A Trip Down the Willamette

Our next excursion was brunch on the Willamette (pronounced Will-am-et). The Portland Spirit offers cruises down the rivers in Portland and I thought it would be a great way to show the family our new city. We'd wanted to take the cruise to the Columbia River Gorge but it was an hour-long drive each way to get to the shipping off point. We opted for a brunch cruise down the Willamette instead.

It was a fun trip but it turns out that Portland isn't very scenic from the river. We enjoyed each other's company over delicious food and fun environment. We walked out onto the deck to take in the view and my sister and dad even got to steer the boat!

My mom and sister taking in the Willamette before our cruise.

My sister steering the boat!

My mom and I love old houses so Brandt and I took my family up to the Pittock Mansion. It was built in 1914 for one of the influential families in town. It fell into disrepair but is now under city management and restored to it's 1900's beauty.

This is the first glimpse of the mansion as you drive up.

This is the real front of the mansion but it faces the city/river
and you have to walk around the building to get there.

Brandt taking in the view of Portland.

Our next stop was the Nob Hill district on NW 23rd. Ice Cream is my favorite so I took my parents and sister to Salt and Straw (second time I took my sister this trip). We walked around and did a bit of shopping, including glasses for my parents.

They have a seasonal menu and
of course I'm a fan of October's.

We called it an early evening because our next adventure was up to Mount Hood in the morning!