A Weekend in Asheville

Back in early September, we had the opportunity to spend a long weekend in Asheville, NC.  Colin had a work meeting on a Monday and the weekend had a promising forecast, so we decided to make a last minute trip as a family.  Thankfully, there were a few airbnb rentals available that seemed nice and were reasonably priced.

After work on Friday, we packed up the car and made the 4 hour journey west on I-40 without any problems.  Our airbnb rental had a key lock box, which was perfect for our late arrival.  The small 3 bedroom house was cozy, but not crowded, with only one other person staying there that weekend.  All that really matters is that there was enough room for Darwin's bed on the floor and for us to sleep in the bed. We didn't chat much with the owner's father (who was staying with his daughter for an extended period of time) until the last day.

Saturday morning we were up very early thanks to our morning dog Darwin. We had plans to drive to several waterfalls in the Brevard area of the Pisgah National Forest, but spent a leisurely morning in Asheville before setting out.  We found a food co-op close to our airbnb rental and made our way to a store that was essentially Whole Foods with its own name (Greenlife Grocery) to have breakfast, then wandered through some neighborhoods in the area of Asheville between the main downtown area and the Grove Park Inn, and finally stopped to check out a festival at the Habitat for Humanity Restore that wound up being an anniversary celebration.  There was a bunch of free food that nourished us before we set out to the mountains.

Around noon, we made our way from Asheville towards Brevard and entered the Pisgah National Forest on route 276.  I had mapped out a route into the forest that included several waterfalls and a couple of hikes.  We decided to hike the first trail on our route, John Rock Trail, which we thought was going to be 1.8 miles, but was actually closer to 3 miles.  The hike was fairly easy, rising only about 800 feet to the summit of John Rock and the views were pretty.  After having hiked in New Zealand, Washington, Oregon and California, it's hard to call the North Carolina mountains impressive, but it was certainly a very nice view.

Colin and Darwin enjoying the view from the top of John Rock

After our hike, we got back in the car and drove two miles farther into the national forest to Looking Glass Falls, an impressive, 45-foot waterfall just off the side of the road.  The falls were visible from the road, but we descended the 30 or so steps down to the water and put our feet in.  Darwin seemed to enjoy the water, which was fairly cool and I was surprised at how many people were actually swimming in the plunge pool below the falls.

Colin's newest favorite picture of Darwin, 

with Looking Glass Falls in the background

Just one mile from Looking Glass Falls, we arrived at the trailhead for a hike that led us to another waterfall called Moore Cove Falls.  The very easy 1.4 mile out-and-back hike brought us to a waterfall that was beautiful in the sun's rays.  While the water was not as forceful as Looking Glass, the spot was a peaceful retreat in the middle of the woods.  Unfortunately, we were not the only ones enjoying the view, so we didn't linger too long.

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Moore Cove Falls with a mid-afternoon sun

I really wanted to see Sliding Rock since I had heard such great things about it, so when we came upon the sign for it one mile beyond Moore Head Falls on Highway 276, I was glad we could stop to check it out.  The forest service charges $1-2 per car, and most people were leaving when we arrived.  The many teenagers enjoying the slide made it look like tons of fun and I was a little bummed that I couldn't participate. I didn't want to risk any injuries with a bun in the oven.  After Colin told me how cold the water was on his trip down the slide, I was grateful to have an excuse!  While it may have been fun, I'm just not a fan of freezing cold water.

Colin braving the cold water on Sliding Rock

The last waterfall on my list, Skinny Dip Falls, took us about 10 miles off the loop back to Asheville, but I wanted to check it out since the reviews made it sound like it was worth the trip.  Instead of heading north (back to Asheville) at the intersection of Highway 276 and the Blue Ridge Parkway, we drove about 5 miles south to mile marker 417.  Before hiking the mile into the waterfall and while enjoying a lovely view from the Parkway, we decided to have a second lunch/snack of sardines, chips, and apples that we had purchased at the food co-op.  Darwin also enjoyed his dinner (and a little of ours too).

View from the car at mile marker 417 on the Blue Ridge Parkway

The mile hike to the cascading waterfalls was super easy and we were at the falls in no time.  With the light getting lower in the sky, I didn't get great photos, but I ended up going back on Monday when Colin was at his meeting, so there is a photo of one of the falls farther down this post.  The falls reminded me of an area in Vermont called Triple Buckets, where people would jump from the rocks into one of three deep pools.  These cascades may not have been as deep, but did have a few pools that looked perfect for swimming.  

