Well, I did it. I finished graduate school.
I’ll spare you a bunch of photos of me in a graduation gown because (1) I’m not very photogenic, and (2) all photos taken of me on this day involved me sweating and squinting into the blazing sunshine. #memories
But after the fastest year of my life, I officially have a Master of Science in Nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine, so if anyone needs a nutritionist, I’m your gal. (Feel free to ignore the doughnut photo in this post.)
Anywho, my parents came all the way from Kentucky to watch me walk across the stage (and probably hold in a lot of giggles about the drum circle and all other very hippie activities that took place at this vegetable school graduation). They spent the next week with us in Portland, so we took them to do lots of fun touristy things.
The International Rose Test Garden– No matter how many times I go, it’s always amazing. And it smells like a sweet, sweet dream. Everything was blooming like crazy at the end of June/beginning of July, so it seems like I picked the perfect weekend to graduate.
Pip’s Original Doughnuts– No brainer. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that I spend about 50% of my time talking about doughnuts. Pip’s are the best, and I will take every single visitor there until the end of time. (We may or may not have eaten breakfast there on the day of my nutrition school graduation.)
LeChon– My parents let me pick any restaurant I wanted for a celebratory dinner, and LeChon was my choice. I have no photos of the food, but this was the view from our table, so you can munch on that instead.
Cannon Beach– As I’ve mentioned in every post about the coast, Eric and I are not really beach people, but it’s hardly worth traveling all the way to the west coast and not actually visiting the ocean. So we braved the wind (my least favorite weather condition) and crowds and filled our new car with sand.
The Historic Columbia River Highway– This is always on our tourist list, as well. We started the day freakishly early in hopes of beating all of the crowds and actually getting to see all of the waterfalls. We succeeded until we got to Multnomah Falls, where my dad and I just sat in traffic while my mom went to see the waterfall. There are a few super short hikes you can do to see some waterfalls off of the road (if you are lucky enough to snag a parking spot).
Hood River and the Fruit Loop– Hood River was my first Oregon love (you can read about it and my 2011 impression of Portland here), so I’m always happy to return. We watched kite boarders and wind surfers on the river after lunch at Solstice, before heading out to the fruit loop for views of the mountains and general farm happiness. I was the lone navigator on this trip (Eric had to work), and I’m pleased to report I only made about 4 wrong turns. Must be my master’s degree at work.
Sauvie Island– Most of our time in Portland’s little agricultural paradise is spent cycling, but we took my parents there for berry picking (Blue Bee Farms was a delight) and 4th of July at the beach.
Cathedral Park– Forever my favorite park under a bridge. Perfect for picnicking.
Big shoutout to my parents for coming all this way and not complaining about all of the vegetables I kept forcing upon them (see? nutritionist at work).
-Ally
Betsy Ringer says
So glad you had a great time! I know you were exhausted but it looks like you did a fantastic job giving them some great experiences!! See you soon!!
Cecilia Head says
Ally, many congratulations!
Cecilia