And Puppies Make Three: Left Coast Portland

Bridge of the Gods.

As all my reader (haha.. aww, sad) know, I'm a major fan of Portland, Maine. Last week, I had the opportunity to explore a bit of the Pacific Northwest.

I was expecting Portland, OR to be full of hipsters, yuppies, tons of green space, coffee, great restaurants, and pretty much a crunchy version of Disney World. After 24 hours in Portland, I was pretty well convinced that I had taken the wrong plane and been let off in New Orleans.

Voodoo donut. I didn't finish it.

The Differences

1) Temperature is lower in Portland

2) More Starbucks locations

3) No mobile bachelor parties

4) Fruit. The fruit is amazing in Portland.

The Similarities

1) Great restaurant scene

2) Live music

3) A river runs through/ alongside it

4) Significant population of young homeless

5) Similar architecture. Low slung bungalows abound

6) Tattoos, piercings and casual dress.

7) Oil, balsamic and hot pepper stores abound

Pupusas and Asian people.

That's not me.

Anyway, we spent Saturday exploring Portland. We crossed the Steel Bridge spanning the Willamette River to get to Voodoo Donuts, which featured a long line and so-so donuts. That was a little disappointing. Afterward, we spent some time at the Portland Saturday Market to check out the crafts and food stands. We ended up getting some Pepper Pinot Beef Jerky and a pupusa.

Afterwards, we walked to the PSU Farmers Market, where we were treated to luscious blackberries and samples of salmon, peaches, cheeses, and oils. What an awesome time! From the Farmers Market, we caught an Uber to Washington Park, were we explored parts of the Japanese Garden and the International Test Rose Garden.

After all of that nature, we walked to Parish for some oysters, drinks and gizzards (yum!), visited Powell's, walked to the Lan Su Chinese Gardens to do some cultural exploration, and worked up our appetites by walking back over the river to the hotel to freshen up before dinner(s).

Chinatown

We decided to head over to EaT for happy hour oysters. Along the way there, we passed The People's Pig, one of the chicken spots I'd researched prior to the trip. We vowed to return after oysters. Fortunately, or unfortunately, when we arrived at EaT, we realized it was the sister restaurant of Parish and had nearly identical menus. Save the turtle soup. Turtle soup was had. It reminded us of Bermuda fish chowder, down to the added sherry.

Turtle soup at EaT

Appetites mostly intact, we walked back to The People's Pig, where we partook of their famous smoked fried chicken. What a great little place! Located next to a fairly rustic-looking urban garden, its smokers were nestled among the recycling bins. Inside the slow-slung building was a giant oven, tattooed cooks, a fantastic playlist, and absolutely, positively, no air conditioning.

The People's Pig

The smoky goodness inside.

The People's smoker

After chicken, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest. I mean Bamboo Sushi. We had more food! Apologies for the lack of pictures of actual food. Total step count for the day: 24,614

Rice man @ Bamboo.
Not adults. We are not adults.

Sunday morning, after a technical emergency that resulted in the loss of almost all of our pictures from Saturday, we picked up a rental car and headed to Columbia River Gorge area. Multnomah Falls was the first on the list. The hike to the top was invigorating, but not very rewarding. Yeah, that's it.