Friday

Thursday night we actually went through a snow storm-what a kick!

Arrived on time in SB and then walked half a block to meet friends for happy hour before walking to the harbor to pick up our car.

We'll be picking up Liliana tomorrow morning at 10.  Hope it all went well with her this week. 

You can just see the snow.   We were going at a good clip. 

Happy Hour at Eladio's

Thursday

Too funny!  As we were driving down the street to return the car we passed a pink building with a bright pink fence.   Screech!  U-turn!  We had found Voodoo Doughnuts Two!!  Of course we had to have a coffee and a doughnut.

We have certainly lucked out with weather.   Today it has been raining quite steadily but since all we were going to do was go to the train station, it really doesn't matter.

So we're on our way home now having had a good exploration of Portland.

Wednesday

Back downtown to explore some more.  First order of business was to find Voodoo Doughnuts, known for its unusual doughnuts and pink boxes that feature illustrations of voodoo priests.  Yum Yum!!

Then on to check out just a few of the many, many art exhibits throughout the city.

 Zoobomb bikers monument.  Zoobomb is a weekly bicycling activity.

 Bronze elephant sculpture reproduction of Shang dynasty elephants

"Transcendence"  Salmon swimming through a building

Portlandia statue is a classical allegorical figure representing the spirit of Portland

Bested only by the Statue of Liberty, the Portlandia Statue is the largest copper repoussé sculpture in the United States

We had to wander through Powell's City of Books, which is billed as the largest used and new bookstore in the world, occupying an entire city block and housing approximately one million books.

Just a small section of one of nine rooms

Everywhere you go there are food trucks serving lots of food we've never heard of.  Very colorful and the smells as you walk along are incredible!

Tuesday

After breakfast we had a nice long walk through the neighborhoods around our hotel.

This statue was across the street and looked so interesting we had to check it out.

Happy Hour from 7 am to 9 am??  Really??

Earl and Geri came to the hotel and we had lunch next door.  Then we were off!  Earl drove us around and showed us some wonderful spots in Portland as well as a quick trip to Vancouver, Washington to get some turtle mints and lemongrass logenzes (only Earl and Geri will understand).  Back in Portland we spent some time visiting the Japanese Garden which was just lovely.

We stopped in at McMenamins in Wilsonville for drinks and appetizers.  This place handcrafts their own beer and has a great relaxed ambiance.  Earl and Geri will be moving to Wilsonville in the next month.

It's been a terrific day and we so enjoyed our travels around Portland.  We lucked out as it was supposed to start raining mid to late afternoon but it actually held off until we were coming back to the hotel!  Yay!!

Monday

Multnomah Falls

Today was a scenic driving day.  Cloud cover stayed with us until mid afternoon but the temperature was just fine.

We started by visiting The Candy Basket to see the 20 foot continuous chocolate waterfall and to stock up on snacks!

How great is this?

Then we started our drive following Historic Highway 30, a beautiful drive past many waterfalls We crossed the Bridge of the Gods and returned to Portland via Highway 14 in Washington.

Crown Point State Park overlooking the Columbia River

Vista House at Crown Point State Park

Latourell Falls

Horsetail Falls

Multnomah Falls

Bridge of the Gods

And at the end of the day - relax in the hot tub

Sunday

After searching online for a breakfast place we decided to walk to Milo's City Cafe.  What a spot!   It was a bustling place and the staff was very friendly and just worked at a high rate of speed.   It reminded me of a choreographed dance in the way that everyone helped each other, all in great humor and moving at top notch!  It was such a pleasure!

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a Cannabis Dispensary and got more educated.

We checked out of our hotel, picked up our car and we were off!  First stop was Grant Park to see the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden which consists of three bronze statues that represent three beloved characters from the author's books:  Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins and Henry's dog Ribsy. 

Ramona statue

Then we went to Alberta Street which their website describes as:  "Alberta Street is a vibrant business district that celebrates individuality and diversity. The 26 blocks that make up this district are lined with a collection of unique locally owned boutiques, galleries, restaurants, bars and coffee shops. Also known as the “Alberta Arts District” many shops display original art, complementing the large collection of public art displayed along Alberta Street in the form of murals and street sculptures. Beyond offering a variety of local and ethnic cuisine and one-of-a-kind shopping experiences, many businesses provide sustainable and vegan friendly options."

What a fun place!  And very colorful!  Had the absolute best piece of Oregon cherry pie!!

We saw the Paul Bunyan statue and then went to the Adidas Village and Corporate Headquarters to see the giant shoes (of course.)

The rest of the day was spent at The Grotto.  The actual name is the National Sanctuary of our Sorrowful Mother, a Roman Catholic outdoor shrine and sanctuary.  Gorgeous spot!

We were pretty much done then and decided to stop at Pony Soldier Inn by the airport.  Terrific hotel; so much so that we decided we will stay here until we go back home.

Saturday

A full day today!   Our first stop was Hippo Hardware and Trading Company which has antique and restoration hardware unlike anything you've ever seen.  The owner was quite a character who was in Vietnam Nam for two tours and had us laughing with his stories.   It was quite a treat.

The entryway with electrical wall plates and old fashioned keys and locks (to say nothing of the guy hanging from the ceiling)

Walking down to catch the trolley to downtown, we ran across this store and had to go in and have a chat.  Marijuana is legal here both for medical and recreational use!  It was an interesting and educational experience!

Our ride to downtown.  We have been very impressed with the public transportation here!

We did a quick walk through Chinatown.  They have a tent village for the homeless there, something we've never seen before and while interesting, not someplace we wanted to spend a great deal of time in.  We then literally ran into the Skidmore Saturday Market  (which is now held over to Sunday because of popular demand.)  This market is enormous covering many, many city blocks.

Norm found a new hat at the Skidmore Market

We then explored the Lan Su Chinese Garden, a stunning little garden downtown which encompasses a city block.  The sun was very strong so it's hard to see the colors well.

After all this we were pretty much parched and found a great sports bar with an outdoor patio.  It was then 4 pm and we decided we should get back to the hotel.  Then the trouble started.  After a couple of hours of buses and trolleys we were thoroughly lost.  Eventually we did find the correct trolley, no thanks to the many folks we asked for help and who had no clue!!

Tired and with sore feet, it was nonetheless a marvellous day!

Friday

How lovely to wake up this morning to snow covered mountains and National Forests!

We were having a wonderful meander through Oregon forests,  across lakes and streams when suddenly the train slammed on the brakes and we made an emergency stop at Chilloquin.   Turns out someone was on the tracks and just missed getting hit by the train.  Must have given the engineer quite a fright!

We were NOT expecting it to be 83 degrees when we got off the train at 4pm!  Yikes!   We walked to the car rental place then drove to our hotel where we were amazed at how modern and lush it is.  We're here for a couple of nights and will then move on to another area.

 Entry to our room at Hotel Eastlund

One part of the lobby

Lots of snow yet in the Chemult area and it sure didn't stop the train from going lickety split!

Stopped in across the street from the hotel for a quick drink and found this fabulous beer bottle sculpture.