August 2016 – Venturing Into The Great Unknown

Arrived in Chico

Aug 312016

Today we awoke early and left Santa Rosa before nine. We headed down US-101 and across I-80, then went north up I-505 to Winters. We decided to have breakfast at Putah Creek Cafe. We visited this restaurant in 2013 and enjoyed, not only the food, but the ambience. Today the food wasn’t as good and the service left something to be desired. I had eggs, chicken apple sausage and fruit and Mum had poached eggs with salsa and a biscuit.

Mum had ordered a single, medium-poached egg and was given two eggs that were beyond hard-poached. When she mentioned to the waitress that it was hard-poached and also that there were two eggs, the waitress stated that the chefs normally make two so they can try to get it right. We didn’t find that very reassuring. We’re not sure if the ownership/management had changed or not, but something just didn’t seem as good as on our previous visit.

Since we had plenty of time to make it to our destination, we took the long way to Chico via Yuba City. It was a lovely drive on awesome county and state roads up the flat Sacramento Valley. Even with taking the slow route, we arrived in Chico around 12:30. We found a great parking spot in the shade and decided to walk around downtown.

It was a ridiculously hot day (32°C) so we kept in the shade and inside air-conditioned buildings as much as possible. By 2 o’clock it was time to check in and we were glad to have somewhere to relax and cool off. We watched some TV and looked for a way to get to the park. After checking several maps, we decided to just wing it and headed out to do some more exploring.

We eventually found Bidwell Park and wandered around the One Mile Recreation Area. I can see why it would be a popular place for the locals to hang out at, but it wasn’t really anything to write home about. After we walked around the park, we decided to go to the campus

After we walked around the park, we decided to go to the CSU Chico campus as we had read that it had beautiful architecture and grounds. We found out, though, that there was no parking on campus and it was just too hot for us to find parking off-campus and walk around.

We went back to the hotel and tried to figure out what we wanted to eat for dinner. This turned out to be harder than expected, but eventually decided on Madison Bear Gardens. Once we got there, we saw a line-up out the door and, on a whim, changed our mind and went to Mom’s. It turned out to be a great decision and we had an awesome dinner. Mum had a Salisbury Steak and I had a Cobb Salad (and yes, I ate my avocado).

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel for an early night. Tomorrow we will be heading to Eugene.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

A Day In Wine Country

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Aug 302016

Today started with coffee from the shop across the street. We delayed leaving the hotel until we thought that the breakfast crowd at Hank’s Creekside would be gone and then headed the short distance to our favourite breakfast place. This was our fourth visit to Hank’s and my favourite place to get a Benny. Today was no different and I had a half order of Eggs Benedict and Mum had a poached egg with a biscuit and fruit.

One thing that we love about Hank’s, besides the food, of course, is its location. We are able to head out of town towards Wine Country without any issue – today was no different. We jumped onto CA-12 and headed east to the Sonoma Valley. In prior years we have gone up to Healdsburg and St. Helena, but on this trip, we decided to concentrate on just visiting the Sonoma Valley. We drove down through Glen Ellen and Kenwood before we reached the town of Sonoma. We lucked out and were able to find a parking spot (in the shade) right across from the Sonoma Plaza.

We walked around the Plaza as I took pictures of some of the flowers and also met a trio of women who asked me to take their picture. We wandered around the outside of the plaza and stopped in a few of our regular haunts, but for some reason, we just didn’t find it was as charming as it had been in prior visits. We were unable to grab a coffee at Basque Boulangerie as there was a line-up that was almost out the door and Wine Country Chocolates didn’t seem to hold its same charm. We left Sonoma and headed back to Glen Ellen in search for somewhere to sit and have a beverage. We tried finding somewhere at Jack London’s Village but found it all but closed up – turns out that Tuesday is a bad day to find things open. We stopped at a small market in Kenwood where Mum was able to grab a Diet Pepsi before we headed back to the hotel.

