.photo headboard.

Dave and I don't have a traditional headboard...we have one made out of photos. To me it was the simple way to add a little depth without all the cost. Plus, now we get to sleep underneath all of the adventures we have had together!

I used painter's tape to put them up on the wall, which will make it easier to switch up if needed. This is what it looks like from a far, and now here are some of the photos close up!

.London. 

.Great Falls, VA.

.Bermuda.

.New York City.

.Nepal.

.WhitSundays, Australia. 

.Badlands.

.Artist Point, Yellowstone. 

.Yellowstone.

.Melbourne, Australia. 

.Cannon Beach, OR.

.Assateague Island, VA.

I love looking at all the adventures Dave and I have taken since we have been together. I feel  blessed that I have found a partner who loves to travel and see this big world with me. We have already seen a lot in our 8 years together but we got a whole lot more to see!

Mt. Hood Scenic Railroad

One of my goals this month was to explore at least three different things in Portland/ Oregon. I didn't waste any time by jumping on the good ole fashion railroad to take in the scenic Hood River area located in the Columbia Gorge.  Dave and I drove an hour in the rain to get to Hood River and board the train. The whole drive there, I was nervous it was going to rain all day long and put a damper on our adventure. However, in good old Oregon fashion the sun came out and shined during the excursion and started to rain again when we got back to our car!

.i love the colors of the train cars. 

The cars we traveled in were mostly from the 1920s - 1940s. You could turn the seats to face others or have some privacy, which was nice (and reminded me of train we would take from Newcastle to Sydney, Australia). You could also walk between cars and get yourself a snack or beverage, if you didn't bring one with you. 

We rode the train for 1.5 hours to the small town of Parkdale, OR. Parkdale is located only 40 miles from the base of Mt. Hood and I'm sure its a sight to see on a clear day. On the way to Parkdale we saw orchard after orchard, making my mouth water thinking of all the delicious fruit this summer. I can't wait to do the Fruit Loop!! The conductor of the train taught us how farmers kept their orchards from frosting over as well as knowing the difference between cherry trees and pear trees (pair trees have rough bark, cherry trees have smooth). AND around 80% of the orchards in the Columbia Gorge are pear!

When we arrived in Parkdale we explored the orchard before grabbing some lunch. After the rain we truly enjoyed walking around the small town in the chilly spring air. We took our time taking pictures everywhere in town before grabbing lunch from the local grocery store. We found the perfect spot to relax and eat before the train blew it's whistle for us to board again. 

All in all we had a fabulous day on the railroad, taking pictures, and having a quick little adventure. Plus the drive from Portland to Hood River is beautiful in itself. We went in early April before spring had officially sprung, I recommend for others to wait until middle of April or later so you have more color outside your train window. 

Dave and I got our tickets through Groupon, but you can also find more information on the Mt. Hood Railroad website. 

.Oregon Coast - Part 2.

Please enjoy some more photos of our quick trip to the Oregon Coast in December! I honestly can't wait to go and take all my friends who visit me to the coast. Coming from a land lock state that is filled with over 10,000 lakes, it still has nothing like the ocean (even though Lake Superior comes pretty close). I will always hear the ocean call my name and am happy to answer the call from time to time. 

(PSSSTTTTTTT....you can view Part 1, first..if you want..or after..whichever)

.when you see a turn off with a great view, you HAVE to pull over and 

place your bulldog in front of the view for a picture!! It's a MUST!!!.

.Pacific City, Oregon. 

This little gem was hidden off the main road. When driving down the highway we saw a scenic highway sign and took a sudden turn without thinking. The road lead us to a very small town, we turned down some really small roads and landed in this beautiful spot. We climbed a sandy hill, ran through the tall grass, and enjoyed the view that we had all to ourselves. 

.Rockaway Beach, Oregon. 

.Hug Point. 

(yes, we did hug...of course)

.Cannon Beach, Oregon. 

Have you seen The Goonies ( Hey you guuyyyyysssssss!!!!)? Well, if you have then you have seen Cannon Beach and you would love it as much as you love the movie!!! I truly wish we would have arrived earlier and spent more time at Cannon Beach, but I guess making it in time for the sunset is just as wonderful! Dave and I first pulled into a viewing spot, got out, pulled the end scene of The Goonies up on our iphones....and then realized we were on the wrong side of the rock! So into the car we went to try and get on the correct side because I HAD to see it just like in the movie. I don't know why I had to but I just did! 

Most of our stops along the coast, Dave and I had to ourselves. It was so peaceful, beautiful, and relaxing to take little breaks staring out into the ocean. The only spots we encountered a lot of other tourists were Hug Point and Cannon Beach.  Even though they had lots of tourists, I would go back to both places to explore more. The coast is only 1 hour 30 min. away from Portland, so if you are in the area make sure you take a day to explore! I know we will be making many trips this summer, answering those calls of the ocean whenever them ring us come!

.Oregon Coast - Part 1.

GUESS WHAT!  If you didn't know, Dave and I moved to Portland, Oregon!!! Yep, we packed up our place in Minneapolis at the end of December and drove out west. Can I just tell you something, between you and me, I freakin LOVE it here! Don't worry, I will be sharing with you all of our adventure and exploring our new city.

Before we landed in Portland, we spent our holiday on the Oregon Coast, exploring while we waited for our apartment to be available. We haven't been to the ocean since living in Australia, we were LOOOONNNGGG overdue. If it wasn't December Dave and I would have ran into the ocean to give it a kiss, hello!  We spent the next day and half driving north up the coast, pulling over to look at the wonderful views, and enjoying the peace that the ocean has to offer you.

. We arrived in Lincoln City, OR just in time to watch the sunset on the beach on Christmas Eve. 

.Neskowin Beach, Oregon.

This was our first stop on Christmas morning, we randomly pulled over and found this beautiful spot. What was so interesting about this location was the "river" of water that lead from the ocean into the bank. Also if you can see in the bottom picture, the ocean water rushed around the rock formation creating a river and met up with the ocean again on the other side. There were small currents and you could see the erosion from where the sand once measured. We walked around the area for a while, getting closer looks at the landscape, watching dogs and their owners play fetch, and dreaming about owning one of the houses with a view. It was a great first stop on our day full of adventure.