Portland-Part 2

It was disappointing having to miss John Ortberg preach at Willow Creek this weekend. So what instead was my top priority on a Sunday morning? Voodoo donuts, of course. The line was well out the door at 9 am and I think we waited about a half hour in line. Now I'm not a big donut eater, but this is quintessential Portland. We got a bacon maple bar, apple fritter, old fashioned with glaze and orangutan, which had orange frosting and orange sprinkles. We split all four. I have to admit eating those donuts just make you smile. The bacon maple was by far my favorite. I wish they had a raised donut with granulated sugar; that is by far my favorite. And although they offer it, I did not get married at Voodoo donuts.

 

We walked a block east to the Portland Saturday market. It was just getting started, so most of the stands were still setting up. We looked for a winter coat for Maggie, but couldn't really come to a consensus. It seemed either the size was off, the color was bad, or the lining didn't have fleece. We headed back to the courtyard, checked out, and took a cab to the Crowne Plaza. This hotel is in the northeast district and mom had a free night there since her tour was beginning the next day. It's a very nice hotel that used to be a Holiday Inn before it got remodeled. It's not the nicest area around the hotel, I mean you wouldn't expect a Martin Luther King Blvd to be a block away from a Crowne Plaza. We walked two blocks and took a streetcar back to the Northwest district.

Mom wanted to show me the Alphabet district, which is just west of the Pearl district. It's a more casual, yet very trendy shopping area. We found a nice gray and black winter coat for Maggie at 60% off. Not bad at all. We checked out a few stores and many were nice. One leather store had some great shoes, belts, and bags. Another had these really soft shirts. Sadly, they were well out of my price range.

 

For lunch, we settled on McMeniman's Ram. This company has several dozen pubs and restaurants throughout Oregon. My visit there made me wonder why. First, the music is just too loud. For a bar that tries to be decent and classy, and did not have many people sitting inside, I still had to raise my voice to have a conversation. When I got my iced tea, there was no straw or lemon. I asked the server for a straw and she didn't get me one until I asked again. In addition to our server not being very available, I'm not even sure she ever smiled at us even one time.

To the food. I ordered the communication breakdown burger with cheese, peppers mushrooms, and onions. I got the burger and I see something white on it. My hear sank. This burger had a mixture of mayo and horseradish and the menu never specified it. I guess that's why it's called a communication breakdown burger... I don't eat mayo and since the menu did not mention that there would be mayo, this really bothered me.  Mom gave me her lamb burger and she took mine. The lamb burger was fine, but not worth that much aggravation. Disappointing service and a misleading menu would keep me from coming back. We should have gone to Escape from New York for pizza or to the Jewish deli next door for a pastrami sandwich. But I let mom make the call. This time, it didn't work.

 

We walked east and went shopping in the Pearl district. We passed the Timbers soccer stadium so I took a couple of shots. They've did out every game in their the year history, which is impressive. But I'm amazed their season ticket waitlist is 6,000 people long!

 

We stopped into a yoga store on Couch St. That's pronounced kooch...I have no idea why. I must admit I noticed the employees' dress code, as they were wearing yoga outfits. One attractive woman, who must have been 40-something, offered to assist me and she was wearing a white tank top and black yoga shorts. Kind of hard not to stare, but I'm a gentleman after all. I saw one shirt that was super nice; it was a pima cotton shirt. Light blue and really soft. Unfortunately, it was a little out of my budget. Maybe one day.

 

By now, it was late afternoon and I wasn't sure what else to do. We took the streetcar loop down to south Portland, to the Portland State University campus. It took about an hour to get back. Eventually, we switched cars and found our way back to the hotel. I definitely needed to rest for a few minutes. We watched an episode of bar rescue and walked a few blocks to grab dinner at Schmizza, which is a local pizza that mom recommended. And...it was another clunker. First, when I order a Coke, I order Coke. Not a Pepsi. Coke. We then ordered a veggie pizza. They forgot the pesto chicken, which we requested. But the quality of the pizza was mediocre at best. The crust on the bottom was so soft, no crispness at all. The sauce tasted overdone. The veggies were definitely fresh though. But I have no idea why mom liked this place. Mom definitely swung and missed on both food picks, which is unusual. She typically just missed on movie picks.

 

We got back and I was ready to be alone, so I put on my bathing suit and headed to the pool. Well so much for relaxation! Lots of grandparents and grandkids, so there went any chance for quiet. I sat in the whirlpool for maybe 15 minutes and that was it. In the room, I watched two episodes of Frankenfood, read for a half hour, and went to bed.

 

And it came to be Monday morning. I actually had a weird dream that I got hired by Costco and it turned out to be military training. I have no idea, maybe it was something in that lousy pizza sauce. I had the $15.00 breakfast buffet, which was free since mom scored a voucher. After another workout, I loaded up on scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, wheat toast, potatoes with peppers, pineapple, and cantaloupe. Mom gave up her voucher for me, which she didn't have to do. But she had a Keurig coffee machine in her room, so I guess she can't complain.

 

She spent most of the morning trying to set up her voicemail and work email on her phone, which only took about four hours. Not even kidding. And the Mets were on at 9 in the morning. Of course they blew the game late. They are so dead, it is ridiculous. Anyway I left around 11:30 for the airport. The Portland airport is so different than anything else I've seen. With drop offs, cars, cabs, and shuttles all converge in the same area and there is next to no room. Ticketing went smooth and then came security. One woman swabbed my wrist with what looked like a band aid. I have no idea why my wrist was suspicious. Then they check the ID and ticket as normal. But I couldn't take my own tray. The agent chose whether we'd get one. She decided no and I stuffed everything into my backpack, but I could leave my shoes and hat on at least.

 

We got delayed over an hour, thanks to bad weather in Chicago. But it was worth it. During the delay, I got a surprise call from miss Nona, who's vacationing on the west coast from Lebanon. I would've missed her call if we'd taken off on time. Always a pleasure to hear her sweet voice. I do like the new 737 American plane, with multiple charging outlets and a personal video screen at every seat. Landing at 8:30...back to real life...

 

Actually we landed around 8:45 and stayed on the tarmac for an hour. Lightning delays kept planes at gates. So we got to the gate and I headed down to baggage claim. I wound up standing there for nearly an hour. And no Portland luggage to speak of. The carousel is spinning, but there is no luggage on it. It's kind of like the hamster wheel running with no hamster. It is absolutely comical. I was supposed to land at 7 and be home by 8 or 8:15. I did not get home till 11:30. At least Maggie isn't alone tonight.