Escape

T.J. texted me on Thursday to let me know he found out he had off all weekend AND FRIDAY AND MONDAY!!!! The text might as well have said, "look, there's a unicorn dancing under a rainbow!!" He was about to walk into surgery so he didn't have time to discuss this wonderfulness but said "let's do something," and told me to investigate options.  He didn't care where we went, he just wanted to get out of town, escape for the weekend, leaving work and stress behind.

I jumped into action and called every dog friendly resort/hotel/rental property in Oregon and Washington. I had about 20 browsers open, I looked at Cannon Beach, I contacted the same hotel we stayed at in Columbia River Gorge, I searched the Willamette Valley wine region. Everything was booked, not surprising since it was the day before...

But finally after my eyes were blurry, and all the hotels and houses were running together,  I found a cabin on Airbnb in Mt. Hood National Forrest. We checked with our friends who were going to join us and I clicked request to book with little hope we'd be confirmed at this late notice. However, five minutes later I got the text saying we'd been approved, and the dogs too, further solidifying my love for Airbnb.

I scrambled around the rest of the night packing up groceries, and all the necessities for a relaxing mountain retreat, and the next day we were off. I rode the two and half hours with a nervous dog in my lap, worried we were going to leave him behind, and we were all so excited to pull up to our home away from home. We waited for the other couple to arrive before submerging ourselves in the hot tub and toasting to our great escape.

Saturday was for sleeping in, a yummy breakfast and a lazy morning, followed by a quick hike to a waterfall (of which Oregon has a surplus) and then settling in for Clemson football. Probably not that different from what we would have done had we stayed in town. But there's something about being somewhere new, somewhere away, that makes you feel refreshed and less guilty for staying on the couch and watching the game, reading my book, taking a nap,  because it's vacation after all.

I made pulled pork in the crock pot and later after dinner we played a board game and snacked on marshmallows, only disappointed that it was too rainy for a fire in the fire pit. The next day we took our time packing up and then drove deeper into the Mt. Hood National Forrest. We made a stop at Timberline Lodge, built at the foot of the mountain during the great depression. Living in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, like we do, made Mt. Hood seem a little on the whimpy side, but nevertheless awe inspiring in my opinion.

We grabbed lunch outside at Mt. Hood Brewing Co and then took the long way home, through our favorite Columbia River Gorge. We just couldn't be that close by and not drive through. We stopped to let the pup swim and to take it all in again. 

Honestly Oregon is just too much sometimes. There's too much to see and too many waterfalls to chase. We've now seen two of the seven wonders of this wonderful state and I just want to keep on checking them off. This was the most spontaneous vacation - planned and booked and on the road in less than 24 hours - and that made it even more special. In the past I might have said it was too last minute, and we should probably stay home, but now I've learned to just take those surprise moments we find together and GO! They are rare and beautiful. 

To rent our chalet (and to see more pics): go here
For $20 off your first stay with airbnb: go here