After our fantastic visit with friends in Portland, we drove up past Seattle to catch a whale-watching boat from Anacortes. We met up with more friends from Texas and went out looking for Orcas. We saw plenty of them! The trip was so much fun that we stayed in Anacortes overnight and are ferrying the…

The Columbia River has some great floating houses, much like Sausalito, only they aren't influenced much by ocean tides. Some of these houses are unbelievable in scope and scale. Our on-the-water perspective and easy maneuverability made for a great afternoon of checking them all out.

Being on the road for a few weeks means too much great food and barely enough exercise. This morning we went back to the Columbia River for a different kind of cruise. These open water cycles are a blend between a kayak and a bicycle. No paddles, just pedals! These things really fly through the…

I've driven and flown into Portland before, but have never been by boat. The traffic was nonexistent and the views were nonstop. This was definitely the best way to see Portland!

As if the winery tour wasn't enough, for our evening entertainment we cruised up the Columbia River and the Willamette River on a friend's awesome boat.

Just south of Portland is the scenic Willamette Valley and a string of wineries. We made it to four of them. This view is from the Anna Maria winery. The whole day was picture perfect!

Biking thru wine country just didn't sound as appealing as the limo tour, and wasn't as dangerous either! No navigating, no driving, just enjoying the time with some awesome friends!

Rialto Beach is one of my favorite places. The giant driftwood makes for excellent seating and is fun to paint as well. Our weekend flew far too quickly and we parted ways with our new friends after some fantastic times painting the dramatic scenery on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

Day two of my workshop was much drier, even though we were in a rainforest. We had a blast painting amongst the giant spruce trees and all the moss and ferns.