So yesterday was the triumphant return to Davis from Portland, all 10ish hours of it, which began at about 5am. It was kind of a long day. But extremely well worth it; Portland is probably something everyone should experience.
Wednesday we finally got up to Portland at about 3am after a pretty harrowing drive through fog in the Cascade Mountains.
Woke up entirely too early Thursday to a sunny day, which was highly unexpected. Got an awesome breakfast burrito at a little café, accompanied by a great cup of coffee, and we set out to wander the city. One thing that really struck me was the extremely photogenic nature of the city. Nice parks, interesting architecture and really cool light all made me pretty aggravated that my camera was dead still from my drive up the PCH, but iPhone did a decent job of filling in.
Over the course of our wanderings, we went to Powell’s Books, the largest bookstore in the world. I believe it took up an entire city block and was cavernous. They handed out maps and the rooms were color coded, and I still felt almost constantly disoriented. We went into a tiny used bookstore as well, where I got 1000 Places to See Before You Die for $4. Perfect for plotting future trips perhaps…?
We stopped by Voodoo Doughnuts which is pretty famous, and may have given me type 2 diabetes. Their signature product is a little voodoo doll shaped doughnut that’s covered in chocolate, filled with raspberry jelly, and stabbed in the heart with a pretzel stick. By little, I mean about 8 inches tall. 8 inches of pure sugar and deliciousness.
We also went to the Deschutes brewery which I’ve never seen outside of the west coast, but they make some pretty solid beer, and their food was also fantastic for a midafternoon snack.
Friday we decided to venture outside the city center, and went to Pine State Biscuits for breakfast, which was the best decision we made the whole time. They make biscuits obviously, and then top them with fried chicken and a variety of other stuff. It was so amazing we went back to their other location with Katherine on Saturday. The first time I had a biscuit with chicken, pickles, mustard and honey, and the second had chicken, bacon, cheese and apple butter. Judge if you want, but it was incredible.
After breakfast, we drove out into the mountains to see Mt. Hood. Thank God for Wikipedia, because when I Googled “Mt. Hood” to see how tall it was, it took me to Wikipedia and the picture of the mountain was from Tranquility Lake, and the mountain perfectly reflected in the surface of the lake. Not 15 minutes after this we see signs for Tranquility Lake, and are able to virtually recreate the pictures featured on Wikipedia.
After getting back into the city, it was time to pick up Katherine from the airport and go to the Rogue Distillery and Public House, where I proceeded to drink some of the more delicious fermented beverages I’ve ever had in my life, and their food wasn’t too horrible either. The next stop of the night was the Tugboat Brew Company which, as far as I could tell, was run by one guy, and was possibly the most perfect bar I’ve ever set foot in. They had a great hard cider from Washington, great music, and a laidback vibe that made for a great end to a great evening.
Saturday we enjoyed the second Biscuit meal, did some further exploring of downtown, then headed for Washington State, a scant 15 minute drive away, and the pleasures of Vancouver, WA. There was nearly nothing to the town, save the Salmon Creek Brewing Company, which turned out to be a really nice, family run brewery and restaurant.
After fulfilling the desires of some of our party to see another state, we came back to Portland and prepared for a splurge meal at the Ringside Steakhouse, which proved to be just as delicious as we’d hoped. A trip back to Deschutes for more beer topped off the evening, and was a great way to end the trip.
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