Mom and Ben come to visit!

It is always nice to have family come and visit. This week we were fortunate enough to have Mom and Ben to Portland. I made sure to plan out the days while they were here, so we always had something fun to do. The first couple days the weather constantly threatened to ruin our fun, but we made sure to not let it stop us. The last day they were here the weather was perfect! Many of the activities included a Best of Portland Tour, a movie, trying the many restaurants around town, hiking in Forest Park, going to First Thursday (an evening of activities in our neighborhood) walking, walking and even more walking.

On the tour in downtown Portland

Posing next to the smallest city park in the world... only in Portland
Also in the middle of an intersection

The tour was great because we all learned a lot about the city. There was so many things I didn't know about the place I have been calling home for over a year now. I didn't even care I was the only local on the tour.

Experiencing one of the thousands of Happy Hours in the city

Nik and I love our cities Happy Hours. Cheap food, but always good and worth eating early. Now that Mom and Ben have experienced them they know why we rave about them. We took them to one of our favorites in NW Portland called North 45.

In the lobby of our building

 We joined in on the festivities for First Thursday. This is when the Pearl District's art galleries and some stores open their doors to guests and invite them in with wine and appetizers. We didn't make it very far, because our building was having a party and we enjoyed talking to the neighbors, including Tommy Heath of the band Tommy Tutone. We did however walk the streets and enjoyed the street fair of goods. 

First Thursday

 On Friday it was a beautiful day, so before heading up into the hills for a hike we stopped and had a fantastic breakfast at Besaws (one of our favorite breakfast spots). The hike was gorgeous and the smells made me feel like we were way out in the wilderness. When actually, we were 2 miles from our downtown home.

Hike in Forest Park

We had so much fun with you guys and are so thankful you were able to make the trip. Thank you for everything. We had an amazing time and look forward to the next time.