FNN Explores the Pacific Northwest: "From plants to sand... From Koi fish to seagulls... From garden to beach..."

Days 4 & 5: Sunday, April 18 and Monday, April 19, 2010Read more entries from the Pacific Northwest Blog!

In two days we’ve experienced two different landscapes. Yesterday, we visited a Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon. To get to the garden we had to take this excessively long trail, even traveling in a circle, deviating from the correct path. UGH! It was incredibly frustrating. However, when we got to the garden, it was definitely worth it. The beauty, the smells, lack of industrial support; the place was perfect. There were plenty of aesthetic plants, even animals. I got some great pics and even better laughs. The next day, we took a bus to head, basically, you could call it a nobody town, called Cannon Beach, Oregon. We walked on the beach taking pictures and just enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of Cannon Beach. That is, until we got rained on after about 30 minutes of walking on the beach. This place is wow!

-- Maurice Williams

Day Three in paradise. What is better than getting in touch with nature and feeling the vibe of happy energy in a Japanese garden? After going off track for about 2.5 miles we made our way back to the trail and to the scenic Japanese Garden where we had the loveliest view of Mt. Hood. It’s sad that we can’t stay here for the rest of the trip but this place has left us with some good and happy memories. I <3 Portland!!!!

From the lovely city life in Portland, we travel through the mountains of Oregon and finally arrive at the beautiful Cannon Beach on the west coast after the best bus ride ever, with power outlets and a wifi connection. After multiple visits to Flickr to see pictures of Canon Beach’s haystack rock, I had a chance to take pictures of the historic landmark. Sadly, it started to rain so we were forced to retreat from the beach back to the hotel rooms, but I was chilling in the lobby and making new friends with two local girls that are from this area. Sadly, I couldn’t get a shot of it during sunset but I still got some beautiful shots of the rock and its lovely coast line. Now that I’ve made new friends here I don’t want to leave but who knows what’s next in Astoria.

-- Darin Davis

On April 18, we went to a Japanese Garden to get a better view of Mt. Hood. And we did! It was beautiful. The snow at the top of the mountain was so white and the bottom of it was so like a bluish, purplish color.

At the end of the day, we went to a street market that was like our Eastern Market in Washington, D.C. They were selling all sorts of clothes, jewelry and weird things. At the market, I got a henna tattoo that was a peace sign and Nirvana smiley face. The next day, we left Portland and went to Cannon Beach and walked along the ocean. Ms. Kaufman told us the water was cold and not to put our feet in it. But Shaquanda and I wanted to be hardheaded and did it anyway. We found out we should have listened to her. After that, we went to get some food, got into the hot tub, and chilled.

-- Courtney Shackleford

April 18 was an amazing day. We woke up a little later than usual, which was great. After breakfast we headed to Washington Park, where we hiked through the arboretum and to the Japanese Garden. The views were beautiful. Everything was so peaceful and tranquil. Afterwards we headed over to the Portland Street Fair where Courtney and I got henna tattoos and did a little shopping. Then we went to back to the hotel to have a little free time.

The next day, we rose at the crack of dawn to take a bus to Cannon Beach. I must say Cannon beach is awesome. Courtney and I went down to the water where we wrote in the sand and got our feet wet. Afterward, we went to the pool and I almost drowned. Then we went to Doogers and had a wonderful dinner. Once dinner was over we retreated to the hotel for some downtime.

-- Shaquanda Noble

April 18, 2010

*cough* *cough*

Baah! After a nice weekend of awesomeness, knowledge, people and partying, I finally get seriously hit with the same thing that I’ve been trying to avoid since the Monday before the trip…

“WAAAAHH!!! I’M SIIIIIUUUUUUUCK!!!” (I’m sick.)

So instead of seeing an awesome Japanese Garden, I’m forced to eat a Korean bowl of noodles until I feel better. Thank goodness I have friends (I’m talking to you Ms. Kaufman) who actually would pay out of pocket to make sure I’m okay. Enjoy the fun without me!

April 19, 2010

I’m back baby!! And just in time for our move from Portland to Cannon Beach!

The bus ride here was awesome, because I was able to listen to my music on the way. By the way, dreams are awesome when music is playing! I was tired when I got there, but once I settled in my room and made my way to the beach, I was wide awake. The sand was fun to play in and the photos we took were cool too.

After an awesome little photo shoot, Darin, Maurice and I retreated to our rooms to enjoy some quiet time. Time to SLEEEEEEEP!

-- Karlton Chapman

by Karlton Chapman, Darin Davis, Shaquanda Noble, Courtney Shackleford and Maurice Williams