We spent some time at the hotel – mainly cooling off with the beautiful A/C – and then headed to dinner. We decided to go back to Russian River Pub in Forestville – a place we had visited in 2013 and a restaurant from the first DDD episode. Mum had the pesto chicken sandwich with a salad and I had the Tri-Tip Sandwich with a salad. Both of these were featured on the Triple D episode. At least we were able to end our day on a high note.

We came back to the hotel after dinner and decided to have an early night. Tomorrow we are heading to Winters for breakfast at Putah Creek Cafe and then on to Chico.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Santa Rosa

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Aug 292016

What a day we had today! After a great breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Trader Joe’s for a few things on our “to buy” list and then we were off, up the US-101 towards San Francisco. We hit some traffic as we were leaving San Jose, but for all intents and purposes, it wasn’t too bad. Once we hit San Francisco, we got off the freeway and were on city streets for a few miles – it was surprisingly easy to navigate. Mum and I were both surprised as we had cursed this city when we were here five years ago.

We made it across the Golden Gate Bridge and I was able to pull over and park at the vista point. I was beyond excited at being able to get some pictures of the bridge. When we crossed it five years ago we were coming southbound and were required to pay a toll. This would not have bothered me if we had been able to enjoy the view – it was so foggy that I wasn’t even able to tell that the bridge was orange. Today, we headed northbound (toll-free) and had a beautiful sunny day – the Gods were definitely smiling down on us.

At the vista point, I grabbed my cameras and headed to a good vantage point. Anyone looking at me would have automatically known I was a tourist as I had my point-and-shoot as well as my camera with a polarising filter around my neck – and there I was, taking pictures with my iPhone. Needless to say, I wanted to make sure I got a ton of photos.

Once I had determined that I had enough pictures, we continued up US-101 towards Petaluma. Mum loves the Seed Bank and I always seem to find something in the Chinese gift shop across the street. This year was no different. By this time we were feeling peckish, so I entered the address for Willie Bird’s into my GPS and away we went to Santa Rosa. This was our fourth visit to Willie’s – as you can tell we love the food. This time, I totally forgot to take pictures of what we ate, but it was the same as in previous years. We both had the light lunch which consists of half a turkey salad sandwich and I had the potato salad and Mum had the turkey noodle soup.

After lunch, it was time to check into our hotel. What was normally a straight drive up Santa Rosa Avenue became convoluted when I realized that they put a courtyard in my way. The road is now closed between Third and Fourth, forcing traffic to detour around. We found our way and pulled into our favourite hotel – this is our third stay here. We chilled for a couple of hours and watched a The Best Thing I Ever Ate marathon before heading out to do some shopping at Raley’s. Yet again we had a productive shopping trip and then headed to Tex Wasabi’s for dinner.

We were able to get a great parking spot – something we normally luck out and get – and were also able to get seated immediately as the restaurant wasn’t very busy. We mentioned to the hostess that we hadn’t been there in over three years and she told us that Guy Fieri had sold his Sonoma County restaurants to his partner – we were saddened by the news but decided to stay and eat anyway.

Mum started with a Shrimp Spring Roll and I had the Jackass Sushi. This is my first ever sushi, and although it was Gringo Sushi, I was quite impressed with myself as it contained avocado. Mum then had the Teriyaki Chicken Salad and I had an order of Vegas Fries (fries tossed with buffalo sauce and served with bleu-sabi). I have been craving Vegas Fries since I last had them in May 2013 and was unable to get them when I went to Guy’s Vegas restaurant in 2014.

Mum and I enjoyed our meals but agreed that it just wasn’t the same as it used to be. We both decided that it is unlikely that we will return – this is sad as it was one of my favourite Food Network restaurants.

We came back to the hotel and did our wiki-research; which dealt mainly with California Penal Institutions. Then we headed to bed. Tomorrow we will be doing our tour of Wine Country.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you later.

