kristikrass

Miss You, Mich.

September 7, 2013 by kristikrass

It’s been waaaay too long since Jeff and I visited Michigan. We had an eight-month gap, last visiting at Christmas. I don’t know where the time went this year, but here we are, facing fall and coming off our first visit to our home state in 2013. We had one week in Michigan, and we quickly got down to business. We took the latest (or earliest?) red-eye I’ve ever taken – 12:55 a.m. – to Detroit to kick things off with […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: Krasses, michigan, Redicks, vacation

Dune Doggie

August 11, 2013 by kristikrass

Where in the world has the summer gone? Seriously, it’s almost September? The thought makes my chest clench up a smidge – it’s scary how quickly the time sails by. Jeff and I realized we need to get outta town and do something cool. What’s cooler than spending an impromptu weekend at the Pacific Ocean shore? (And I mean that literally: The temps at the coast are frequently in the 50s and 60s. Brr!) One other factor in the mix […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: coast, Cooper, lincoln city, pacific city, restaurants

First stop of Joey's visit: Clyde Common

Peoples in Portland

July 23, 2013 by kristikrass

Jeff and Joey “Peoples” met more than two and a half decades ago in their kindergarten class in Brighton, Michigan. Today, the two remain best buds – both West Coasters now, too – and Joey ranks high on my list of favorite people in the world, fo’ sure. Joey hopped a quick flight from Cali to PDX on Friday, July 19, and the three of us kicked off his second visit to Portland (his first trip was epic!) with our own […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: festivals, restaurants, visitors

World Domination

July 21, 2013 by kristikrass

My four-day Fourth of July weekend was unlike what most people would expect. Yes, we worked in the requisite barbecue and backyard fireworks with friends on the holiday, but then we faced three work-free, 85-degree days of leisure. Instead of escaping to Crater Lake National Park or Vancouver, British Columbia, two destinations that top our must-see list, Jeff and I stuck around PDX and attended a conference. Indoors. Focused on world domination. What the?! Um yeah, I can take credit […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: concerts, conference

Me in my festive dress (and shorts underneath) getting ready for our bike ride

Red, White and Move

July 5, 2013 by kristikrass

Happy 5th of July! Yesterday I notched probably my most active Independence Day ever, as evidenced by the impressive 6,847 NikeFuel I earned on my Nike+ FuelBand. Jeff and I kicked off the 75-degree day with a walk with Lindsay, Daniel and Cooper to the always-bustling Lovejoy Bakers in the Pearl District. True, we ate more calories than we burned with our Lovejoy Deluxe breakfast sandwiches, oozing with fried egg, blue cheese, bacon, tarragon and frisee on ciabatta, and our cream-cheesy, […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: biking, holidays

The Heat Is On

July 5, 2013 by kristikrass

I’ve been slacking on the ole blog lately. Who wants to sit inside on the computer when it’s ridiculously beautiful outside? Oh yeah, and I recently found out all my computer time probably made me a partial blinker, which is killing my meibomian glands and drying out my eyes. Swell. The result: I now need to do blink exercises, use eyedrops for a bit, and I got a $1,500 Lipiflow treatment to get those little glands pumping again. Lesson for […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: concerts, festivals, parks, work

Step and Smell the Roses

June 8, 2013 by kristikrass

Everything’s coming up roses! Portland’s nickname “City of Roses” rings especially true in June – the landscape is drenched in them right now. This area pumps out amazing specimens due to its location within the marine west coast climate region, its warm, dry summers and rainy, mild winters, and its heavy clay soils. Roses influence much of the local culture too: the Portland Trailblazers’ home court is in the Rose Garden Arena, there’s the Portland Thorns women’s pro soccer team, women duke it out […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: gardens, hikes

Trivia, Thorns, The XX

June 7, 2013 by kristikrass

Welcome to June, the best month of the year in my book. Summer creeps in, festivals start cropping up, there’s the longest, lightest day of the year and shortly before, my birthday. Bring it on, baby. Jeff and I eased into the month with a bevy of awesomely random activities. Trivia night at The Old Gold bar in North Portland – Our trivia-loving friends Felicia and Genaro (who is an actual Jeopardy champion!), Stephen and Jen, and Jeff and I […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: 23rd, eugene, games, thorns

Seattle’s Best

May 26, 2013 by kristikrass

Last weekend, the Krass family converged in Seattle – Jeff and me from Portland, Rob and Amy from Chicago, and Bob and Chris from Fountain Hills, Ariz. The visit marked the first time we were all together since Christmas, plus it spurred a milestone for Jeff and me: It was the first time we traveled via the Amtrak Cascades train along the coast. The train ride rocked. Unlike the slower-than-driving, constantly-delayed Amtrak routes that zigzag across Michigan and surrounding states, […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: coast, Krasses, market, restaurants, seattle, vacation, washington

Our Oregon Trail

Portland through the eyes of a festival-loving, dessert-feasting, travel-addicted Midwesterner.

Author Archives: kristikrass