Alright, guys.  For the first time in my life, I have finally traveled out to the West Coast!  I impulse bought my plane ticket about a month ago at work.  I was just sitting there thinking that it's been a while since my last trip to some place new, so I contacted some friends and planned from there.  I flew up in an apparent bizarre time for Portland because it snowed a couple of days before I arrived.  I don't think it snows there as often as people think.  Also, I didn't take as many pictures as I'd hope because I wanted to be present and really take in the beauty of Oregon.  With that being said, I hope you enjoy the few photos that I took!

So, yeah, I arrived late Thursday night and stayed with my friends, Dan and Erica Nafziger for the weekend.  I went to college and ran track with them for a bit before they graduated and moved on from EMU.  These two were amazing hosts and they literally gave me a full Portland tour in less than a day!  We went hiking for a bit then went to Pittock Mansion and was able to see all of Portland!  Now, Downtown Portland is even more amazing than I had imagined.  The pace felt nice, the people were friendly, it was just a very interesting place.  I think I might've fallen in love with that Portland and could certainly see myself living there if the opportunity presented itself.

Also, if you guys haven't eaten at Voodoo Doughnuts, then you are truly missing out!  They have a ton of different flavors to try!  I got a doughnut called Captain My Captain, which is a doughnut with frosting and Captain Crunch cereal on top.  Talk about good, right?  Pretty weird, but I have been craving another one since I first tried it.  That morning for breakfast, we stopped by Blue Star Donuts, which is a really nice shop as well.  The doughnuts there are dense and just one of them filled me up.  I recommend the berry flavored doughnut if anyone wants to try it.  There was one more doughnut place that we were supposed to go to but we were too full from eating that it just didn't happen.

While in Portland, I got to see one of my long-time high school friends, Kayla who lives in Portland too.  So we decided to stop by her job and say hey to her!  It was one of the greatest reunions I've ever had.  Kayla and I haven't seen each other since we graduated high school almost 6 years ago.  Kayla invited us to a get-together at her friend's house and we were able to talk and catch up more.  We talked about all of the good times we had, the classes we took, and the interesting people who came out of Nelson County!  It felt so weird to know that we came from such a small town and is now living in places where we thought we would never be.  

And check this!  Not only did my trip consist of the beautiful, majestic nature in Portland, but we played the heck out of some Super Smash Bros.  It had been years since I last played it and Dan suddenly sparked my interest again.  Now I'm back home and is firing up the ol' Nintendo Wii!    

I wanted to give a super special shoutout to Dan and Erica for letting me crash at their place, showing me around town, and being some of the best friends a guy can ask for!  I can't wait to get back up there and see you guys again!  PS, Dan and Erika are 50% in persuading people to move to Portland.  Their percentage may go up here soon.  *inserts winky face emoji*

Also, if anyone wants to check out the little video that I made, feel free to do so!  I tried to take as much as I could but I also wanted to be very present and in the moment while I was there.  I used my iPhone to take this video too so that was definitely a different experience.  Don't know how I feel about it, considering I lugged around this expensive camera...  Anyway, enjoy!