From Skinny Dip Falls, we drove the 40 minutes back to Asheville on the winding Blue Ridge Parkway, going through lots of tunnels on the way.  It was already dinner time when we got back, but I needed a shower before setting out. With our late arrival into downtown and our inability to choose a restaurant, it was pretty late for us to have dinner when we were finally seated at the Italian restaurant called Modesto (around 9pm). I didn't bring my good camera and had to rely on my phone, but it served the purpose.  We ended up splitting a salad and having a few bites of the chicken parm pasta dish, with plans to save the rest for Sunday, but ended up giving our leftovers to a man on the street who asked us for food.  While we frequently refuse to give individuals on the street money, Colin always gives food if we have some and people ask. In fact, Colin will actually offer people our food (leftover or food we just purchased to eat), and many times it is refused.

Our shared salad

 Eggplant Parm

I think we were all exhausted when we arrived back at the house. Even Darwin, who is frequently restless, was passed out all night.  Thankfully, being tired meant we all got to sleep in a little later on Sunday morning.

Our main adventures were all planned for Saturday, so on Sunday we did much more relaxing. After a light breakfast at the house and some chatting with the airbnb host's dad, we set out to enjoy the day in Asheville. We started out at the dog park and then made our way downtown to the Organic Festival going on in Pack Square.  There were a bunch of dogs at the dog park and they were all very friendly, and I was somewhat disappointed that the Organic Festival included only a handful of tents, one stage, and didn't allow us to walk around with Darwin.  Colin and I took turns checking out the single block of vendors while the other sat on the perimeter with Darwin.  

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Darwin meeting some Asheville dogs at the dog park

The weather threatened rain most of the afternoon, but we were lucky to enjoy our meal outside at Salsa's Mexican Restaurant.  Thankfully, I had my camera ready when the meals came out so I could document how beautiful each plate was.  Both of our meals were delicious, but I would say that my slow-roasted pork empanada was a little bit better.  In our usual fashion, we shared both meals, and I did enjoy Colin's burrito that was filled with shrimp and steak and included french fries and cheese.  The only thing we didn't really enjoy was the rice, which Darwin was glad to have.  Colin also gave him some tortilla chips.

Slow-Roasted Pork Empanada with rice, beans, and salsa

"The Asheville" burrito with shrimp, steak, fries, and cheese

On Sunday night we stayed at the Crowne Plaza, located just outside of the downtown area.  It was nice to have a big, spacious place to put our things and Darwin enjoyed laying on the second bed while we relaxed and watched some football.  The hotel, while not right in downtown, had a really nice outdoor area with hang gliding, a walking path, and outdoor pool.  The only down side was that someone complained about Darwin's bark, even though he barked twice to alert us that people were in the hallway.  Thankfully, we only received a warning.

On our last day in Asheville, while Colin attended his meeting for most of the workday, Darwin and I went to hike Mt. Pisgah and enjoy Skinny Dip Falls.  We made our way back onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and hiked up to the top of the "mountain" in the morning and then enjoyed our lunch on the rocks at the falls.  The weather cooperated all day, though there were some spotty dark clouds around all day.  

Looking up at Mt. Pisgah from the Blue Ridge Parkway

View back down to the the Blue Ridge Parkway from Mt. Pisgah

Enjoying lunch with our feet in the water at Skinny Dip Falls

When Colin's day was done and before heading back home, we made one last stop at French Broad Chocolates to pick up dessert for the road.  I stayed in the car while Colin went in and I was very surprised that my chocoholic husband opted for a carrot cake at a chocolate factory!  It was very rich and tasty and didn't last long into the 4-hour drive.

It's always nice to be home after traveling, especially after having Darwin stay in the same room with us, but I will say we had a wonderful weekend in Asheville.  While the rain threatened most of Sunday and part of Monday, it never actually rained.  And, we were able to enjoy beautiful clear skies on Saturday while hiking and exploring lots of waterfalls. I really wanted Colin to see the beauty and enjoy the amazing food the Asheville area has to offer and I think after our long weekend there, he now appreciates it much more than he has in the past.

What do you think is the best thing about the Asheville area?

