Portland, OR

Dan went to Portland on Thursday to help an old friend with some computer work. He stayed at The Hotel deLuxe (if you want to see it). It seemed like a good time to go exploring, so Kendra and I took the train down on Friday to join him.

The train ride was fabulous! Beautiful, comfy and enjoyable. If time wasn't an issue I'd never fly again. Trains are so much more spacious and comfy. The scenery was amazing as well. Most of the time the tracks ran along the coastline, with the mountains in the distance. It's a trip I hope to repeat.

Today we wandered Portland, making sure to get a donut from VooDoo Doughnuts. I got the voodoo doll, and we brought a maple bacon back for Kai. They were every bit as good as their reputation. You know the food is good when the store is very tiny, located next to a live action porn theater that smells nauseatingly strongly of Lysol in the morning, and people are still lined up around the block for a doughnut.

Afterwards we wandered down to the riverfront for the weekly Saturday Market. It was huge, with tons of vendors. We each bought something (Dan got a new waterproof fedora-style hat, I got an earthenware vase and Kendra an awesome piece of artwork for her room). We had lunch there then headed back to the hotel to pick up my car.

On the recommendation of a friend, we went to a very pretty park, then drove just outside of Portland to Multnomah Falls. Both were gorgeous and well worth the visit.

Coming back into Portland so we could catch I-5 back home, we hit a MASSIVE traffic jam. It is normally a 3 hour drive from Portland to Seattle...it took us 3 hours to get through Portland. It took over 6 hours for us to actually get home. That part was not so fun.

All in all, a good trip, and one we'll be making again for a bit longer. I'd like to explore some more, and meet up with a friend of mine that lives there. She was out of town at the beach this weekend, so we'll have to try again.

Click HERE for pics of the trip. (You knew there had to be some, right :)