Crater Lake, Portland, & Seattle Trip

A couple weeks ago some college friends and I went on a grad trip to Oregon. We spent about 10 days driving up the coast from LA to Eugene to Portland to Seattle, then back down. 

First stop was Crater Lake National Park. Before the trip, I did my fair share of Googling and Instagram searching to see what the fuss was about this place. But one thing that all my research didn't tell me was that there's snow at the park - even in summertime! 

Crater Lake was gorgeous, with the brightest blue water and a little island in the middle of the lake.

Our next stop was our AirBnb in Veneta, a small town near Eugene, Oregon. Our cabin was spacious, with huge rooms and windows. This was the view from the patio: 

The best part of Veneta was getting to meet this guy: 

Portland was exactly kind of how I envisioned it, but 100000x better. It had a small town feel, which was non-intimidating and everything was slow-paced. The city is extremely keen on being environmentally friendly, sustainable, and relying on local businesses. You don't feel that constant urge to buy things. It's not very capitalistic. It's about high quality craftsmanship, being honest about how things are produced, and being proud of a good product that you can enjoy, whether that be beer, coffee, or even furniture.

We stayed in an AirBnb with two floors, a large porch, about 6 bedrooms (crazy!) and alllll the Ikea furniture. We loved our house and the surrounding neighborhood as well. Each front yard in the area was well-cared for and blooming with all kinds of flowers and trees that you would never see in LA or Phoenix. It was such a nice change in scenery. 

The International Rose Test Garden was such a fun place. I'd never seen that many roses all together at once. Definitely a must-see. 

One of the tea shops we went to, Tea Chai Te, had the coolest decor consisting of little plants: 

Salt & Straw is an ice-cream shop known for its unique flavors and special seasonal options. It's originally from Oregon, so we had to stop by (maybe more than once) to try the original. My favorite is always the Honey Lavender. 

What's a trip to Oregon without hiking one of its many trails?

On our quick day trip to Seattle, we went to Pike Place Market, tried the famous Pike Place Chowder, and spent the rest of the day walking around in the touristy area of the city.

The Chihuly Glass Museum featured a different form of art than I'm used to seeing, but once you see how the glass is made, there's a certain sense of appreciation for it. You can also see the Space Needle from this room, which is pretty cool.

It was such fun exploring the Pacific Northwest for the first time. Can't wait to go back!