A Really Wonderful Day Back in Seattle

We arrived back in Seattle fairly late in the day because we had spent almost all morning in Vancouver, enjoying breakfast and chatting with our hostess and the other airbnb guest.  Then, we had to wait in a fairly long line of traffic at the US-Canada border.  Thankfully, the weather was beautiful when we arrived in Seattle and we had a wonderful afternoon and evening.

Our first stop was to get lunch.  We HAD to try this tiny Cuban sandwich place called Paseo.  On Yelp, this tiny eatery has been reviewed over 1700 times and has 4.5 stars!  If you aren't familiar with Yelp, 50 reviews is a lot, so 1700 is not something I have ever seen before.  We opted for the two most popular sandwiches, the Caribbean Roast and the Paseo Press.  That many positive reviews certainly was no mistake and the sandwiches were mouth-watering delicious.  We savored every bite of our sandwiches, while we sat on some rocks at the water's edge in the Freemont section of Seattle.

The most amazing Cuban Sandwiches every eaten!

I had heard many wonderful things about the Freemont section of Seattle, which is how we ended up finding Paseo.  After lunch, we walked along the river that connects Lake Union/Union Bay and Puget Sound, and stumbled upon the Theo Chocolate Factory.  The tours for the remainder of the day were already full, but we had a great time taste testing the 20 or so samples of chocolate in their store.  After our delicious lunch and some walking, it was the best dessert we could have asked for!  I've seen Theo Chocolates in Whole Foods, but I had never bought a bar.  Getting to try all the samples allowed me to find a few favorites, like the almond, coconut, and the dark chocolates.  We ended up bringing back some drinking chocolate because the sales woman suggested they were not frequently sold across the U.S.  Thankfully they are, in fact, sold in our local stores.

From the chocolate factory, we set out to look for the famous Freemont Troll, located under the Aurora Bridge.  The troll is hideous and enormous. We were not the only tourists checking it out and I had to run in for Colin to snap a quick photo before other tourists did the same.

Running in for a picture with the Freemont Troll

When we tired ourselves with all the walking, we made our way by car to Chittenden Locks.  The locks were very close to the Freemont section and there was quite a bit of activity as it approached 5pm.  We were able to see the locks raise and lower the water to allow boats to pass through. We also got to see quite a few salmon swimming in the fish ladder, and a seal swimming close by.

One of the many boats coming into the locks

Chittenden Locks

Fish ladder on the right, seal swimming on the left

Couldn't quite figure out what type of salmon were swimming in the ladder

Close-up of the seal swimming close to the fish ladder

Boats waiting patiently to pass through the locks

When we checked into our airbnb rental and talked to our host, a middle school math teacher, we found out the Seattle Seahawks had a preseason game at home that evening.  He suggested we try to get tickets on craigslist.  We did try, but were unsuccessful in finding tickets that way.  Instead, we drove down to Pioneer Square just as the game was about to start. We drove around for about 10 minutes before we found a spot not too far away.  Then, we walked towards the stadium with our eyes peeled for scalpers.  It didn't take long to find them and since it was already almost 30 minutes into the game, we easily got tickets for $20.  In the small stadium, the upper deck seats did not seem very far from the field and we enjoyed the atmosphere, the stadium, and getting to be outdoors on a beautiful night!

Arriving at Century Link Field in Seattle

The Seattle skyline from the field as the evening approaches sunset

Seats in the upper deck for $20

Seattle skyline at night

We stayed almost to the end of the game, but the 4th string quarterback was not that exciting.  During our walk back to the car, we admired that the stadium was so close to downtown, public transportation, the historic district and so many bars and restaurants.  

Our airbnb rental was another comfortable room, with gracious hosts that offered coffee, bread and jam for us to enjoy at breakfast.  The best quality about this rental was the view!  Colin and I enjoyed a leisure breakfast while sitting on the outdoor balcony.  We were amazed at all the sea planes that took off and landed in Lake Union.

Stay tuned for our adventures in Olympic National Park!

What is your favorite flavor of Theo Chocolate?

What football stadium is your favorite and why?

Back in Vancouver for a Day

We woke to cloudy, damp weather in Whistler again on Wednesday morning and decided we were ready to head back to Vancouver, hoping there would be sun once we left the mountains.  On our way back along the Sea to Sky Highway, the clouds broke a bit and we got to see some blue skies and pockets of sun.  The drive between Whistler and Vancouver really is picturesque.

