oh boy was it fabulous!
Here’s a look at the Chile Verde that my friend ordered. One of my favorite parts about the meal? This may sound a little surprising but their ketchup! They make it in-house and the waiter said it was a blend of garlic and cloves in the ketchup. Man did it add some incredible flavoring to the hashbrowns too! The gravy was the perfect combination of hearty yet not over-done too. Let’s just say I left Portland with a full stomach and a big smile on my face!
A few hours later I was reunited with Mama Duck in Washington! She surprised me for the evening with some wine tasting at Charlie’s! It was such a fun surprise! We had such a fun evening of wine tasting and pairings! If you are in the Puyallup area, definitely check this out! They do it once a month and it really was a lot of fun. We had some very friendly people at our table too we got to chat with a little.
Something I was craving to do while I was home, was go hiking! So my friend Sara and I did just that and headed up past Wilkeson for some hiking near the Carbon glacier!
You probably won’t find it too surprising that I don’t get to hike often living in Manhattan, unless you’re counting the hill from 2nd to 3rd avenue ;-).
It felt great to get out into the outdoors! Mmmm the smell of fresh air in the woods — can’t beat it!
After our 6.5 mile hike we decided we definitely deserved a trip to Red Robin (Sara and my tradition). There’s a new one in Bonney Lake, so naturally we had to check it out.
Red Robin has definitely classed it up with the new presentations and menus! I definitely got in my Red Robin fix to get me by until my next trip!
By the middle of the week it was time for a little family time and squeeze in a visit with my Grandma and Aunt Kathy!
It’s always nice to have some time to just relax and catch up on life with family. :)
As the weekend approached, it was time to squeeze in a visit to Seattle with some of my friends!
One of my friends recently moved to West Seattle so before we met up, my friend Kristina and I walked along Alki Beach.
Talk about a gorgeous view! I can’t remember the last time I visited Alki, but I have to say, I’m totally in love with this view.
I loved it so much that I found my perfect little beach house ;-)
Okay so maybe it’s not really mine, but it sure was adorable!
For the evening, my friends and I headed down to the Georgetown. From my understanding, the area used to be heavily industrialized, but has recently been revamped and has become a trendy little spot.
We had such a great time bar-hopping! The neighborhood totally reminded me of parts of my old Portland neighborhood. It was a fun time!
As my trip came to its end we had one more event in-line.. The Buckley Log Show. Surprisingly enough, after all of my years living in the area I don’t think I’d actually been to the show (unless I went when I was little).
So after my friends suggested we go, I figured it was about time!
The weather was a little iffy it poured pretty much most of the afternoon, but we could handle it.. We are from Washington after all, right?! Okay, so it wasn’t ideal and I definitely had to go home to change clothes with my mom, but we made it work.
After the Log Show it was time to hit the only bar in town for the after party, which was a lot of fun! Definitely a back-to-your-roots experience. Let’s just say explaining what a Log Show was to my friends at work when I got back to NYC was a pretty funny experience. City folk have a hard time wrapping their heads around that one ;-)
On my last day home we ended my trip in true Osgoodby fashion with a BBQ and some more family time!
Last days home are always pretty bittersweet for me, but we always try to make the best of them! Until next time Washington!