Little boxes

Finding homes for stuff and getting it all put away always takes me longer than I think.  Partly it’s because I like to savour things, to look closely at new stuff and enjoy being a new owner.

Whilst we were in Cargo, Portland, I couldn’t help but get a couple of these small tins.  What better description of the kind of stuff that will find its way into this one?

The detail is great, too!

 

The second one looks a bit more conventional, until you turn it over

Again, the detail is sweet.

So, amidst all the tidying, sorting, clearing, the journal is done.

I’m almost up to date. 

Presumptious, moi?

The trip’s not over till the fat lady sings…or whatever.  I had totally disregarded the potential for the drive to the airport to be quite so exciting – we stopped by Mount St Helens on the way to Sea-Tac and it was such a glorious, peach of a day that the experience was altogether overwhelming.

We got the first hint that it was a good day to make the detour as we turned off the freeway.  The mountain was there in a cloudless blue sky and we knew it’d been a good decision.

 

We bypassed all the distractions of visitors’ centres and the like on the way up because we were time-limited.  Both of our flights were leaving late afternoon and though we had plenty of time really, we didn’t want to risk a last minute rush.  We parked up at Johnstone Ridge Observatory and walked up the pathway to the viewing point.

Once again, Mary’s Golden Pass gave us free entry and presented with fluorescent pink wristbands, the facilities were open to us to explore.

Wow.  There in front of us was a geologist/vulcanologist’s dream.  The crater where the top blew off the mountain was clearly visible, as was the lava dome in the centre, where subsequent action has taken place.  What we had thought was a dried up river turned out to be the lava flow from the eruption in 1980 and the lack of vegetation and the small hummocks here and there were all further remains of that devastating event.

We watched a short film about the 1980 eruption but found it rather over-sensationalised the events and though it answered one or two of our questions, it didn’t really make for comfortable viewing for me being very loud and visually distracting.

 

That didn’t matter, though, because the other displays and explanations were well done and from a standing start, I learned a great deal about what we were seeing there in front of us.

We made a couple of stops on the way back to the freeway, taking the same photo over and over, such an impression did it make on all three of us.  At one stop, we met a local volunteer who told us that only yesterday, the mountain had been covered with cloud most of the day – today was very unusual indeed.

He also clarified to us that none of this very impressive infrastructure had been there before 1980 – these elegant bridges, fine highways and great visitors’ centres were all recent developments and a commitment by the US government to creating this National Monument.

With the car set up for the last freeway journey of the trip – three drinks, an assortment of weird chocolate (Lime Tortilla with Salt, French Toast and Smores flavours!) and a bag of Hot Tamales, we set off for the airport.

Not wanting to be outshone by another mountain, Mount Rainier put in an appearance along the way.

And that was that.  Bidding our dear friend Mary goodbye at the airport, we’re now sitting in the lounge awaiting our flight.  We’ve had such fun along the way, have wondered if we are surrounded by a vortex which attracts the strange and off-the-wall types who have characterised our trip, because once again, our wealth of travel tales and the characters who populate them have been added to.

Here’s to the next one!!

A very fitting finale

It’s been another day of altogether different experiences from yesterday. For our last full day we decided we’d start at the Farmers Market – bustling with trade on this lovely sunny morning.  We browsed around enjoying the sight of the freshest of vegetables and seeing plenty of evidence that strawberry season has arrived in full force.

It wouldn’t be Portland without some curiosity though – there were several amusing signs and again, enough raw material for several novels if only we stood still long enough to record it all.

Like in Seattle, the mixed bunches of flowers were looking lovely in the sunshine and many of the market customers were carrying huge bunches home with them.

Best of all were the berries – we were to enjoy some of these later!

Our next stop was the Saturday market, at the other end of the city centre, not far from Voodoo Doughnuts.

There was a long queue outside there this morning!

We understood this market to be “arts and crafts” and knowing Portland to be a creative kind of place, our expectations were high.  Too high as it happened, because this market turned out to be like many others, full of pretty mundane things, very few original or well made and as a result, we didn’t linger.

Instead, we took the streetcar to the north western end of the city centre, where Mary recalled a neighbourhood full of interesting streets to potter about in.  She was right!

We spent a happy couple of hours in the sunshine, in and out of shops, people watching and finally, gelato-eating.

Very good it was too – my zabaglione and pistachio were excellent.

Across the road, one of my favourite shops was to be found, too.  I didn’t even go looking for this one!

Late afternoon by now, and time to return to the hotel to enjoy a bit of sunshine and sadly, to begin the packing up.  On this summer Saturday afternoon, Portland was out to play and the riverside park was rather busier than we’ve seen it.

This evening, we had our “Portland Summer Dinner Party” to look forward to.  Arriving around 6.30pm, we were welcomed with a glass of bubbly and took our places for a great demonstration as Adam, the chef, cooked dinner for us.  The whole seven courses were first class from the first bite to the last. 

The Menu?

A tuna amuse-bouche

Oregon White Peach Salad with Shiso, Pickled Onions and summer Radishes

Chilled Cucumber Gazpacho with Marcona Almonds, Cilantro and Creme Fraiche

Baked Shrimp and Crab Cakes with Roasted Pepper Aioli and Watercress

Five Spice Crusted Tuna Loin with Grilled Asparagus and Sesame Noodles

Dry Aged Ribeye steak with Herb butter, warm potato salad and Arugula (I was losing the plot by now and forgot to take a picture of the dish – here’s Adam plating it up for us)

and finally, Fresh Oregon Berries and Angel Food cake with Vanilla Whipped cream, which didn’t stay on the plate long enough to be photographed

We all agreed that it had been a great way to spend our last evening together before setting off home tomorrow.  It’s been a great trip!

