We spent my first Mother’s Day weekend in the PNW with my parents, my brother, and his family. My parent’s and I flew down to Portland, OR with Sage and then met up with my brother, his wife, and my nephew Brio in Troutdale, just outside of Portland, where my mom had rented us an Airbnb for 3 days. My parent’s really wanted the cousins, Brio and Sage to meet, and my brother wanted to see Sage while he was still teeny tiny. We actually ended up having so much fun exploring the Troutdale area! Schyler (Sage’s dad), and I had lived in Portland for 5 years and I hadn’t really been back since, so it was cool (and bittersweet) to go back there with Sage. Afterwards, Sage and I drove up to Eastern Washington to visit Schyler for a week before heading back to Phoenix. In this blog post, I am sharing everything we did during our PNW trip!

What We Did

The Grotto

On Sunday for Mother’s Day, my brother made us all a classic American breakfast and afterwards we drove into Portland to attend a Catholic mass outdoors at The Grotto. None of us had ever been there and it was actually the first weekend they were doing mass outdoors which was really cool! The forest setting is absolutely gorgeous and there are beautiful flowers to look at everywhere. After the service, we bought tickets and took the elevator up to the top of the cliff to explore the gardens up there. It was such a cool way to spend Mother’s Day. We had an early Mother’s Day lunch at the famous McMenamin’s Edgefield in Troutdale afterwards!

Address: 8840 NE Skidmore St, Portland, OR 97220

Columbia River Highway

Saturday morning we drove down to the Sandy River to sit next to the waterfront and enjoy some Vitamin D. We were lucky because it was the first week of sun after weeks of rain! My mom had grabbed me a latte from Rivertrails in downtown Troutdale which I enjoyed during our time there. The area there at the base of Mt. Hood is beautiful with the evergreen trees and sandy banks next to the river. Many other families had the same idea as us but lucky for us we got there just early enough to get a good spot for a few hours before heading back to our Airbnb for a rest before lunch.

Where We Ate

Sugarpine

Sugarpine Drive In is located right next to the Sandy River park where we spent Saturday morning. They were just opening up when we arrived and we decided to return later that day for ice cream after exploring downtown Troutdale. My mom snapped a few photos of Sage and I in front of this adorable mural outside of Sugarpine. It’s a very popular spot, they had a huge line when we returned in the late afternoon before closing and there was even a line in the morning!

Address: 1208 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060

Downtown Troutdale

We loved exploring in downtown Troutdale! For those that are from the PNW or are familiar with it, it’s super similar to Hood River, a very popular town just a little further down the Columbia River Highway. There are several cute restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, and art galleries to check out which we did Saturday and Sunday afternoon. In the next section I highlight the boutiques we shopped at!

Where We Shopped

Indulgent Blooms

We popped in to this adorable flower shop and home decor boutique, Indulgent Blooms, after lunch at Rivertrails (photgraphed below). I loved all the plants, flowers, and vases displayed. They were making bouquets for Mother’s Day, which was the next day, and I also noticed that they do florals for weddings and other similar events in the area. It’s a cute spot to check out and maybe pick up a bouquet for a loved one or yourself!

Address: 345 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060

Celebrate Me Home

I absolutely loved this spot! Celebrate Me Home is a home decor shop with a cafe inside as well and there is even a downstairs where they do wine tasting. The cafe is Rivertrails, where my mom had grabbed my coffee Saturday morning. They have gorgeous furniture, home decor/goods, and an upstairs level dedicated to baby and children’s lifestyle items. Everything was so cute!

Address: 319 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060

Rivertrails

Rivertrails is the cafe located inside of Celebrate Me Home. This is where my mom picked up a coffee for me on our way to spend the morning at the Sandy River. Later that Saturday, we stopped there to have lunch before exploring downtown. They offer all kinds of great sandwiches, salads, and espresso. It was the perfect spot for an afternoon lunch!

Address: 319 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060

Good Coffee

I lived in Portland, OR with Sage’s dad Schyler for 5 years and Good Coffee was definitely one of my favorites! They have several locations across Portland but I had no idea that there headquarters was actually in Troutdale. I was very excited to check it out since we didn’t get the chance to go much further into the city than North Portland. The location was beautiful, just like all the others, and my latte was the perfect treat before our 3 hour drive to Tri-Cities, WA for our week long visit with Schyler.

Address: 336 E Historic Columbia River Hwy, Troutdale, OR 97060

McMenamins Edgefield

McMenamins is a popular franchise with locations all over the Portland area. They have restored many old, historic buildings like Edgefield, which was the county poor farm built in 1911. It is now a hotel, spa, and music venue with several restaurants and even a winery! I had always wanted to check out this spot with Schyler but we never got the chance to make the drive. My mom had also heard about it and wanted to check it out, so we decided to visit for Mother’s Day lunch after our morning mass at The Grotto. The property was super cool and we enjoyed exploring there for the afternoon.

Address: 2126 SW Halsey St, Troutdale, OR 97060

What We Wore

XOXO