My solo trip to the Pacific Northwest was, for lack of a better word, amazing. Even the flights there were great-I had a brief layover in Austin where I waved to my friends, Adrienne and Elaina, from the airport, and a longer layover in Denver, where I got to have dinner with my “sister,” Lizzie and manhandle her Basset Hound, Buckley. Denver was pretty awesome, if only for the fact that it has a sushi restaurant called “Sushi Totoro.”

I got in pretty late in the evening to Portland, but my lovely airbnb hosts stayed up to greet me and made sure I got settled in nicely. Sarah and Colin have the sweetest mid-century modern home full of air plants, souvenirs from their trips around the world, and two cuddly kitties. I was ready to move in permanently!  Prior to my arrival, I got to chat with them via airbnb and text, and by the time I arrived, I felt like I was visiting with old friends. From photography and ceramics to records and a love for Danish Modern, I couldn’t have found hosts to be more in sync with.

Their house is in a lovely neighborhood, where I enjoyed morning walks taking in all of the lush plant life and fresh air. It’s always educating to see how different assortments of plants thrive in areas of the world other than your own. Portland, known as “The City of Roses,” naturally has a ton of gorgeous rose varietals, but also an abundance of  dahlias, sunflowers, and succulents. It was also nice to see how many vegetable gardens everyone had-people were growing pumpkins on the sidewalks!

The weather. was. incredible. Everyone kept mentioning how unnaturally humid it was, but it felt pretty damn amazing after dealing with 100 degrees and 100% humidity on a daily basis back home! It was also a pleasant change to be able to sleep with the windows open and not nearly die from an allergy attack the following morning! I’ve been in love with the PNW ever since I visited Seattle when I was 15, and this trip just deepened my feelings for it.

It was hard to leave a house as cozy as this each day, but there was adventuring to be done! I actually began my first day not in Portland, but by driving to Olympia, Washington, to visit one of my best friends, Nicole, and her pups, Lucille of The Pawsh Puppy and Kumba, who just so happen to be Rosie’s BFF and boyfriend, respectively.

I’ll be sharing my favorite places in Olympia next, but also devoting a special post to all the Bostons I got to see while there! I always make sure to include Rosie in each trip, and this one was no exception. From Facetiming to toys and clothes, she got to partake in my experience, as well.

Coming up: Bostons & burgers!