Apparently I make good bait...

One of the things I always loved about going to college in the Hudson Valley was autumn. The colors of the trees all over campus and along the Hudson River were breathtaking, and I've dearly missed Vassar this time of year ever since. Southern California has her fair share of positive attributes, but fall in Los Angeles just can't compete with the rest of the country. Which brings me to Portland! Who knew this city has such a beautiful autumn?! The trees outside my office building are as vibrant as the ones outside Rockefeller Hall! So in celebration of my favorite season I've been on a hunt to discover the best of Portland's autumnal offerings. I'll share with you what I've found so far:

Fall Must-Do #1: The Haunted Corn Maize on Sauvie Island

Friday night Jeremy and I went with our friends Dani and Jared out to Sauvie Island for a little Halloween fun. Every year they put on a Haunted Corn Maze throughout the month of October. Tickets to enter cost $10/person and plan to wait in quite a long line to buy your ticket and then enter into the maze. BUT it is totally worth the wait. The maze takes about 20 minutes to walk through and it lives up to the hype. There are dozens of haunts waiting from behind the wall of corn and the maze is elaborately decked out to be incredibly spooky and thoroughly terrifying. Jeremy may try to tell you he wasn't scared, but the truth is...after about the third zombie jumped out from the corn...he was yelling, "Take her, take her!" Yup...my boyfriend used me as bait. Perfect.

This is a great activity to do near Portland in the fall. To get directions or find out more information just click here.

And here we are at the Maize:

Fall Must-Do #2: The Hood River Fruit Loop

A co-worker of mine came into work last week and told me all about the great time she had apple picking out in Hood River the weekend before. Being a total sucker for this type of thing, I thought it would be the perfect outing for me to do with my parents the following weekend! So that's what we did. A couple weekends back my parents and I spent a beautiful day driving out to Hood River and exploring the "Fruit Loop". The Fruit Loop is a 35-mile drive through the valley near Mt. Hood. Full of orchards, fruit stands, lavender fields, and wineries...it doesn't get much better than this. The best part about this outing is it's versatility. If you have kids there are adorable farms with pumpkin patches, but if it's just you and your friends or a date there are great barbecue joints, country stores, and roadside stands selling the best produce the valley has to offer. My personal favorite was a stop along the loop called Cody's. They had the most delicious apple cider and a wide selection of produce.

I highly recommend this drive, the views of Mt. Hood all along the way are spectacular. Although keep in mind, most of the farms start to close up shop around the end of October. The next time I head out there will hopefully be for a train ride on the Mt. Hood Railroad. They have a Christmas Tree Train!

For a map of the Fruit Loop and additional information click here.