Portland

          On the way from Seattle to Portland Charlie and I stopped at the Mt. Saint Helens visitor center and did some exploring.  It was cool and I took Charlie on a walk through the marshes.  Sadly we did not get to see the movie which apparently is spectacular so that was disappointing but survivable.  When we made it to Carter and Jenny’s I realized right away that they have my ideal home.  They have a lovely elevated home with a full view of the city and a back yard filled with plants and a garden growing tomatoes, squash, and apples;     

not big enough to mow, but large enough for Charlie to snoop around.  Carter made us all dinner and we called it a day around 10pm.  My Aunt Jenny is a Doctor at Emanuel Hospital in Portland, my Uncle Carter is builds electric street cars in the city, and my Cousin Jack works for 2 political campaigns which all makes for fabulous dinner conversation and I found myself wondering if Portland could be the place for me....                 

            The next morning Jack, Jenny, and I went to a restaurant for breakfast called Slappy-Cakes….coolest…thing….ever!! Each table has a large griddle in the center where, are you ready for this, cook your own pancakes!!! A variety of batters are available, including a gluten free option although we chose a whole grain batter and a whole menu of  toppings as well (we picked bananas, blueberries, walnuts, and chocolate chips).  It was a very fun and family friendly atmosphere and the staff was very great.  Post breakfast, everyone went to work and I went to yoga which was lovely, then Charlie and I tried to go for a bike ride. I say tried because unfortunately we had to abandon the endeavour after we lost rear braking power.  So instead we came home and made an apple blueberry crisp with fresh apples from the garden.  That evening we went to an informational gathering of sorts where we heard a woman from an organization called Pathfinder speak about the empowerment of women across the globe.  It was super interesting and I think I am going to do a bit more research on the group and see how they operate.

            Early the nest morning (Wednesday) I caught a ride downtown with Jack and made laps around the city.  I have to say despite the rather large homeless population and distinct smell of urine in some areas, I much prefer Portland’s city center to that of Seattle.  It is much more manageable and feels more like a hoard of small towns smashed together rather than a buzzing metropolis.  My first stop was a Whole Foods Market on Burnside where I wandered the isles and let the delicious organicness soak into my pours.  After getting my grocery store fix, I headed to Powell’s Books, and let me tell you, had I not been forced to leave to keep a lunch date with Carter, I may still be there.  It is a positively enormous bookstore with cement floors and shelves far to high to reach.  It blows Barnes and Noble right out of the water.  I bought two books and considered myself mostly unscathed seeing as when I got to the check out line, I had about twelve in my arms.  I settled on a cookbook and another book about food that I have been looking for since June. 

            After Powell’s I met Carter at his office and we went to lunch at a place called the West Café (soups and sandwiches and such) and he took me to the downtown farmers market. Two Tarts Bakery is a local shop that specializes in tiny cookies and everything mini. It was adorable and I tried two delectable treats before I cut myself off.  They were to die…of coarse.  When Carter went back to work I headed to REI to find a raincoat then to Pearl Bakery for fresh olive chibatta loaves (for the next day) and to Love Joy Bakers for a snack and wandered the city everywhere in between.

            By the time Jack came to retrieve me after work I was exhausted!! We only had a moment of downtime before being whisked off to a marvelous dinner at a Greek restaurant called Alexis.  I had never really had authentic Greek food before and now I am totally hooked.  It’s a bit heavy, but so so good.  We followed dinner with a play downtown called Sweeny Todd.  It was the coolest production I have ever seen although very dark and creepy.  The costumes and scene setup was right on the money and man can those actors sing!! I love watching people do what I am incapable of and honestly, those men and women are truly talented. That isn’t something I would get to do very often and I feel truly privileged to have the opportunity. Thanks Carter and Jenny!!!

            After such a hip day in the city, it seemed only fitting that the following day should be spend in the woods.  Charlie and I drove the shot distance outside Portland to Forrest Park where we went for a 6 mile hike on the Leif Erikson Trail.  I was very proud because I drove there and back with no GPS and never got lost AND because Charlie walked the whole way on the trail.  Forrest Park is a bit like Snow White’s Enchanted Forrest.  It is damp and drizzly and foggy and it seems the trees could come alive at any moment and snatch you up! If it were not for the numerous other hikers and bikers, it would almost seem eerie. After our hike I had a quite relaxing afternoon followed by a tasty home cooked meal.

            The next morning I said my good byes to Carter and Jack before Jenny and I loaded up the cars and headed to their cabin on the Oregon Coast in a tiny fishing town called Manzanita.