Arrived in San Jose

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Aug 282016

This morning we woke later than normal and had a breakfast of leftovers in our hotel room. We then drove to Pismo Beach to explore the area. It didn’t take us too long to realize that it was a bit too busy for us so we grabbed some coffee and headed north up US-101. We got off the highway in San Luis Obispo and drove around the town for a few minutes. It was too busy to stop and investigate further but we decided that the next time that we are down this way, we will visit here instead of Arroyo Grande.

We continued up US-101 until just south of Salinas. We got off the highway and drove through the hamlet of Spreckels – an agricultural area dominated by Andy Boy Produce. Just west of Spreckels we found a small market called Corral Market & Deli. It was listed on the Food Network website, but there was no reference as to what show it was featured on. Regardless, we thought it would be a perfect place to grab a bite to eat. Mum got an artichoke and mushroom salad and I got a Cuban sandwich – they were both divine.

After our quick bite, we jumped back on the highway and before long, we were stuck in traffic in the exact same spot as we were on Friday. I’m not sure if this is a regular place for accidents and/or traffic jams, but I will remember in future to allow some extra time to get through the area. One bonus of being stuck in traffic was being able to take a picture (through the windshield) of one of the bells that occur on both sides of the highway. We researched them when we got to the hotel and found that they mark the El Camino Real which is a historic trail that links California’s missions from San Diego to Sonoma.

We arrived in San Jose and found our hotel with ease. We chilled at the hotel for a couple of hours before we headed to dinner at Chili’s. I decided to go outside my comfort zone and order something that came with avocado pieces on top. I needn’t have worried as the single piece that I had was smaller than my fingernail – I guess I will have to order avocado again to say that I have tried it.

We returned to the hotel and Mum chilled in the room doing her cryptics while I talked to Hubby on the phone. We then did our wiki-research and turned in for the night.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Santa Rosa – continuing straight up US-101 and over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Arroyo Grande

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Aug 272016

Today was an awesome day. I started the day by seeing my first Northern Mockingbird – I was not able to get a picture as it mocked me and stayed just out of my phone’s camera range, but when I checked my bird app, I was able to confirm what it was.

After loading the car, we headed across town to From Scratch which was featured on DDD. Mum had a poached egg and biscuit, while I, of course, had Eggs Benny. It was quite delicious, and filling – my Benny had about half an inch of ham on it. It was also quite a popular place and there were several dozen people waiting for tables by the time we left – we had lucked out and got seated immediately.

We then headed south down CA SR-1 towards Big Sur. We had been informed by the people at the hotel’s front desk that the highway itself was fine; it was just the parks that were closed due to the Soberanes Fire.

Before too long, we reached the Bixby Creek Bridge. It doesn’t sound like much of a bridge, but it is quite famous and often featured in commercials that show the California coast. Although there is a pullout with parking for several cars, I was unable to find parking and had to block a few cars while I jumped out and took a few quick pictures. It was definitely worth it as I have been wanting to get a picture of this bridge since we first visited Carmel in 2011.

Continuing down the coast, we pulled off several times to take pictures. The traffic was quite reasonable for this time of year, but I believe that had quite a bit to do with the fire and park closures. I was able to take a ridiculous number of pictures – which I will cull and edit once I get back home, but I have a couple that I will post for you.

On one of my stops, I happened to notice a bird that was hovering near the pull-off where we had parked. I initially thought it may be a Turkey Vulture, but, on closer inspection, determined that it was larger and also had white patches on the underside of its wings. I took some pictures with my long lens, hoping that it might help with identification later. I wasn’t sure what else it could be as I knew how rare California Condors were, but something kept nagging at me that a Condor was the only viable option, since it was definitely not a Turkey Vulture. Since I wasn’t able to solve the mystery without further research, we continued down the highway.