One of the many beautiful views on the Sea to Sky Highway

Back in Vancouver, we visited a few places that we did not see while on bikes. One of these places was the Gastown district, the historic area of the city. There was a steam clock that drew a great deal of attention with the steam and whistles that announced the passage of 15 minutes.  We parked ourselves in the Starbucks across the street for a bit to use the free wi-fi and while seated there, I managed to get a photo of the clock when the steam was visible.

The Gastown steam clock steaming and whistling every 15 minutes.

View of the cruise ship docked at Canada Place with 

North Vancouver in the distance and dark clouds looming overhead

After a leisure stroll through Gastown and a quick walk through the seedy Chinatown district, we found a small gem of a restaurant at La Taqueria.  Colin really wanted to try beef tongue, so we ordered a Taco "De Lengua."  And, since the tacos were so small, and a better deal to get 4, we also tried the pork "Carnitas," the fish "Pescado," and chicken, "Tinga de Pollo."

Eating beef tongue tacos from La Taqueria was the highlight for Colin

We made our way out of the city to the suburbs in southeastern Vancouver to check into our airbnb accommodations  Our very friendly host spent a lot of time getting to know us and sharing some of her travel adventures with us. We weren't really sure what we wanted to do with the afternoon, and had thought taking a ferry to Vancouver Island would be fun.  By the time we arrived, it was almost 4pm.  The rain had mostly stayed away, but on the boat we did experience showers on and off that kept us moving in and out of the boat for the hour and a half ride.  We kept our eyes focused on the water, looking for the pods of orca that make their home in the waters along our ride, but we never managed to see any.  

Another British Columbia Ferry coming through the small channel

One of the moments of clear skies

A sea plane landing nearby

In hindsight, we wished we had made plans to take an early ferry so we could have taken the bus to Victoria on Vancouver Island.  By the time we arrived at the ferry terminal, it would have been too late to catch a bus back for the last ferry back to Vancouver.  Instead, we got off the boat and turned right back around to come back.  The rain was more prevalent on the ride back and we found out the ship crew typically made announcements to alert people to wildlife near the ship. So, we stayed warm inside the boat, trying desperately to get a good wi-fi signal on our phones.

It was nice to be on the water, though I prefer sunny skies and warmer temperatures.  We also met a really interesting couple from Canada. The female was from an eastern island off the coast of Newfoundland and he was from Vancouver Island, the two farthest points from each other and they lived near the center of the country in Ottawa.  Working for the federal government, they had a significant amount of vacation time they were able to use together and decided to make a cross country trip on the train. I loved hearing about their hometowns and the experience of traveling cross country on a train.

Arriving back at the ferry terminal around 7:30pm, we decided to head back near the downtown area for dinner.  One of our favorite food journalists, Mark Bittman, had endorsed Vij's Indian Restaurant just south of Granville Island. Knowing the menu was more expensive than we cared to pay, and having read that Vij's sister restaurant was just as good, we went to the less expensive Vij's Rangoli next door.

The 30 minute wait was more manageable, thanks to some appetizers made available to the people not yet seated.  It was also worth it once we got our delicious meals, which we devoured!  We both left the small, simply decorated restaurant with fully satisfied appetites.

A vegetarian dish with chickpeas

The lamb in cumin

Back at the airbnb, we were able to get some laundry done while our hostess cooked us a delicious egg/peach quiche for breakfast.  We enjoyed getting to know another "renter," a woman from Montreal, who had lived in San Diego for the past few years and had recently quit her job to move back to Canada.  She was taking about 2 months off before starting to look for a new job, and had traveled from San Diego to Vancouver and still had plans to see Whistler and Banff.  Colin and I asked a lot of questions about how she managed to find work in a new location, and were completely in awe of this woman who was taking such a risk.  Her experience in the past had always turned out fine, and we wished her luck before we parted.

I can't imagine just quitting my job and driving to a new location to find work upon arrival. I know several people who have done it and it usually seems to work out for them.  In this economy, it seems like a huge risk, which I'm not sure I could ever take.  I no longer recall the woman's profession, but maybe it is easier in certain industries. 

