Portland - Day 6

Our final day was spent first by going to the Saturday Market. What a crowded affair that was! Erin bought some stained glass earrings, which unfortunately, she managed to lose one on the flight home the next day. Other than that it was time for me to try a Rogue Ale and simply admire the many crafts and street performers. While there I was describing to Phil the glorious invention of the Brits, the scotch egg. We happened to find an English pub that was serving scotch eggs for their brunch. Sadly, while they were tasty, they paled in comparison to the ones on the other side the Atlantic and they failed to serve it with Coleman's mustard.

After that we did a little window shopping on Hawthorne street before going to Echo Theater to see "Let's Play", a local version of something akin to Cirque Du Soleil. The show however began with a puppet show aimed at many of the children in the audience and I began to scowl at spending our last night like this. Phil and Erin conspired with the performers to get me onto the stage to sing "Bom Bom", as pictured to the left. But, after the children's show ended their ten minute performance the rest of the show was populated by acrobatics and a bit of comedy. While the comedy was aimed at the many children in the audience, the show was very enjoyable to watch. After the show we headed home and hung out for a bit before going to bed as our flight demanded we leave Phil's house at 5 the next morning. Erin and I woke up at 5 and nearly missed our flight! All in all, the trip to Portland was fun, but the best part was finally to get to see my brother in where he has chosen to live after many years of not getting out there.

Portland - Day 5

Sadly, this was the last day of my Mom's vacation. Actually, it wasn't the end of her vacation, though she might think her other travels less vacation than work. But, since she traveled to Thailand and Burma shortly after this trip to Portland and would be heading to England shortly after that trip in association with work I am inclined to think that this entire summer is an enormous vacation for her.

After we dropped my mom off at the airport we went to Mount Saint Helens and stopped at numerous points on the way to see the volcano from all different vantage points. It was truly spectacular and even the learning center we went to was fun and informative. We debated taking a helicopter ride over the mountain, but not too seriously as the cost was a bit prohibitive for us on our budget. Maybe the next time we will take this adventure.

After driving back we stopped in downtown Portland at Powell's Bookstore. It's size was almost overbearing. I could have spent a full day here, but spared my companions of that boredom. I picked up a couple of books after speed visiting the sections of this goliath. From there we went to another record shop and went up to Mount Tabor to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, we arrived hours before the sunset and unruly teenagers just let out from the last day of school made staying up there seem untenable for hours. We went to a food cart pod where we ate Poutine, a sweet crepe and oddly fascinating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They were not just any sandwiches, the two we had were as follows: first, there was the peanut butter with spicy thai chicken, basil, sriracha and jelly. Second, there was the peanut butter, homemade pickles and shredded pork with jelly. On top of the poutine it was impossible to finish the second sandwich and it served as my breakfast the next morning.

Portland - Day 4

Day four began with a coffee shop and a homemade poptart filled with rhubarb jam. The coffee was good and strong, the poptart, outrageous. After putzing for a bit we went back and woke Phil up and headed for lunch at Cheese and Crack, a restaurant that specialized in charcuterie with style. First, they make their own crackers and bread, which is phenomenal. Second, there presentation is topnotch. Third, it started as a food cart and evolved into a restaurant owned by a entrepreneur younger than me, inspiring. From there we went out to Sauvie Island for a little berry picking. It was pretty hot, but we ended up with quite a bucket full of berries at an incredible discount. After our little picking adventure we went back to the rental car to discover that both my mom and Erin had left their doors completely wide open. Thankfully, nothing was taken out while were picking.

This, little tidbit was only interesting because they day we had gone to Multnomah Falls my three companions freaked out when they discovered that the trunk to our rental car was open. But, it was only open because we had a rental car and I, being the primary driver, had approached another red car that I assumed was ours from a distance and popped the trunk. When I saw that a red car a few spaces down had its trunk opened by my command I realized my error and changed course. All three of my companions by this point had become aware of the open trunk and ran to check that nothing had been stolen and each scolded me for leaving the trunk open. I laughed at their reaction and told them what had happened and they responded in turn. When then, I discovered they had left not one, but two car doors completely ajar at the berry picking farm their responses were much more muted. "No big deal". "Stop freaking out". Oh, the irony! The light-hearted hypocrisy!

After berry picking we stayed on the Columbia River and had intentions of going in for a quick swim. But, it wasn't as hot after the drive so Phil and I barely waded in and we instead sipped on ales and read on the shore. We returned to Phil's home in Portland and showered and readied ourselves for Pizza at Ken's Artisan Pizza where my brother works. Delicious pizza. It is truly some of the best pizza I've had outside of Rome. After pizza we stepped into a pool hall for a game and Phil explained that he had shown some of his artwork here before.

Portland - Day 3

Day Three began with me enquiring a bagel food cart owner about the barriers to opening such an establishment. He estimated that it cost him about $40,000 to open and my ears perked up. Maybe we'll revisit that in the future. But, it was a family day and we were headed down to Corvallis to visit Erin's aunt and uncle. On the way down we stopped in Salem to poke about town and grab some lunch. We found an arcade/gastropub and enjoyed lunch and then a rousing game of four-person pacman, which I dominated. After that we headed to a winery where my mom and wife both got a tasting of five different wines. The countryside was absolutely gorgeous and the wine was pretty good. After our little Salem/Countryside jaunt we finished the day off with family in Corvallis and drove back up to Portland. But not before some excellent pizza and my first glimpse of a redwood. Very, very cool.

Portland - Day 2

Day two of Portland and Erin, my brother Phillip and my Mom went to Multnomah Waterfalls and had a little hike. The scenery was as absolutely breathtaking as the twelve switchback hike. After the descent hike we traveled back towards Portland and stopped for a picnic lunch at the Columbia River where there were some bold squirrels. Noticing that we were dining, they came right up and begged for food. After getting a couple of morsels they felt more comfortable and would eat the chips right out of hands! After a nap and a jaunt to the first of four record shops we went out to dinner at Trifecta where we had an absolutely enormous and fantastic meal. The seafood was top notch! I had this oyster slider that was out of this world. Just as a food coma was about to set in we were convinced to join the other diners at a sour beer garden where I tasted my first (and hopefully last) sour beer.

Portland - Day 1

After a long flight and layover we made it to Portland, OR!! It's a long way out, but we made it. Our first night was spent with my brother and mom. My guide (my brother) took us to a vegan place for dinner. Being someone who has no dietary restrictions to be spoke of and a bit of predilection for mocking those that have, I was nonplussed to say the least to end up at a vegan restaurant. That said, I had the best Bahn Mi sandwich in the world. Afterwards we went to a grocery store to buy wine for the night. I made a giant mess...