Vacation!

For Christmas this year, my parents gave Clay and me a trip, just the two of us, to wherever we wanted to go (within reason).  We decided that we'd go up to the Portland/Seattle area, and split our time between both.  George stayed with Saty and Pop, and we missed him so much!  But it was so rejuvenating for us both to have some concentrated time just the two of us, where I was just a wife, and Clay was just a husband.  It was awesome.  So awesome, in fact, that our trip will be split up into two separate posts.

Our flights out there were delayed, so by the time we got to our hotel in Seattle, it was 1:30am (3:30 in the morning in Birmingham).  We had to get up early to catch our 7:30am train down to Portland.  Needless to say, we slept most of the train ride.  

 View of our hotel at 1:30am.

Brief moments awake on the train ride.  It was so beautiful!

Once we got to Portland, we actually headed out to Newberg, Oregon, which is in the heart of the Oregon wine country.  I wish I could post the 100+ pictures I took there, but I would think that might be boring to you.  We felt like we were in Italy, and out in the middle of nowhere.  The views were incredible, and we definitely embraced the laid-back lifestyle of Newberg.

 View of the valley behind us

 Grass seed ready for harvest

The Willamette Valley

We thought we had seen the most beautiful views, and then we got to The Black Walnut Inn, where we stayed.  I walked out onto our little terrace, and the views literally took my breath away.  

 View from our balcony

 Baby grapes beginning to bud

 Black Walnut Vineyards

 Black Walnut Inn 

View of the Dundee Hills from the Black Walnut Inn

Heading to our anniversary dinner!

Anniversary dinner at The Painted Lady.  Unbelievable.

Thursday morning we slept in, had breakfast at the Inn, and toured around the Willamette Valley for the remainder of the day until we had to catch our 6:15pm train back to Seattle.  

If you squint hard enough, you can see Mt. Hood in the distance.

Clay and I both love to travel and experience new places. In our four years of marriage, we've come to tell a difference between a 'trip' and a 'vacation'.  Oregon was the perfect start to our vacation.  

Tomorrow...Seattle!