Yesterday we loaded up the car with four adults and one toddler and set out to search for waterfalls. We live just a few miles west of the Vista House. If you are an Oregonian or have visited the Gorge you probably know the Vista House. It is stunning architecture and was built as basically a rest stop for the first scenic highway of the country, the Old Historic Columbia River Hwy as we call it now.

Our first stop was this awesome location. I think sometimes I take for granted what amazing views and sites we have in Oregon. It has been probably since I took Ana there when we were dating that I really stopped at the Vista House and I don’t remember us going inside. This time we did. We spent actual amounts of time there. It is really an amazing stop and I feel so lucky to live so close!

We acted like complete tourists and chatted with others and oooo-ed and ahhhh-ed with the best of em. Then we went chasing waterfalls. Because of the holiday and because of construction on the Old Hwy near Multnomah Falls, the waterfalls close by were full of holiday hikers which means crowds and zero parking. So even though we were a bit frustrated we headed further east to a park that I had read about…lots of walking could be done, stroller friendly and waterfalls in a row. Let’s go! We took a chance that we could find parking and little guy fell asleep in the car but we headed that way anyway.

We arrived to spot one parking spot and we transferred kiddo to stroller and off we went to search. We found stunning waterfalls and had such a lovely time.

After a good walk and lots of lingering in this gorgeous location we headed west to Cascade Locks to get a drink at a brewery. We enjoyed sitting outside with craft beer and a happy kiddo to eat snacks. After a while we headed back home where there was baking to be done, playing to be had, leftovers to eat and cuddling at a maximum.

This morning a friend texted, “How’s living in paradise?” This is the third or fourth text like this to me this week. I was whining a little yesterday at Ana that I was missing traveling. My parents just landed in Venice, others are traveling around and in this season of our life we need to stay close to home. But then I keep receiving texts about where we live. I exclaimed to her a little later, “but wait, we live in a vacation land where people travel to! I can’t complain at all! It is so beautiful here!” And it’s true. The work is overwhelming but amazing. The site is incredible. We are loving where we live and every day we talk about how lucky we are to live here as we walk around. Living in paradise is pretty great!

I especially can appreciate this moment in time as I looked at my Facebook memories again and notice that two years ago today, Ana and I did indeed travel to Belgrade to visit family because I was just cleared to travel after an intense set of surgeries. The travel was really hard for me. In the airport on the way after getting through security, I broke down in tears because I had hit a complete wall. My body just said, “no we wont go any further.” I remember arriving to Belgrade in pain and completely spent. We rested there and Ana was dealing with a growing belly while I was dealing with an immense recovery process. It felt like paradise there too as her parents cared for us and we watched the world, grateful for that time.

This time of life is more about enjoying these pieces and places we have come from. It is not all easy (I pray each day the little guy sleeps more) and the job is a lot but we are in such a sweet time.

How is your summer going?