The topography of the land changed as we neared San Simeon (home of Hearst Castle) and the road became much nicer to drive on. We stopped just south of Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, and I was able to not only get a picture of an Elephant Seal, but also pictures of American White Pelicans and California Ground Squirrels. The pictures of the pelicans and seal are on my main camera which I was unable to upload due to a lack of wi-fi at my hotel, but I was able to get a picture of the squirrel with my phone.

We stopped at William Randall Hearst State Park to use the facilities. While we were there, I decided to drop into the Interpretive Center to ask about the condor. I was informed that seven condors had been released into the wild in the same area as I had seen my mystery bird. After reviewing my pictures and other information, I am confident that I saw my first California Condor in the wild.

Before we left the park, I also snapped a couple of pictures of Hearst Castle, which is perched up on a hilltop, and got some pictures of smoke from the Chimney Fire.

Shortly after leaving San Simeon, we arrived in San Luis Obispo. While waiting for a red light to change, we saw three hawks circling not far from the road. As I was driving, I was unable to take a picture, but when we got back to the hotel, we determined that they were Ferruginous Hawks. Yet another new bird to add to my bird list.

We arrived at our hotel in Arroyo Grande and after a short rest, headed out to dinner. There are only a couple of Food Network restaurants in the area, so we chose F. McLintocks which was featured on Guilty Pleasures. It was not somewhere I would really write home about, although I did enjoy the Grilled Artichoke. Mum and I shared the Pepper New York Steak, and we had a “split plate” which means we both got all the sides, and we split the 10 oz, steak.

After dinner, we stopped by the Outlet Mall on the way back to hotel and Mum found the flat whisk that she was looking for. I was also able to find a 12-pack of beer at the local IGA before heading back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are heading back north and will be staying in San José.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

Arrived in Carmel

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Aug 262016

Today we woke fairly early and went down to the breakfast room at the hotel to get coffee, juice and a small bite to eat. While we waited for the rush hour traffic to die down, I caught up with the blog post that I should have posted last night. I have definitely decided that it is easier to write it the night of, no matter how tired I am, than the following morning.

After posting to my blog, we headed west on the I-80 towards Fairfield and then south on I-680 to US-101 in San Jose. We ran into fairly heavy traffic along I-680 but were able to escape to the HOV lane. We were not as lucky when we were just past Gilroy (Garlic Capital of the World). There was supposedly a major accident near Echo Valley Road which caused a 5-mile backup that took us over an hour to get through. Once we made it to Echo Valley Road, however, the traffic cleared up and there was absolutely no evidence of an accident. Although I am very glad that we didn’t see any carnage, I was quite annoyed to spend that long in traffic for what seemed like no reason.

We pulled off the highway in Castroville (Artichoke Capital of the World) and happily found a restroom at the nearest gas station. Mum and I felt much better afterwards and we returned to US-101 and headed southbound again. We arrived in Carmel just after two and headed through the ridiculously narrow streets to the beach. We drove around slowly, looking for parking and just as we were about to give up, we found a perfect spot in the shade. We munched on some of our leftovers for lunch and then headed towards the sand.

Taking off our shoes, we walked barefoot down to the water and let our feet get wet – not very wet though, as the water was quite cold. I took a few pictures of the beach and surrounding area and then we headed back to the car so we could check into the hotel. We checked into the hotel, took a fifteen-minute break, and then headed back out to explore the downtown area by foot.

Our first stop was a bookstore to see if Mum could find any of the Joe Grey Mysteries that are written by Shirley Rousseau Murphy and based in the Carmel area. We were, however, unsuccessful.

We also stopped in a chocolate/ sweet shop – we were much more successful there and we both found something to munch on for later. Window shopping in Carmel is much more affordable than actual shopping and we both decided that we would find a souvenir shop elsewhere if we were going to grab anything to bring back with us. We did, however, find a nice park (Devendorf Park) with a HUGE Monterey Cypress tree in it. Carmel is a VERY dog-friendly town, however this is one of the few places that dogs are not allowed.

