Oh man! I love visiting Portland every summer! Every year I come home from my travels abroad (six summers now!) and I ask myself why I leave this gorgeous place. It is hard to remember all the gray rainy days when you have blue sky and warm weather to keep you company during the summer. Maybe if my wandering feet need a rest I will come back full time, but for now, my case of wanderlust is still pretty severe so I will just stick to summer visits! 😉

Here is a look back at some of the things that I’ve done this summer that will make it really hard to leave tomorrow:

Family Time: my brothers have both moved out of the house (I can hear mom and dad saying, “Finally!”) so it is now a rare thing to have all of us home at once, but there were a couple of times this summer that I was able to hang out with everyone.

Cider Summit: I hate beer, but I sure do love a nice crisp cider in the summer. Tasting ciders from all over the PNW on the waterfront was a great way to see friends and catch up a bit.

Hot Tub Time: My lovely friends Caris and Mike have made a backyard oasis with a vegetable and flower garden surrounding their magical hot tub. Their dog Chewey kept us company too.

Backyard BBQs: When we put our minds together my friends and I can create a pretty fantastic meal. One of my favorite ways to spend a summer evening is grilling some kebabs!

Salsa Dancing: First I went dancing and participated in tons of salsa workshops at the Portland Salsa Congress, then went to salsa on the street at Last Thursday on Alberta, then Que Bola, late night dancing at Sengatera, a few stops at Casino Fridays (including an After Hours Social), some more dancing at Que Bola, and an attempt at Salsa in the Park to live music that failed because we turned up too late made for a fabulous summer of dancing!

Hikes in the Gorge: While not technically in the city of Portland, the drive to get out to Eagle Creek was only about 30 minutes, and it can frequently take 30 minutes just to get from East Portland to the West side. My favorite hike is up Multnomah Falls, but the hike through Eagle Creek was much easier and still gorgeous.

Eagle Creek with my bestie Caris and her dog Chewey

Stuffing my face Around Town: Salt and Straw ice cream is always amazing, but introducing the young’uns to it is the best. Also, you can come here and not go to the food carts! Bollywood for yummy Indian food and Chaba Thai also are a reoccurring thing for me. Screen Door, Nostrana, and divvy Boss Hawgs went down as well. I’m going to stop now….

Salt & Straw Ice Cream with Piyawan and Sophie

Oregon Beaches: My family only made it out to the beach once this summer, but it was just as lovely as it always is. We went to Lincoln City after my parents got off of work one Friday and spent the night there.  Maybe I will make a post about this cute little beach town one of these days….

Lincoln City with Mom and our pitbull Max

Cheering the Timbers: I’m not really into sports (other than dancing), but I have to say that attending a Timbers game was pretty fun! From the chanting and drums to the authentic lumberjack Timber Joey and green gas exploding everywhere, it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced!

Wine Tasting: Oregon wine is fantastic so whenever I can visit some vineyards with friends I am a pretty happy camper.  Be sure to check out what days your favorite vineyards are open because when we went on a Wednesday we missed out on a few of our favorite ones.  Good thing that there are plenty of new places opening all the time!

Long Walks: I love walking/hiking/biking through nature and so does my mom so we had to go on a few long walks this summer. I got a new Fitbit this summer so it was really fun to see an accurate look at how far I go.

Comment below: Where is your favorite place to spend your summer? What activities do you have to fit in when you get to spend some quality time with your friends and family?