Re-Charging Our Batteries
/Yes, super mini. I say super mini because we left Friday afternoon and returned Saturday evening from a little getaway up north. Josh received some Bed and Breakfast gift certificates (a combo birthday and xmas gift from my folks), so we decided to put them to good use and head out of town. The timing was perfect because I had two days off work in a row and it was the weekend before Josh's last semester begins.
After some debate early in the week - beach, mountains, vs. city and then exactly which B&B - we ended at the Camas Hotel which is a cute little Parisian-style boutique hotel located in Camas, WA. Camas is just over the Oregon border (that would mean Washington) and along the Columbia River Gorge about 20-30 minutes outside of Portland. We thought we'd get more bang for our buck out there and it'd be peaceful, quite, and quaint.
Josh took a week long, one unit Corporate Finance drafting course before the semester began that ended Friday. After his class, we high-tailed it out of Eugene up the 5. The rain was coming down in torrents so the driving was a bit tough (thanks Josh for taking over the wheel.
Finally, we arrived in Camas just in time for a nice little pizza dinner at Twilight (not related to the movie mind you). We wrapped up the night up with a martini and apple crisp at the recently opened restaurant next to our hotel, Harwood's restaurant.
Saturday morning we opted to get a bigger breakfast instead of the continental option at the B&B (which was sparse by 9am when I scoped it out in the dining area). We took a few steps down the road to a diner called Natalia's Cafe. The order? A Josh-like meal of hash browns and a Heather-like meal of egg whites and veggies scrambled. Not too shabby, and it was an adorable little diner to boot. Then we walked around for a bit since it wasn't pouring at the moment. The town did turn out to be quaint and cute, but pretty small. You can tell it's really trying hard to build up, but it's not quite there yet. There is a paper mill at the edge of town that has kept the area running over the years - a mill-town in other words.
Next up: Vancouver. That would be the closer Vancouver, the one in Washington as opposed to Canada. We walked the waterfront area, but it was pretty small. Nice condos and apartments though. After a quick walk on the water, we hopped in the car and found downtown. It was uber quiet - oddly quiet in fact - in the little downtown square we found. Our overall opinion of Vancouver: its a nice, quite place to live.
We then headed back over the bridge to the sales tax-free Oregon (always nice when eating out). We went to our favorite area, the Pearl District and walked around like we lived there. For example, we were giving people directions. Also, we hit up a few of our favorite shops, which of course means a stopat Oblations, "the scene of the proposal."
Eventually our tummies rumbled for some lunch so we jotted over to another favorite, Silk. I got a delicious curry with yams, eggplant, and chicken while Josh got a Vietnamese beef sandwich. We tacked on some tea to share since it was chilly. A perfect cold weather lunch. To top it off, Josh got a spicy mocha at Masterpiece.
Before heading back home, we did a Heather-must-feed-the-addiction stop at YoCream. I think I about died and went to heaven when I saw cookies 'n cream (my all-time favorite), Irish mint, and chocolate macadamia nut. Yummy in my tummy. Even though I wasn't incredibly hungry I ate a very large yogurt (dang that self-serve spout), but it was worth the pain...glorious.
A super great mini trip ended on the YoCream high and then back to Eugene. Need ed to get out out town..check. Good food...check. Spirit of Adventure...check. Relaxation...check. Recharge batteries...check. Well, you get the point, we checked off all our needs. This translates to...an excellent weekend!
As always, photos for your viewing pleasure on Flickr. The sneak peek picture below is along the Vancouver Waterfront.
Vancouver Waterfront
After some debate early in the week - beach, mountains, vs. city and then exactly which B&B - we ended at the Camas Hotel which is a cute little Parisian-style boutique hotel located in Camas, WA. Camas is just over the Oregon border (that would mean Washington) and along the Columbia River Gorge about 20-30 minutes outside of Portland. We thought we'd get more bang for our buck out there and it'd be peaceful, quite, and quaint.
Josh took a week long, one unit Corporate Finance drafting course before the semester began that ended Friday. After his class, we high-tailed it out of Eugene up the 5. The rain was coming down in torrents so the driving was a bit tough (thanks Josh for taking over the wheel.
Finally, we arrived in Camas just in time for a nice little pizza dinner at Twilight (not related to the movie mind you). We wrapped up the night up with a martini and apple crisp at the recently opened restaurant next to our hotel, Harwood's restaurant.
Saturday morning we opted to get a bigger breakfast instead of the continental option at the B&B (which was sparse by 9am when I scoped it out in the dining area). We took a few steps down the road to a diner called Natalia's Cafe. The order? A Josh-like meal of hash browns and a Heather-like meal of egg whites and veggies scrambled. Not too shabby, and it was an adorable little diner to boot. Then we walked around for a bit since it wasn't pouring at the moment. The town did turn out to be quaint and cute, but pretty small. You can tell it's really trying hard to build up, but it's not quite there yet. There is a paper mill at the edge of town that has kept the area running over the years - a mill-town in other words.
Next up: Vancouver. That would be the closer Vancouver, the one in Washington as opposed to Canada. We walked the waterfront area, but it was pretty small. Nice condos and apartments though. After a quick walk on the water, we hopped in the car and found downtown. It was uber quiet - oddly quiet in fact - in the little downtown square we found. Our overall opinion of Vancouver: its a nice, quite place to live.
We then headed back over the bridge to the sales tax-free Oregon (always nice when eating out). We went to our favorite area, the Pearl District and walked around like we lived there. For example, we were giving people directions. Also, we hit up a few of our favorite shops, which of course means a stopat Oblations, "the scene of the proposal."
Eventually our tummies rumbled for some lunch so we jotted over to another favorite, Silk. I got a delicious curry with yams, eggplant, and chicken while Josh got a Vietnamese beef sandwich. We tacked on some tea to share since it was chilly. A perfect cold weather lunch. To top it off, Josh got a spicy mocha at Masterpiece.
Before heading back home, we did a Heather-must-feed-the-addiction stop at YoCream. I think I about died and went to heaven when I saw cookies 'n cream (my all-time favorite), Irish mint, and chocolate macadamia nut. Yummy in my tummy. Even though I wasn't incredibly hungry I ate a very large yogurt (dang that self-serve spout), but it was worth the pain...glorious.
A super great mini trip ended on the YoCream high and then back to Eugene. Need ed to get out out town..check. Good food...check. Spirit of Adventure...check. Relaxation...check. Recharge batteries...check. Well, you get the point, we checked off all our needs. This translates to...an excellent weekend!
As always, photos for your viewing pleasure on Flickr. The sneak peek picture below is along the Vancouver Waterfront.
Vancouver Waterfront