River deep, mountain high

First, some sustenance.  The Original Pancake House had been marked on our google map by Mary ever since we first decided to visit Portland.  She had been there many times previously and knew what lay in store.

I ordered the speciality of the house, Apple Cinnamon pancake.  H.U.G.E. (but delicious)

Mary herself ordered a Dutch Baby – a kind of Yorkshire Pudding with lemon and sugar.  Delicious too.

The Corned Beef Hash fan ordered Corned Beef Hash.  I know…

Over the bridge then, negotiating a busy freeway junction a hundred feet or so up above the Willamette River.  Hmmm.

We were heading for the Historic Route 30, the first scenic route to be built in America, The Columbia River Highway.

We were blessed with great weather, not too much traffic and discovered breathtaking views from high above the water level.

After our first stop high above the river gorge, we continued to the viewpoint there on the wooded ridge.

The ladies in the visitors centre there were chatty and very helpful.  They worried about us because the coach with 40 English people had just left and they were concerned that we’d been left behind.  We reassured them that we were independent spirits!

Next stop was a waterfall, accessed by a trail through the woods.  Lovely.

Several waterfalls later, we were beginning to gather a bit of knowledge about these things and at least one of us was talking about the “bridal veil effect” in authorative tones.

Just as we were beginning to be waterfalled out, we came to the end of the gorge and look what we spotted on the horizon: Mount St Helens. (I think it's actually Mount Adams?)

We were now turning right and joining another scenic byway – the circuit around Mount Hood

which was looking spectacular in the afternoon sunshine. Those clouds were drifting in and out, but whilst we stopped to absorb the view and take photos at the National Forest Ranger Station, the clouds parted and the mountain was looking super.

Visiting the office to see what information was available gave us a small insight into the working conditions of a forest ranger, too.

We continued back towards Portland, joining the road which takes the same route as the old Oregon Trail.

Yes, there is a town named Boring.

Roses and Voodoo

It’s so easy to get around Portland, because the streetcar and light rail systems are not only frequent and convenient, they’re all free within the city centre, too.  So, we’ve been hopping on and off all day.

We started down in the Pearl district, at Powells Books (of course), before stopping into Anthropologie in the next block.

Enjoying the individual personalities of the wide variety of shops and businesses in this area, we poked our heads inside a kitchen/cook shop on the corner.  In Good Taste turned out to be more of a cookery school, with an enviable cooking demonstration area and super-friendly staff who gave us a few details about up and coming classes.  We were sorry that we couldn’t make any of these as we’re not in the city for long – but lo and behold, on Saturday night, we’ve snagged three places at the Portland Summertime Dinner Party.  How lucky is that?!

Finding it hard to resist the colourful “shop” opposite, we simply had to investigate further.  Cargo was the kind of place where each of us could have spent a whole day. (Click through to their website and you’ll see what I mean – you might spend a day just looking at that!)

Indonesian Boy Scout Badge anyone?

Philippino Saint structure?

Gorgeous blue and white china?

Or a lovely oriental family photograph?

That’s all, because these gorgeous, beautifully coloured drawers are all MINE!  (I wish)

What an incredible shop.  Delightful people too!

So, still catching our breath, we sobered up in a knitting shop or two, enjoyed a coffee at Pearl Bakery and scoped out a few places for dinner before jumping on a tram headed for Washington Park and the Rose Gardens.

It being June, everything was in full bloom and the garden was looking lovely.  I was a little disappointed that, since it was situated on a breezy hillside, there wasn’t the concentrated perfume of a more enclosed rose garden, but the flowers were truly magnificent.

Another couple of hours downtown and a bite to eat left us in need to something sweet.  Lo and behold, a tram in the opposite direction from previous journeys took us to a place we’d only read about VooDoo Doughnuts.

Except, when we got there, the notice on the door said “closed”.  Our guide had listed the place as 24/7 and arriving at the door was the first we’d heard that this particular shop had been closed for rebuilding since April.

Oh dear.

But there was quite a bit of activity inside, the door was wedged open and when a young man put his head around the door, we asked what was going on.  “Five minutes” he said, “we’re reopening in about five minutes”.

Woohoo!

“Actually, it might be a bit longer”, he admitted, five minutes later.

In the meantime, we enjoyed the company of a family from Albany and a queue began to form.  Only speaking to them did we realise what a following Voodoo Doughnuts have in Portland, never mind how long the queue normally is.  Here we were, first in line for the “soft” reopening!

When the doors opened, we were there.  Great ceremony as we ordered the first doughnuts of the new, extended store.  Mary handed over the first dollar bill in the till (which was then taken away for safekeeping) and a huge cheer went up as the first doughnut was placed into the bag.

It was a Portland Cream.  Wooohooo!

We went on to choose a doughnut each - Mark opted for one of the Voodoo speciality flavours, Maple and bacon (you’ll have to ask him what it was like!)  Only as we stepped back did we realise that none of us had chosen the voodoo doughnut – the one with raspberry filling and a (pretzel) stake through its heart.

Quick as a flash, the gentleman from Albany stepped forward and ordered an extra one for us – how sweet was that?!

So, doughnut party here tonight, whilst watching So You Think You Can Dance (US Edition – better dancers!) 

We haven’t had the heart to draw out the stake yet…