The highlights of our second time in Vancouver mostly came in getting to meet people - on the ferry, our airbnb hostess, and a fellow traveler.  The Indian food at Vij's was also very memorable. During the 24 hours back in Vancouver, we did not do quite as much sightseeing as we had been used to, but it was nice to talk with people, get laundry done, and just hang out for a bit.  It's a good thing we did because once we left Vancouver and arrived back in the U.S., we were back on full sightseeing mode!

Stay tuned for a recap of our final days in the Pacific Northwest, making our way back through Seattle to Olympic National Park, Cannon Beach, Mt. Hood, and wrapping up in Portland.

What do you think about leaving a job for a new location when you don't already have a job lined up? Would you ever do it? If you have already done it, how did it work out for you??

"Chillin'" in Whistler, British Columbia

The cold, damp weather we've been having here in Raleigh the past two days reminded me of our time in Whistler.  Though we did have a mostly sunny evening when we arrived in Whistler, dusk and cool air arrived too quickly.

Checking out the Olympic rings in Whistler Village

The village was very cute and all the hotels had a modern alpine cottage look to them. There were lots of cute shops (mostly outdoor apparel), a few Starbucks (we used their wi-fi a lot!), and some decent restaurants.  We really enjoyed walking around the village.

One of the many hotels in Whistler Village

For dinner, we made our way to the Irish Pub, Dubh Linn Gate. The evening special was "buy one, get one free" fish and chips with any beverage.  I ordered a cup of tea as my beverage so we could get the special, and Colin also ordered the Steak and Guinness Pie.  Since we planned to spend two nights in Whistler, we figured we could keep some leftovers.

Our small bar table filled with two orders of fish and chips, 

a steak and Guinness pie, two waters, and a cup of tea

When we stayed at the Hostel International in Vancouver (and before we really took stock of the terrible conditions in our room), we had made reservations at the Hostel International in Whistler.  We reserved 2 bunks in a 4 person coed dorm room for $73.  During our stays at the hostel in both Vancouver and Whistler, we kept comparing the Canadian experience to the experiences we had staying in Hostel International rooms in Australia and New Zealand.  To give you the summary, the hostels in Canada were 2-3 times more expensive, the Whistler hostel came close to being among the best ones we stayed in on our previous trip (if you factor out the cost), and the hostel in Vancouver was probably the worst hostel we've ever stayed in.

The clean and modern Hostel International in Whistler

The forecast had predicted that the weather would be favorable on Tuesday, and we made plans to be there for the sun. Unfortunately, we woke to cloudy skies and damp, cool air, which did not go away for the rest of our time visiting the Olympic mountain.  It all turned out just fine because Colin's foot was hurting and it would have been tough for him to do a lot of hiking. Instead, we decided to ride on all the gondolas all day, including the famous (and impressive!) Peak-to-Peak Gondola.

If you visit Whistler, and want to ride the gondolas, I highly recommend starting your day by 10am.  We were up early, but tried to hold out to see if the weather would get better. Instead, it got worse, and when we purchased our tickets, we learned that the last ride down the mountain was at 5pm!  Tickets were a bit pricey, at $45 each, but if we got to the top of the mountain early in the day, and were able to hike some of the trails on a nice day, it would have been worth it!

During our 4-5 hours "exploring" Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains by gondola, we rode four different gondolas for a total of 7 "rides." Not surprisingly, the highlight was riding the Peak-to-Peak Gondola between the Roundhouse Lodge (on Whistler Mountain) and Rendevous Lodge (on Blackcomb Mountain) in each direction.  According to Wikipedia, the Peak to Peak  is 1.88 miles and 1430 feet above the valley.  There were literally four towers supporting the gondolas, with two on each mountain. For the rest of the ride - a solid mile - there was no tower holding us above the valley. I'm not a fan of heights and thought I would freak out, but even to Colin's surprise, I was fine.

Looking down on Whistler Village as we ride the enclosed

Whistler Village Gondola up Whistler Mountain

View from the Roundhouse Lodge towards the 

summit of Whistler (still farther up the mountain)

Making our way up to the top of Whistler Mountain 

on the open-air Peak Express Gondola

Very foggy at the summit of Whistler Mountain, it's a 

good thing there are bright orange warning signs!

We caught glimpses of the mountains 

and the sun throughout the day

Getting ready to board the Peak-to-Peak Gondola

Suspended 1400 feet above the 

valley with no towers in sight!