After our walk around Carmel, we spend some time at the hotel and then headed to dinner in Monterey. On our last trip there were no Food Network restaurants to visit, but this time, we had a few to choose from and we decided on Cannery Row Brewing Company.

We lucked out and found a parking spot that was not only right outside the restaurant, but it had over two hours left on the meter. As we got out of the car I noticed that there was a souvenir shop directly across the road. Seeing as we had plenty of time, we decided to pop in and I was able to get several affordable souvenirs for people and an awesome red hoodie with an octopus on the front of it. Because it is so late in the season, most of the souvenirs were between 50 and 75% off – definitely no complaints here. We put the souvenir bag in the car and headed to the restaurant.

We ordered their 18 oz pretzel for an appetizer. Mum also had a bowl of their clam chowder and I had their fish & chips. I was not a big fan of their fries, but the fish was excellent (and for those of you who know me, you know I’m not a big seafood person). Mum was a bit upset that the pretzel didn’t come with the stone-ground mustard which Yelp showed as coming with it, but the spicy cheese dip was spectacular. We took half of the pretzel to go and the waitress was nice enough to give us some more cheese dip.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. Mum had a bath and I watched a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives marathon while I blogged my day. One of the shows featured a restaurant just outside of Eugene. I am hoping that we may be able to visit it on our way back north.

It is now time to go to bed – Mum is already sleeping soundly and I have said good night to Hubby. Thank you for reading and I will talk to you all tomorrow after our trip down the coast through Big Sur. We have been told that the fire is only affecting the parks along SR-1 so we should be able to get some great views of the surf as well as a picture of Bixby Creek Bridge.

Arrived in Sacramento

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Aug 262016

Today we awoke to a very warm morning. We went back to the Wild Goose for breakfast where Mum had a cinnamon roll and I had bacon & eggs. We then jumped on I-5 and headed south.

We encountered a few areas of construction but were only delayed by traffic when we passed through Weed, CA. As we passed through Yreka, we noticed signs stating that there were highway closures due to a nearby fire, but we didn’t see any smoke.

We then passed by the sign for The State of Jefferson, a proposed state that is more of a novelty than anything else. In the background, Mt. Shasta towered 10,000 feet above the valley floor in all her glory, however, it was too hazy to get any decent pictures. We continued down the I-5, leaving the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and entering the flat Sacramento Valley.

We stopped at the Willows Rest Area for lunch – the location we picnicked at in 2013 – and were lucky enough to find a shady place to park. According to my weather app, the temperature was 36C. After a quick bite to eat, we were headed southbound again.

We arrived in Sacramento just as rush hour was starting. Luckily we were able to get off the interstate before we had to spend too much time in bumper-to-bumper traffic. We checked into the hotel and relaxed for a short time before heading to dinner with my sister- and brother-in-law.

In previous years we have eaten at The Golden Bear, but this year we decided to visit Dad’s Kitchen. I had a Dad’s Burger which is a double burger with blue cheese and bacon and Mum had a Green Machine sandwich which was a vegetarian panino on focaccia. We spent almost two hours eating and chatting before we said goodbye.

Mum and I then headed back to the hotel and turned in early. I was too tired to write my post before bed so I am posting in the morning before we head to Carmel.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you all later.

Arrived in Ashland

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Aug 252016

Today we woke around seven and had coffee and leftovers for breakfast. Once the car was loaded and rush hour had subsided, we headed south on I-5. It was a fairly uneventful drive, and we were grateful for that after the hellish drive we had between the border and Portland on Sunday.

We stopped at a rest stop near Canyonville for a picnic lunch of our remaining leftovers. Not surprisingly, the local wasps found my brisket from last night appealing and I was forced to cover it and save it for later. We headed back to the highway and within an hour and a half, we were arriving in Ashland.

