San Fran to Portland

This morning we left San Fran and headed up to Portland.

We checked into the Hilton Double Tree and they gave us fresh baked cookies upon arrival!

Here is a snippet of our quick time in Portland: A visit to Powell's books, and a later dinner. Then brunch and wandering about the Alberta Arts district the next day. And of course, Salt and Straw ice cream.

We made it back in time to meet up with my family to check out the Canada fireworks. It's lovely to go on vacation but also lovely to come home!

More Portland

We're back in town, but here are some more sights from our Portland trip.

My friend told me about this place - Pine State Biscuits.

Oh boy, it was good. Here's a pic of my biscuit BLT before I snarfed it down. Look at those tomatoes!

Then we went over to the Alberta Arts District to poke around. We found this store, Close Knit:

I didn't get anything, but look at all that yummy yarn.

I loved this - an old library filing system that they use to store their circular needles.

And isn't this a lovely spot for knitting or crocheting?

It was a gorgeous day, so sunny! Great for a walk up an down the main street.

CK had fun in this store called Trade Up. He almost left with a banjo!

And I found another store full of treasures, collagepdx.

Wall of stamps!

And oh look, someone found some more ice cream.

After a bit of a rest, we went back to Powells for more books.

And for dinner, we ended up at Deschutes Brewery, on a friend's recommendation.

Tasting flight! Beer! Mmm!

It was a great little getaway, we'll definitely be back to Portland. 

Portland Sunday

Here's some snapshots of our first day in Portland!

Our drive down:

A bit of traffic through Seattle but we made it in good time.

After a rest we headed to Powell City of Books! I have heard so much about the place and it was awesome! We didn't see as much as we wanted because we got hungry after browsing for 2 hours! So we bought what we could and planned to come back.

Then we drove over to Bridgeport brew pub - the oldest craft brewery in Portland.

This beer sampler was only $9!

My dapper dinner date:

For dessert we checked out Salt and Straw, an ice creamery I had read about.

The line up outside was long but efficient. And the staff knew what they were doing inside, handing out taste samples and ringing up orders real quick.

Here's what we ended up with: mine on the left is sea salt with caramel ribbons. And the hubby got honey lavender on top and chocolate brownie on the bottom. It. Was. Amazing!!

Bring it on, Portland!

Portland crochet

We're in Portland! I have the week off from work, so we were able to get away for a few days. We booked a hotel through groupon and headed out of town on Sunday.

Here's what I packed for the car ride: a crocheted baby blanket. This was my progress at the start of the car ride.

And here it is after 5.5 hours. All done!

So far Portland is amazing - lots to see and do and EAT! I'll post more in the next few days so stay tuned!