We were saddened to hear the news that Heather, Janel’s Maid of Honor and dear friend of 21 years, passed away this weekend. 

We want to express our deepest sympathy to Heathers family and to all of those who were a special part of her life.

Our prayers go out to all of you….

So my sis and I have a tradition to take a vacation together at least once a year.  It’s always a great time of exploration, awesome sights, delectable foods, new wines, and a way to put money in Citibank’s pocket.  We started with Italy (quite a starting point, I know), then NYC, Toronto, and this year good ol’ Portland, Oregon.  Eventually we’ll be perfect contestants for The Amazing Race.

If you’ve never been to Portland, it is more than worth a visit.  Amidst a handful of things I loved about the city, its clean, modern, eco-friendly feel made me want to unpack my bag and stay a while.  Of course the restaurant and wine selections alone could have made the trip for me (Oregon wines are my favorite), and boy wouldn’t it be nice to live in a big city with an ocean 1 hour west, and 12,000ft mountains 1 hour to the east.  Priceless.

So here are a few shots of good ol’ Oregon. Most of these images were shot with a Lens Baby - a lens that has been riding around in my camera bag for the past year. It was time I pulled the little guy out and gave it some face time. I have always loved old vintage cameras and once spent 6 months in Italy shooting with just a $2 plastic camera diana – forever falling in love with distorted edges and oddly focused images. The Lens Baby gives me that effect in the new digital world.

Now, on to the good stuff!

Fresh from a delectable meal of …… Mmm, mmm, mmm….

We stayed at the Ace Hotel Portland, located in the arts district (called the Pearl district to locals).  The hotel had a coffee shop inside, a hipster staff, and my favorite, the WORLDS LARGEST BOOKSTORE just a block away – that alone sealed the trip for me.  Check out the super graphic on the hotel room wall.  Made me sleep a little bit better at night.

Williamette Valley (Oregon wine country). Its easy to spend an entire day on wine tastings, and we did just that. 

Talking to the locales always gives you the best insight when making your ’don’t leave without seeing…’ list.  We had a great chat with the owners of Canoe, a great little design shop, and headed for a recommended beach.  Along the way we saw one of the filming locations of The Goonies (the rocks that lead to the pirate treasure).  Awesome, it was our childhood favorite.

Then decided to switch it up a bit and head east along the Columbia River.  Pit stopped at Multnomah Falls for the scenic view - happens to be the second largest waterfall in the country.  We then finished the day by driving up to the tree line of Mount Hood to enjoy a self-made snow cone.

Oh and of course the Marysville overlook. Being an architect, many trips are governed by the ritualistic pilgrimages to see great architecture.  This piece by a Northwest architect of Allied Works has been on my list to see for 7 years. After making my sister drive well out of our way, I got my photo and enjoyed just 5 minutes of pure architecture excitement… would have been more but they were closed. Doh!

 Signing out….

-Eric

Upon our morning paper read, we came across a pleasant surprise.  A loft Eric photographed last fall made it into the top 10 loft competition, and was published in Wednesday’s Kansas City Star.

Check it out online at: http://www.kansascity.com/ntm/story/202929.html

Be sure to give Peter Lang your vote!