We found a parking spot with no difficulty and headed to the box office to pick up our tickets for Twelfth Night. We then decided to visit the gift shop. Mum grabbed a nightie and a couple of greeting cards and I grabbed a t-shirt that listed all of Shakespeare’s plays on the back and 1616-2016 on the front – celebrating 400 years since Shakespeare died. I also picked up a Shakespeare bobblehead as a gift for a friend.

Since we had some time to kill – and it was dreadfully hot out – we stopped for a drink at Louie’s. We found this place last year and quite liked sitting next to the creek on a path that they call Calle Guanajuato. Mum had a ginger beer and I had a flight of the six daily beers that they had on tap. The waitress was quite helpful and wrote the names out for me so I could record them in my Untappd app.

We checked into the hotel and while Mum was having a shower, I called hubby and chatted for a bit. We then went next door to the Wild Goose for a small bite to eat before the play. Mum had roasted garlic and brie on crostinis and I had a New Orleans Chicken Sandwich.

We arrived at the theatre in plenty of time to listen to the live music that they had in the courtyard outside the theatre before heading in and grabbing our seats. The play was quite good and, although it took a while for me to understand exactly what was happening, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The performance ended close to eleven and we headed back to the hotel. On our way back, we were forced to stop at an intersection to allow a deer to finish crossing the road – at least he was using the crosswalk. Mum turned in shortly after we arrived and once I am done writing to you all, I will be turning in myself.

I leave you with a picture I took of the final number – shhh, don’t tell anyone.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you tomorrow from Sacramento.

Exploring Portland Day 2

6th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours 2 Responses »

Aug 242016

This morning we awoke slightly earlier than yesterday, and I grabbed coffees at the motel’s front desk. After taking a look at the different locations for Pine State Biscuits, we decided on their new location on NE Schuyler (pronounced Skyler) – mainly because we could easily get there by transit. This is our seventh visit to a PSB and our fourth location. This location was only slightly larger than the original location on SE Belmont, but for the sixth year in a row, we lucked out and, not only had no lineup but also found seating. Mum had a biscuit with honey and I had a Reggie with the biscuit on the side. I, unfortunately, can’t share any pictures of the food as we were so hungry that we both starting eating as soon as we got our food. I am able to tell you that it was absolutely divine. One thing that I would also like to mention is that the price for a Reggie hasn’t changed since we first came here in 2011 – that is quite impressive considering the popularity of the restaurant.

After breakfast, we jumped back on the streetcar and headed across the bridge to downtown. Not long after we crossed the bridge, we were informed by the driver that there was a fire blocking the tracks and they had to stop the streetcar. Since it wasn’t too far to Powell Books, we decided to walk. We have never explored the Pearl District before so we took our time walking the eight or so blocks that we had to go.

Powell Books is another requisite stop on our trips to Portland, however, today we only spent 45 minutes browsing. I still have several books to read from our last trip and Mum found the one book that she was looking for – a Del Shannon novel that she hadn’t read yet.

After Powells, we headed to Blue Star Donuts for, well…a donut. It was featured on Best Ever (Best Breakfast Ever). I grabbed a Maple Bacon Donut. I would say that it was better than Voodoo Doughnuts, but I’m not sure if I would say that it is better than Dynamo Donuts in San Francisco.

After Blue Star, we were ready to head back to the hotel and then go to the Lloyd Center for more shopping. We walked the few blocks back to the streetcar and were just able to jump on before it left the stop. One stop later, the driver informed us that there was no power on the tracks on the east side of the river so we would need to transfer to the #77 bus. This turned into a ridiculously long search for the proper bus stop. We asked a person sitting at the stop where we got off and she directed us to the Office Max a couple of blocks away, saying there was a stop outside. When we couldn’t find a #77 stop by the Office Max, I used my Transit PDX app and found that we had walked several blocks in the wrong direction. We headed towards the place that the app said we could catch the bus but once we got there, I noticed that the stop # wasn’t the one that the app said it should be and that we had to walk back two blocks. I apologized to Mum – who, by this time, was sick of walking in the sun – and informed her that we had to go to the other stop, or at least I thought we did. We decide to walk to the stop and concluded that if it was the wrong stop, we would just have a tour of Portland as we made our way back across the bridge. We got on the bus a few minutes later and after riding several blocks, found out that we were, in fact, on the wrong bus and that it would not be making the loop back across the river. We got off the bus, crossed the street and waited, yet again, for the bus. While we waited the fifteen or so minutes, we struck up a conversation with a nice older lady who had gotten rid of her car almost a decade ago and now enjoys being able to ride rather than drive. To be honest, I don’t blame her when it comes to downtown Portland. We finally made it back across the river and walked a couple of blocks to the hotel.

