I’ve written before about why we decided to go on a road trip to Portland right after our wedding and delay our big honeymoon until next year. So I won’t get into all that again. Suffice it to say, it was a great idea and we loved our week long trip up and down the west coast. I wanted to share how we did it and a few of our highlights.
Map It Out // The little pink dots on the map above are a pretty accurate portrayal of our route. I made a custom map in Google Maps with our starting point and all our stops along the way. If you’ve never done this before it’s really easy. Go to maps.google.com and click “My Places” then hit “Create Map”. You insert your addresses and move your route as you wish. You can also share the map with others and if you have the Google Maps app on your phone, you can access all that info anywhere. Pretty nifty.
Big Sur // M had never been to Big Sur. He had never actually been past San Francisco, and when he went there he either flew or took “the 5″ the whole way up. Well, if you’re like him, you are missing some amazing views. Sure, head up the highway most of the way, but cut over to Big Sur so you won’t miss one of the country’s most beautiful sights. We were so glad we did. While you’re at it, make a dinner reservation for the Restaurant at Ventana. Their $70 per person seasonal menu was one of our favorite meals.
Mount Shasta // A charming mountain community, Mount Shasta is right at the border of California and Oregon which makes it a perfect stop. I loved that our drive that day took us from the ocean, through the heartland and up into the mountains. Fun fact: Mount Shasta is an active volcano!
Portland // We loved our 3 days in this vibrant city. I’ll post a full PDX recap later, but some of our highlights were a rooftop movie night showing of Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Adventure, a Soap Box Derby down a mountain, and M getting “inked” with my initial on his wedding ring finger. When in Portland… get a tattoo? I guess so!
Photos taken from my very active Instagram
