I grew up in Oshawa, ON and there’s not much memorable there in my opinion outside of Lakeshore Park, The Oshawa Zoo and the easy commute into Toronto. It is however worth visiting the Soper Creek Animal Rescue and nearby city of Port Perry with it’s old town charm. Full disclosure: I had a friend who volunteered at Soper Creek and got me into the facility and in with the animals, you’d likely only get outside the cages if you visit officially.
We went to Portland on a whim last fall for a much needed break from the chaos of daily life. Portland is one of my favourite US cities as it’s home to forests, oceans, bridges, doughnuts, coffee shops, small batch local everything. Lots of people showcase their vibrantly coloured hair, pin collections and body modifications at all ages. The city displays signs with their slogan of “Keep Portland Weird” which is accurate and just as awesome as they are down there.
On this trip I revisited some of my favourite places in the city and finally drove through Forest Park. We detoured a little on our way home to see Cannon Beach as I’d never been to the most famous of the local beaches with Haystack views. It was a chilly, drizzly day on the beach and yet it was just beautiful. I ran into the cold ocean with my shoes on and we saved Belinda the crab from being attacked by a seagull. She looked like she was having a rough go of it.
10/10 would visit again.
Some e places I would suggest you check out if you visit the Portland area:
The Calgary Zoo is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city for good reason. I mean who doesn’t love to look at adorable animals? These are my favourites from my many trips over the years.
I’m working to eliminate the glare that unfortunately ruined a few of these shots but they were such good captures otherwise that I couldn’t help but share them.
