On the morning of Saturday, October 7th, my girlfriend Emily and I set out to JFK for a 9:30AM flight to Seattle, beginning our week-long trip to the Pacific Northwest. After landing, checking in to the hotel, and generally pulling ourselves back together, we headed out to the piers for seafood and to enjoy the unusually warm 75ºF weather. Our second (and last) stop of the day was to a martini bar in Downtown Seattle called Oliver’s Lounge, home of eight-time Seattle Martini Challenge winner “The Classic.”

The next morning, we headed to the famous Pike Place Market to explore a bit before a walking tour of the surrounding area. My breakfast consisted of one oyster shooter and a burnt honey chai because why not?

Next stop was the neighborhood of Fremont, a bit above Downtown across the Salmon Bay Waterway. We wandered around the Sunday Street Market before walking down along the water to Fremont Brewing for a flight in the sun.

The third day we tasted no less than 25 different beers. We took the bus up to Ballard, a neighborhood to the left of Fremont, where our guide had informed us you could visit 15 different breweries all within a 10-min walk of each other. We made it through five, which I think is still pretty impressive for two tiny people. My favorite brewery of those five was Reuben’s, but my favorite individual beer was Great Notion’s Edge of the Dessert.

The next morning we packed up and took the Amtrak three hours down to Portland. Our first stop upon arrival was Dehen 1920’s factory and newly launched storefront to see my friend Peter who showed us around the complex. The company has been passed through three generations and produces all its knitwear in-house with the help of a multitude of old machines from across the world. Dehen makes all of its own patterns, and at one point in time even produced cheer uniforms in addition to it moto sweaters and college cardigans.

The highlight of our entire trip, in my opinion, was a full nine-hour tour of the Oregon coast, featuring a walk through the rainforest at Indian Beach, an afternoon in the town of Canon Beach, an impressive stop at Haystack Rock, and more. I don’t have to say much about the experience, I think the photos speak for themselves.

Our final day was spent exploring the city center and buying up a couple souvenirs to take home to friends and family. We stopped by the original Voodoo Doughnut, hit up the legendary Powell’s Books, and checked out a few of the shops in Portland’s Pearl District before ending our day with a couple of cocktails at Fools & Horses. I’d say it was a pretty perfect way to end the trip before heading back to NYC the next morning.