Warming up with some lentil soup in the Rendezvous Lodge

Looking for bears, enjoying the flowers, and trying 

not to freeze on the Solar Coastal Express Gondola

The enclosed gondolas (Peak-to-Peak and Whistler Village Gondola) were a tad bit warmer than the "open chair" gondolas, but it was much harder to take pictures through the glass with the rain drops on the window.  After riding a few open chairs, I was ready to get back down the mountain and into a hot shower.  That seems to be the best way to warm back up after being outdoors in cold, damp weather.

For our second night in Whistler, we had tried to get a good deal on a "name your own price" hotel in Whistler Village, but were unsuccessful. Instead, we found an inexpensive airbnb room not far from the main area.  The private bath had plenty of hot water (thankfully!), and the small room (with it's own thermostat) was comfortable enough to enjoy a good night's sleep. We were able to leave our leftovers in the fridge before heading out the the gondolas, and it was nice to step out of the hot shower and have a warm plate of fish and chips ready to eat!

Before turning in for the night, we stayed warm and enjoyed some tea (me) and dessert (me and Colin) at one of the Starbucks in Whistler Village. There, we caught up on e-mails, booked accommodations for our travels back south, and did a little people-watching.

Overall, we made the best of our day in Whistler. We always enjoy sunny skies and warm weather, and we lucked out for most of the trip. We were bound to have a rainy day.  Because Colin wasn't feeling up to hiking, it was probably best that the weather forced us to limit our activities.  It just means we have to go back!  I'm sure it's quite a sight in the winter, with all the tourists and snow on the mountains.  It's no wonder the Olympics were held in one of the cutest villages I've ever experienced - or perhaps hosting the Olympics caused the village to step up to the plate!  Maybe I can get Colin to try snowboarding with me sometime and we can relive the Olympic experience!!

What was your favorite memory of the 2010 Olympics held in Whistler/Vancouver?
Did you see anything about the village (Whistler) or city (Vancouver) that impressed you?

Exploring Portland's Main Attractions

The almost 5 hour trip from Crater Lake to Portland was all we could manage after spending the morning on the lake, so we had a very low key evening on our first day in the city. After two nights of camping, I was ready to sleep on a real bed and we had decided to try the apartment/room rental website Airbnb.  If you have never heard of it, you should definitely check it out! We had such a great experience the first few nights staying at people's houses, that we ended up using the site to book almost all of the remainder of our nights on the trip.

The first night we stayed in an "urban farm" where we enjoyed fresh eggs in the morning, were able to air out and dry our tent, and did some laundry.  The house smelled a bit like a "farm," but the people who lived there were very nice and we had a pleasant stay.

Once we packed up our clean clothes and dry tent, we set out to explore Portland.  Our first stop was the highly recommended Portland Japanese Gardens in Washington Park, just west of downtown. We had heard that this 5.5-acre garden is the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan from several reviews (and it is listed on their website).  The $9.50 adult entry fee was a little steep, but we decided it was worth paying for the preservation of a park.  The gardens were really beautiful and mostly peaceful.  We occasionally found ourselves near a group and had to move away to continue enjoying the serenity the gardens offered.

The Strolling Pond Garden housed colorful fish

One of the many Japanese sculptures in the Garden

The waterfall was one of my favorite areas

We enjoyed walking on the narrow paths through the different areas

From the Japanese Garden, we walked across the street to the Washington Park International Rose Garden, a free garden that houses 9525 rose bushes.  The only disappointment we experienced was that there were no rose buds on the bushes that were supposed to be the "blackest" red.  

One of my favorites - a two-toned rose

An amphitheater right next to the rose garden

Walking around the gardens built up our appetite, so we made our way to Dick's Kitchen in the northwest area of Portland.  The restaurant was recommended to us by our airbnb hosts and we had a delicious meal.  We decided on meat entrees in this farm-to-fork restaurant - of which there are many in Portland!  Colin went with the sausage, and I couldn't decide on a burger.  Instead of one large burger, I did the 3 sliders - one beef, one buffalo, and the "guest burger" of the week which happened to be the "dork" (duck/pork).  They were all very good.  The dork was the driest, and my beef cheeseburger was the most satisfying.  

