Road Trip Days Two & Three

We did some research and found out that it's quite a journey from Portland to San Francisco, especially if you choose to go the pretty way, which we definitely planned on, so we broke our travels up into two days.  The first day we drove from Portland to Crescent City, California which was around 7 hours along the coast.  It's so interesting to watch how the coast changes the further south you go.  The Oregon coast is almost eerie, but in a magical and beautiful way.  It's truly haunting, and you almost feel like you're in a dream standing on the cliffs above the foggy shore.  We stopped for a bite to eat in Newport, a small coastal Oregon town.  I quickly read a few Yelp reviews as we were making our way into Newport, and chose a highly-rated bayside restaurant called Local Ocean Seafoods.  Boy, were we super happy when we left that joint.  Superbly fresh fish and oysters!  It was such a treat for us, since we're both seafood fiends, and we had been wanting to try some quality west coast seafood since the start of our trip.

As you move down into California, the fog clears and you can see the bright, lively creation that is the Pacific Ocean gleaming up at you.  It reminded me of the end scene in The Little Mermaid when her father finally casts a spell to give her legs so she can become human and live on land with Prince Eric (the dreamiest prince, in my opinion).  The water is sparkling as she rises out of the water walking towards her lifelong dream and love.  A little dramatic, I know, but I just couldn't help but think of that as I looked out upon the endless blue.

The closer we got to San Francisco, the further we drove into the Redwoods and wine country, which was pretty exciting for me.  Unfortunately, it just wasn't in the time or books to make a stop there, but next time we venture out west, you can bet your booty I'll be guzzling some Napa/Sonoma Valley wines.  At one point, we literally drove right past the Coppola Winery, and I freaked out a little so I tweeted at them and they replied to me saying they waved as I passed by!  I like those folks.

West Coast Trip: Portland Day Two

Our first full day in Portland started off a little rocky as we were attempting to learn the downtown public transportation system.  I guess we wouldn't be true tourists without riding the TriMet Max rail too far and having to walk about the same distance to our destination as it would have been from our hotel.  Oh well.  Eventually, we found a good place for some breakfast bites and a latte.  And that heavenly little place happened to be The Gaufre Gourmet food cart that specializes in liege waffles with a variety of delicious toppings!  I was craving something savory so I ordered the monte cristo waffle and Jason got the biscuits & gravy waffle.  Both were crazy flavorful and just what we needed at the time.  While we were sitting on a little bench right in front of the cart, two walking tours gathered around the window for samples, so I guess we made the right choice for that meal!  

We backtracked the way we came a few blocks to check out the nerdy monstrosity that is Powell's Books.  Jason managed to find a book, or two, while I just had fun browsing the aisles and flipping through Kurt Cobain photo books.  Next up, we hopped back on the Max to Washington Park, the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden.  Both the Rose and Japanese Gardens were just as lovely as I remembered from last summer, but there weren't quite as many roses in full bloom.  It's pretty difficult to not want to stop and take pictures every few minutes because everything is so dreamy and perfect in this part of the city.  The views of downtown below the gardens are unmatched so we couldn't help but to get a few thousand pictures.

By the time we had gotten our fill of Portland nature, we were hungry (shocker)!  I was really craving some west coast seafood at this point, but we couldn't seem to find a reasonably price seafood restaurant open for lunch sooo... we found ourselves at an amusing drag queen themed diner open 24 hours called The Roxy.  All of their menu items had quirky, "tranny" names, but I'll skip the gory deets and just tell you I ordered the veggie burger with Oregon's own Tillamook cheese which was sensational!  After a greasy diner lunch, a cat nap was a desirable order for both of us so we went back to Hotel Modera to rest and refresh before continuing our adventures.  

Feeling energized and awake, we took the Max back up to the north side of downtown to check out Old Town/Chinatown.  I was really sad to learn that the 24 Hour Church of Elvis is no longer gracing the streets of Portland with its quirky presence, but I got over it when Jason and I entered Ground Kontrol, the barcade of all barcades (bar + arcade).  Picture wall-to-wall pinball machines and classic arcade games, trendy electronic music blaring, bright blue painted walls, neon lights, a full bar and movie screen.  That night, they were showing one of my favorites, The Outsiders.  In fact, the drink special of the night was even called the Out-Cider, a tasty combination of Original Sin hard cider, Apple Pucker, a splash of pineapple and topped with soda and a cherry.  I indulged in two of those babies while Jason unleashed the little boy inside until we had to go catch our bus to the east side for dinner.