We chilled at the hotel for a couple of hours and then headed to dinner. Although Mum isn’t a big fan of BBQ, we decided to go to Podnah’s Pit. Mum had a 1/4 rack of rib with red pepper mac & cheese and cucumber salad and I had the brisket with mac & cheese and dirty rice. It was soooo delicious, and luckily I have enough leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.

After dinner, we went looking for Oregon Growers & Shippers Honey which was supposed to be sold at Safeway. We were unable to find it so we decided to head back to the hotel and call it a night.

Tomorrow we are heading to Ashland and seeing Twelfth Night at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

Portland – Day One

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Aug 222016

Today we decided to sleep in until eight. After several failed attempts to get a decent coffee, I finally found one at a coffee shop in a hotel down the street. I always forget that hotels in Portland are not allowed to keep milk or creamer in the lobby with the coffee and Mum and I are not fans of whitener. We have since remedied that by grabbing a small container of fat-free half & half. After munching on leftovers for breakfast, we decided to have an outlet mall day.

We waited for rush hour to die down and then headed off to do some shopping in Woodburn. Mum grabbed two pairs of shoes at Naturalizer and two pairs of shoes at Clark’s, while I headed to my favourite store…Columbia. Last year I was unable to find a pair of flip flops that I liked, but this year I found a perfect pair. Not only were they a neutral colour, but they also had great tread. When I found out that they were only $17 I bought both pairs that were left. I was also able to find a very reasonable, waterproof pair of runners for hubby.

We browsed through a few clothes stores without finding anything for ourselves but I was able to pick up something that my daughter, K, had asked for. We then attacked the kitchen gadget store – a very dangerous undertaking. Luckily, we were able to control ourselves and we didn’t spend too much.

By this time it was after one, so we decided to take the long way (Hwy 99E) back to Portland so we could grab lunch. We decided on Tin Shed Cafe and arrived just as they were switching from their breakfast menu to their dinner menu.

After looking at the menu, we were both torn as to what we should order. As it would happen, we were both trying to choose between the same sandwiches. Mum decided to have the Heartless Artichoke (a blend of artichokes, garlic, lemon, parmesan, roasted red peppers and pepper jack cheese on grilled wheat) and I chose the San Fran (House-roasted chicken, applewood smoked bacon, green apple and blue cheese on grilled sourdough). I had originally planned on having chips for my side, but when the waitress told us that we could substitute a small bowl of the mac & cheese of the day (three cheese with sweet potato), Mum and I were sold.

Mum had a glass of white wine (in a mason jar) and I had a pint of local cider. When our meals arrived, we gave each other half of our sandwich which solved the issue of which to order.

After a very leisurely lunch, we headed to Safeway to do some quick shopping. We grabbed some beverages, snacks and most importantly the half and half. By this time it was 5:30 and we decided to head back to the hotel. Since we had done so much walking, and eating, we decided to stay at the hotel and chill for the rest of the evening. We watched some Food Network and ate some leftovers. I was rudely informed by my Shomi app that I need to be in Canada to enjoy my shows, so I guess catching up on Chicago Fire will have to wait till I get home :(.

Tomorrow we are planning on heading to Pine State Biscuits for breakfast and then downtown to do some exploring, shopping and eating.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you tomorrow.

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