Sausage and beef, buffalo, and dork sliders

The other tip we received was that we could park in the Whole Foods parking lot downtown for up to 2 hours for free if we bought something there.  We've never had a problem finding something to nosh on at Whole Foods!  Leaving the car in the parking garage, we set out on foot to explore downtown Portland.

Walking around downtown Portland

We just happened to come upon a yelp.com recommended dessert shop called Saint Cupcake, and we just had decided to go in for a treat.  The cupcakes were good, but nowhere near as good as Magnolia's or Gigi's.  We actually had one cupcake that was not good. I know that seems impossible to have a cupcake not taste good, but they put salt on the frosting and it was not a pleasant sweet-salty taste.

Seven layer bar and an assortment of mini cupcakes

The other sights we visited on our 2 hour walking tour of downtown Portland included the Central Library, Ira Keller Fountain, Pioneer Courthouse Square, and the Portland Building.  Central Library's interior was impressive, with its etched-graphite staircase.  I had read that this library is the oldest on the west coast.  The  18-foot-high waterfalls that comprise Ira Keller Fountain were soothing, providing us with a wonderful place to rest.  We did not spend much time in Pioneer Courthouse Square, the area which had been compared to Union Square in NYC by several travel guides. The area is much smaller than Union Square in NYC, and an Italian festival took almost the entire square with it's food trucks and music.  Our final stop, the 15 story Portland Building, had an impressive statue of Portlandia - the Goddess of Commerce - on a second story balcony.  Looking up at the statue from the street I could believe it is the second-largest hammered-copper statue in the world (after the Statue of Liberty).  We were invited in the building to visit a gallery, but decided we had to get back to the car.

Central Library's etched-graphite staircase in the main lobby

We walked through quite a few parks all over downtown

Taking a break at the Ira Keller Fountain

Looking up in awe at Portlandia sitting on the Portland Building

Back at the car, we made our way up through the northwest district to the Farmers' Market, before heading to our airbnb accomodations for the evening.  The farmers' market was pretty good, with about 10 farmers offering a variety of late-summer produce.  We were fortunate to find a really great airbnb rental for this second night in Portland. The location was on a bus line to downtown, or we could walk the 2 miles if we wanted, the house was so clean, and the hostess went out of her way to make our experience wonderful. She had 3 different types of coffee makers for her renters and showed me how to use her cappuccino maker, and she gave us some change for the bus.

This farmers' market had some of the largest zucchini I've ever seen

After "checking in" and a quick meet-and-greet with the homeowner, we took the bus downtown to get some dinner.  Since we had such a big lunch, we opted for some Happy Hour appetizers on the outdoor patio at Pink Rose, in the upscale Pearl District. I immediately decided on the bacon-wrapped dates, thinking back to how amazing the bacon-wrapped figs were in Napa.  Colin ordered the chorizo-manchego stuffed mushrooms, and both proved to be delicious and thoroughly satisfying.
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Bacon-wrapped dates (L) and chorizo-manchego stuffed mushrooms (R)

We spent the rest of the evening walking the mile along the waterfront and making our way back through downtown. One thing that stood out to me as we walked along the water was the visibility of homeless youth.  They seemed to congregate along the main roads that we walked along and unlike NYC, homeless individuals seemed to hang out together.  Almost every group had a few dogs with them, and neither the people or the dogs seemed to be starving.  Under one of the bridges, there was a soup kitchen being served out of a truck. Obviously, this was the reason for the large gathering of people in this area, but we found groups in many areas where food was not being served.  When we spoke with some of the locals about our observations, we were told that many of the homeless youth chose that lifestyle as part of their anarchist beliefs and the groups moved north from California as the weather got warm and moved back south when it got cold in Portland and Seattle.  The explanation seemed logical as these individuals gathered in groups, unlike most homeless individuals we typically saw in NYC that were almost always alone.

Enjoying a nice 1 mile stroll along the water.

Before heading back to retire for the evening, we make a short stop into the massive Powell's City of Books to check out Mt. Rainier hiking books and decide on a hike for the next day.  Then, we completely exhausted ourselves with the almost two mile walk through Nob Hill and back to our room in the northwest section of the city.  Colin kept his GPS watch on for most of our travels and said we walked about 15,000 steps during our day in Portland!  With the amazing weather, we felt we had to be outside.  For the second night in a row, I was grateful for a warm shower and a clean and comfortable bed.

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