Our Oregon Trail

A 7-Minute History of Our Oregon Adventure

November 6, 2014 by kristikrass

What a better way to cap off “Our Oregon Trail” than the awesome video that our best buds Lindsay and Daniel created for us. They painstakingly waded through all of the pictures on this site and picked some of the best moments from Jeff’s and my 3.5 years in Portland. They also incorporated some phrases that have popped up in my posts. It was so sweet of them to make this for us, but that’s just the kind of friends they are! […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: video

PDX in the Rearview

November 6, 2014 by kristikrass

I can’t believe it’s been five months since Jeff, Cooper and I pulled away from our empty Portland apartment and drove across the country to our new home in Grand Rapids, Mich. What?! Five months! That’s almost half of a year! Time flies by achingly fast. It’s so strange to flip from one life — apartment living in a big(ish) city, hanging out with the loveliest mix of friends, both working at Nike, super liberal environment — to another life entirely, with […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: Cooper, michigan, mountains, vacation

Goodbye for Now, Oregon Coast

May 26, 2014 by kristikrass

Jeff and I are moving. Let’s just throw it out there, otherwise it’d be the big white elephant in this post. We made the (super hard) decision to leave our beloved Portland, leave our rad Nike jobs, leave our amazing West Coast friends, and embark on a new adventure in Grand Rapids, Mich., starting next month. I’m in a state of mild shock, I believe, despite the mountain of moving boxes that have accumulated in our apartment, and despite the fact […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: coast, Cooper, vacation

Football-mania in Madrid

April 27, 2014 by kristikrass

I’m kicking myself once more. After spending a handful of days in breathtaking Barcelona last month and returning with barely any photos to show for it, I swore I’d snap more shots when I visited Madrid on April 21-26. How can I go anywhere in Europe – which I love to pieces and firmly feel like everyone should get a chance to visit – and not take a million pics of the sights? Especially in the hometown of my old Brussels-based […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: spain, work

Hiking the Horsetail

April 20, 2014 by kristikrass

When Jeff and I asked Lindsay and Daniel to join us on a day trip to Hood River to use our soon-to-expire $50 Full Sail Brewing gift certificate, they had two great suggestions: start with a hike in the Columbia River Gorge, and grab a taco pie at Pietro’s Pizza. Done and done! We began the drizzly Saturday before Easter at the Horsetail Falls Loop Hike, which might be my new favorite Oregon hike. Park the car, and boom: already treated to the trail’s namesake falls. Don’t even […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: gorge, hikes, hood river, restaurants

A Doggie Decade

April 10, 2014 by kristikrass

Happy 10th birthday, Cooper! Double-digits. He made it. One year ago I thought he’d never see this day. He’s rockin’ it, still cheerful, still chomping down on lots of meds and expensive grain-free grub every day, but overall he’s pretty darn healthy. He’s also a happy camper since he got two walks today and a surprise birthday package from his human and kitty buddies across the hall. I must say, he looks especially fluffy (euphemism for “getting a little chubby”) in these pics because […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: Cooper, holidays

A Leisurely Walk Through PDX

March 29, 2014 by kristikrass

It was March 23. Clear blue skies, sunny with a high of 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Jeff was gone for the day, shredding down Mt. Hood, squeezing in one more snowboarding session this season. Me, I used the quiet Sunday for my favorite Portland activity: strolling (admittedly, to food and drink spots). Have I mentioned how much I adore the walkability of PDX? 🙂 This time around, I knew I’d be gone for hours and popping in and out of places, so unfortunately Cooper couldn’t tag along. (Yes, Coop […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: restaurants

‘Zona, ‘Lona and Home

March 16, 2014 by kristikrass

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Jeff and I spent a long weekend in Arizona with the Krass fam, I buzzed through Barcelona for a work trip, and now we’re back in PDX, where spring is just blowing up. This place is flower-rama, pollen and spores and all kind of things billowing into the air. Apparently, according to the ear, nose and throat doc I visited last week, I’ve developed allergies during my last three years in this […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: arizona, Krasses, spain, work

Let it snow! Hiking to 23rd Street on Thursday evening

Snowlandia 2014

February 10, 2014 by kristikrass

This past weekend, I witnessed the city of Portland turn into crazytown. People swarmed the streets, corporations shut down, iPhones blared emergency alarms, and public transportation ground to a halt. Winter finally hit the City of Roses. Three storms swept through the Portland metro area last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and they dumped inches of snow and ice in their paths. What’s so unusual about a little winter precipitation, you say? First, Portland rarely gets this kind of weather. Jeff […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: breweries, snowstorm