Our pick for dinner was Screen Door, the top-rated Portland restaurant that's always packed and sure to be satisfying, that ironically serves homestyle southern food!  The place was indeed crowded so we were sat at the bar, which is fine by me.  It's almost more interesting up there and above the heat of bodies packed together at tiny tables on the ground.  Jason ordered the buttermilk fried chicken, which seemed to be everyone's choice because the way in which the restaurant is designed, you can see right into the kitchen where the cooks are hard at work, and there was a quite a bit of chicken coming out of there.  I decided on the Screen Door plate which was a pick & choose side dish plate.  I chose a cup of gumbo, griddle corn cakes and coleslaw.  I was very happy with everything I ordered, but Jason thought his was just OK.  

And, lastly, is there really any other way to end your time in Portland than to stuff your face with Voodoo Doughnuts?  I think not, my friends, so that's just what we did.  Bacon Maple Bars and Voodoo Dolls galore.  The end.

West Coast Trip: Portland Day One

For some reason, I only took one picture the first day we were in Portland, probably because we really didn't do too much.  We got to our hotel late in the afternoon and were pretty worn out from the drive so we relaxed for about an hour before heading to Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner and drinks with Eric and Kristen, our friends (and Jason's ex-coworkers) who now live in Portland.  The restaurant is part of a chain, which we typically aren't into, coming from Austin where local food is king, but they recommended it, and the BBQ chicken salad I ordered did not disappoint, nor did the refreshing Kolsch beer.

After dinner, the four of us walked a few blocks over to one of the many McMenamins joints, Market Street Pub, popular in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Portland.  I tried a couple of their signature cocktails - an Abandoned Ship and a Three Rocks Hemingway, both were pretty delicious.  That pretty much ends our first, short little day in Portland.  It was nice to catch up with Eric and Kristen, who are planning a wedding for this December!  So congrats to them, and congrats to you for reading this not-so-exciting recap!  I promise day two in Portland is much more interesting, and I'll definitely make up for the lack of photos.

Road Trip Day One

The start of Friday morning meant saying goodbye to beautiful Seattle and hitting the road for Portland, but not before we made a few notable stops in North Bend and Snoqualmie, where the Pilot episode and establishing shots were filmed for David Lynch's early '90s cult TV show, Twin Peaks.  Now, before I convince you to watch the show for yourself, I will be completely honest and inform you that it is absolutely not for everyone.  If you know anything about David Lynch, you probably know he's a weird one.  His style is completely unmatched, the Dali of motion pictures.  His films, and Twin Peaks, are very outlandish, but created in an impeccably classy and dreamy manner.  I am currently re-watching the show right now, because the first time Jason and I gave it a go, I lost interest halfway through the second season.  I wish I hadn't because apparently right after I stopped watching, it got super creepy and amazing.  I just started the second, and final, season for the second time, and I am loving it so far.  It's even better now that I've been to the "RR Cafe" or Twede's Cafe, as they call it in real life, and tried a "damn fine cup of coffee" and a piece of pie, albeit we tried the chocolate instead of the cherry - still delicious.  The inside of the cafe has changed quite a bit since 1991 due to remodeling after an arson incident, but it was still pretty neat to be there.  The scenery in North Bend, where Twede's is located, is breathtaking.  There is a calmness in the air that you just don't come across in most places.  After lunch, pie and coffee, we drove down the street to see the famous log in the show credits and then up to Snoqualmie to steal a glance at Salish Lodge & Spa, or The Great Northern hotel, as it's called on the show.  Post Twin Peaks geek-out session, we made the three hour drive down to Portland.  I must say, the drive from Seattle to Portland significantly beats the drive from Austin to Houston due to the unbelievable scenery....just look at those mountains and trees!