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.

L