What's Your Favorite Treat?

I had a real treat this weekend.
It was better than chocolate.

I got to spend the whole long weekend alone with my husband!
We took a trip to Portland and had a fabulous time.

We got to the car rental agency about 1:00 AM. They only had 3 cars left: a 15 passenger van, a Hummer and this Chevy Trailblazer. I probably would have picked the Hummer (especially once I saw that it was RED) but I'm sure the Trailblazer was more comfortable. John was so pleased because we got the Trailblazer for the economy car rate of $12 a day. (I must say he finds amazing deals!) In the parking garage it looked black and we were surprised the next day to find that it was actually eggplant colored. I named her "Eggie" and she was a great ride. I won't even mention the flat tire, except to say that it happened right next to a Firestone dealer, and it gave us just enough time to eat lunch at a great little Thai place while they repaired the tire.

Eggie took us to the beautiful Multnomah Falls.

We walked up to the bridge and then continued the hike up the mountain to the top of the falls.

The hike was quite steep, but we had some incredible views of the Columbia River along the way. We were surprised to see so many people brought their dogs along. One man even had his cat on a leash. Those Oregonians love their pets!

After our hike we had lunch at the lodge there. A tour group of senior citizens was having lunch at the same time. They were served a peach cobbler for dessert. It looked yummy so John asked if we could order some. The waitress said it was specially made for the group and there wasn't any available. When we finished eating the waitress came over with two cobblers in her hand and said, "Hey, I have a couple of extras. You can have them if you don't tell anyone."

Next we drove to Mount Hood. It is a volcano and they have year round skiing there because of the glacier. We had done enough hiking, so we didn't head up that mountain! They have an amazing Timberline Lodge which is a National Historic Landmark. It was built during the Great Depression as a Federal Works Project. The craftsmen did a beautiful job and everything was done onsite. The timber and stone is local and even the metal was forged there.

Here's John at Mt. Hood

The next day we went to the Portland Temple. The temple was lovely inside and out.

The flowers were gorgeous and I got a good shot of this bee about to take off!

We had a great time walking around downtown Portland. We loved the wonderful architecture and we saw both extremes in shopping. We went to the Saturday Market which is an outdoor type of bazaar with lots of dreadlocks, loud music and incense. Then we headed over to Nordstrom's where I found this great blouse for only $1395.00. (Yes, I did get the decimal point in the right place.) Oh and we saw people shopping in Nordstrom's with their very large, unleashed dogs.

The Japanese Gardens were so serene and peaceful. And their gift shop was a little more in our price range (as a bonus, there was no incense burning!)

As long as we were in the garden mode, we headed over to the Rose Test Gardens where they have hundreds of varieties of roses. They try them out and decide which ones will be sold to the public. I have never seen so many different colors or smelled so many different fragrances in a garden!

We were also able to visit my Grandpa Jerry and his wife Felicia. Felicia made us a delicious Italian dinner and Grandpa Jerry let us play with his Christmas present--a mini pinscher named Sophie. You can see her below chewing on my foot. And yes, she is a typical Oregonian pet who goes to work with my Grandpa every day.

Thanks to my sweetie for taking me on such a wonderful weekend getaway!

If you made it to the end of this long post, I have a few questions for you:
Have you ever been to Portland? What did you see there?
Which rental car would you have picked?
What is your favorite color rose?
Will you promise not to tell anyone about the peach cobbler?
Have you ever taken your dog shopping?