Katie and I just returned from our honeymoon- rather than just post all of the photos at once (...actually I did anyway, on the home page go to 'travel...') I wanted to share a few of my favorites, along with a few words about some of our experiences.

We've been on a whirlwind for the past year- planning the wedding,  settling into a new home, and enjoying engaged life. Throughout the wedding planning we tried our best to plan all of the honeymoon details. There was so much going on that we decided on a general plan, bought the flights, one of the hotels- and would figure out everything else after the wedding... We decided right from the start that we'd take 2 weeks at home to slow down for a minute before we left on our honeymoon. Looking back, that decision was critical- not just because we hadn't really planned most of the honeymoon until those 2 weeks, but we really underestimated how much we needed those two weeks of downtime before we took off again. 

We were first talking about a road trip, starting in Colorado, weaving north up to Montana, exploring the National Parks, camping, visiting friends along the way... but we also wanted to lay on a beach, drink Tecåte Lights, and do as little as possible. As we continued to brainstorm, we decided a trip down along the Oregon and California coast would be perfect. Start in Portland, Oregon, take a few days and end in San Francisco...and then fly to Mexico. We booked the hotel in Cabo San Lucas, the flights from Boston to Portland, from San Francisco to Cabo, and Cabo back home to Boston. After the wedding, when the time came to book everything else, we decided to now book the hotel in Portland, and my brother gifted us a beautiful hotel room in San Francisco. We decided to figure out the details of the road trip itself once we got out to Portland- which turned out to be another great idea. 

​We landed in Portland, checked into our hotel, and hit the streets to explore #RIPCITY. We checked out the wares at Oregon's Finest,.. (hey...when in Rome,) and strolled over the bridge to grab a snack at some food trucks, and a beer at Fat Head's. I have a habit of finding breweries on every trip we go on. Katie doesn't mind- most of them usually have great beer, decent food- and usually good people watching. We journeyed through the city, snapped photos of street art and decided on a quick stop at Whole Foods for lunch, and a snack run for tomorrow's road trip. In the evening we got cleaned up, and made a quick visit for some sour beers at Cascade Brewing before dinner. A few vintage Krieks, and we were on our way. We then enjoyed a spectacular  rustic Italian dinner at Renata, on the recommendation and- the courtesy of (to our surprise,) our dear friend Kevin. Kevin Walsh and Chef Matt Sigler of Renata spent time working together earlier in their culinary careers- and have kept in touch since. When Kevin heard we were headed to Portland, he took care of the rest. Kevin himself just opened his first restaurant, with his wife, called Tapestry- a must-try in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston!