Portland, OR

When was the last time you left the fair city of Portland? Has it been months since you left our weird city? Do you just need to get away? Here are a few places within four driving hours of Portland that are, favorite places I like to visit to just get away!

1. Mt. Hood - travel east on I-84 (may I recommend leaving either before or after rush hour so as not to start your vacation off on a frustrating note?) about two hours and reach the highest mountain in Oregon. Mt. Hood has opportunities to ski, to hike, to climb and all sorts of other outdoor activities. If you’re not into the outdoor activities, stay in Timberline lodge, an old-time type hotel and enjoy the fireplaces while eating their fabulous chili and sipping on hot cocoa (and may I recommend spiking that cocoa with Bailey’s mint chocolate?).

2. Castle Rock/Silver Lake/Mount St. Helens, Washington - spend an hour, drive north, and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll pass by Castle Rock (and Toutle) without even noticing. However, if you’re lucky enough like me, you have family friends who live at the base of Mount St. Helens on Silver Lake and they’ll let you spend the weekend with them. Being 56 miles from Johnson Creek and Coldwater Ridge on Mount St. Helens, this is a fantastic place to spend some time in the summer.

3. Seattle, Washington - about two and a half hours north on I-5, you can visit the gorgeous (and lately very wet) city of Seattle. Enjoy Pike Place Market, drink some coffee from the town that thinks they invented it, and spend some time at the aquarium petting strange feeling things!

So, if you need a quick get away, there are three different places I recommend you visit if you need to get away from our city!

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