See The World
Seek Adventure Travel Happy
As many of you know, Pat and I moved to the Oregon Coast this summer. Despite that, we hadn't been able to spend any time in Portland yet. It's about 4 hours away, which isn't that far, but hey, I'm a busy girl. Luckily though, I had the opportunity to go for a work conference this week. So at the end of the day, I'd take my business lady shoes off, and put my exploring boots on and set off to see what Portland was all about. I had two evenings to explore, which was not nearly enough! I was staying near the convention center which was nice because it's really close to the MAX line. MAX is super easy to use and despite that, I did get a teensy weensy bit lost. I have to get lost in about every city I go to, so I was not surprised. Lucky for me, the people of Portland are super nice. A guy on the train must have seen a confused expression on my face as I examined the transit map and helped me realize that I missed my stop, 4 stops ago, and that I was near the zoo...whoops! I finally found my destination, Powell's City of Books...it really is the size of a small city and would make even an casual reader lust over all the options. I had just texted Pat to tell him I may need a map because I might get lost there (not an exaggeration) when I found that in fact there are maps! Apparently, I wasn't the first that thought a map would come in handy! While I was there, I was meeting up with an old friend of mine, Megan, that I haven't seen in at least 15 years...crazy! Her and her husband meet me in the Pearl district for dinner. We were going to go to the Deschutes Brewery but it was sadly closed. Not to worry though, because there's a good place to eat around every corner. We just wandered a bit until we found a cool sushi place where the food goes by on a conveyer belt...a constant stream of mystery food is my kind of place! We then headed to Salt and Straw for dessert. OMG, this place is amazing! I had heard about it before due to their crazy flavors and the hype was true. They have flavors like Pear & Blue Cheese, Candied Mushroom Cap & Port, and Marionberry Bourbon & Hazelnut Fudge. I tried the blue cheese and honey and lavender. Both were amazeballs! I might have to find a reason to go more often just to try all the flavors! **Fast forward to the next night** After a day of work I wanted to head back out for more exploring. I wanted to find the iconic Portland White Stag sign (above). You can find that just a couple blocks from the Chinatown/old town train stop. It looks like a neat place to explore during the day, but at night it seemed a bit sketchy for me on my own so I high tailed it back to the train and went back to the Pearl Dist. to see if I could finally get a beer at Deschutes. The brewery had more of a family atmosphere than I expected, which wasn't bad or good, but just different. I had a quinoa and cashew burger, not because I'm going vegetarian, but because I've entered into a crazy weight loss competition with harsh penalties thanks to my "friends". I had some ice cream guilt and thusly I was skipping my go to fattier options. It was good though. I did splurge (I was at a brewery after all) and had an oyster flavored beer. Yep, you read that right. It as the "Smoking on the Dock", (menu below). It wasn't as fishy tasting as I thought it would be. In fact it was really good. I love trying odd things that you can't find everywhere! What I found from just a short time in Portland is that it's just like you'd expect and yet nothing like you'd expect. It's a big city, so there is poverty, but the people are amazingly friendly. There's weird food, but it's delicious! It seems like there's something different coming out of Portland all the time. By the time I make it back again there's going to be a dozen new great places to try. I'm pretty sure it would be impossible to be board during a trip to Portland. So put on your boots, flannel shirt, and bring your appetite and an open mind.
Happy Travels! Skeeter
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Skeeter
Hi there! I'm Skeeter. I grew up moving a lot and that makes me a bit restless for travel and exploration. I started this blog with my husband Pat when we decided to backpack New Zealand for a year. We are always looking for the next adventure and are loving life. We're just your average couple with two sassy dogs and a love for travel. We're sharing our travels and the tips we pick up along the way. LIZHello! I'm Liz. Blogging is very new to me, but I'm so excited to finally write as much as I talk! Archives
December 2016
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