I first had to fly to KCMO for a 3.5 hour layover. Aunt Patty picked me up to take me back to the house, and I had a chance to see Mawmaw and Pawpaw for about an hour. Aunt Nancy and Uncle Fred were also there, as was Sarah, little dude, and the baby. It was a nice, quick, visit.
Flew to PDX. Could see Mt. Hood and Mt. Ranier out the window. Got a cab to my totally bitchin' hotel downtown. It was magical riding in the cab and seeing all the mountains and bridges out the window!
I had reserved a room at The Nines, and it was def quite classy. My room had a minibar and bar ware.
My main draw to PDX this particular weekend was that Don Hertzfeldt was in town with a collection of his animation films, and I had previously purchased tix online. I went to get food next door at a place called Yumm (which was excellent!) and took the bus to the Hollywood Theater for the show. The collection was great. I had seen them all, except of course for the newest one. I'm glad that "Rejected" wasn't included. I mean, yeah, it's great, but let's move on. The new films are funny, too, in their own subtle ways. Its refreshing.
Being on Central Time, I was exhausted and was all too happy to get back to the hotel and pass the eff out!
...So since I was Central Time, I was awake and ready to go before 6am. I decided to go get donuts at Voodoo Donuts. It was delicious!! I had not eaten donuts in over five years, and these were just like I remembered!
I got my donuts and walked to the riverfront, which was developed with trails and footpaths along the bridges. It was initially still dark, but then the sun came up, and the dawn was very pretty.
I went back to the hotel and took a nap. Decided on Papa G's Organic Deli for lunch. Took the bus and got there 45 min before it opened. I walked around the neighborhood and went to some sweet hippy shop and stimulate the local economy. I got a bicycle patch, a pin that is an outline of the state of Oregon with a green heart in the middle, a Re-Bike bike chain keychain with bottle opener, and a Rose City postcard with a bicycle in the center of the rose, handpainted on heavy stock.
I was very pleased with my dining experience. I got the Southern Plate, included garlic mashed potatoes and house-made tempeh with gravy, and a side of mac n cheeze. Delicious!!
After lunch, I made plans to meet up with my pen pal JJ, who was going to meet me at my hotel. So I took the bus back, and was anticipating being to easily recognize Jeremy since he is 6'8". However, I got to my hotel, and the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team was also staying at my hotel, and all the players were down in the lobby! HAHAHAHAHAHA! I was still able to easily find Jeremy, and we swung by Powell Books on the way to Forest Park.
I wanted to see tall trees on this trip and Forest Park def delivered! It was a whole different experience being in the forst, and I nearly forgot that I was in the middle of a city! We walked all the way to the top to the Rose Garden. None of the roses were in bloom, but there were still a lot of things to see and there were a lot of people out and about. We could see Mt. Hood in the distance!
After the park, we walked to get some vegan pizza. We were going to split one and were deciding on toppings. I said that I like anything except olives and mushrooms. Then we learned that we could get little mini pizzas, so Jeremy said that we should each just get our own. That was fine with me. I got my usual spinach and pineapple with the Daiya. And I have to laugh because JJ got olives and mushrooms only! HAHAHAHAHAHA! I also was craving Cherry Pepsi, and drank soda for the first time in....years. "Today was a good day."
Jeremy and I ate and then parted ways. It was nice to finally meet in person, and we seemed to hit it off well.
I went back and took a nap. Then had plans to meet up with Milo, who I hadn't seen since the summer of 2006. I decided to go get dinner at a bar in the NE Quadrant called The Bye and Bye. It featured a vegan menu, and I decided on the meatball sandwich with a side of broccoli. The broccoli was excellent. The sandwich was huge and messy and I wasn't really sure exactly how to eat it. I got a local wheat beer and an xmas beer. Both were delicious. Milo met up with me for a round, then we went to bar down the street called The Nest. It was cool there. We had a few more rounds. It was nice to catch up!
I was sooooo tired and barely made it in time to catch the last bus back to the hotel. Didn't sleep to soundly, and left early in the morning to go get some more Voodoo Donuts. Got three more this time and went to the riverfront to walk around and watch the water.
Went back to the hotel and relaxed, then packed up and went to eat at Blossoming Lotus. It was excellent! I got a house made spicy tempeh sandwich and a cup of butternut black bean chili. Took the train to the airport. I was very impressed with the efficiency and quiet of the PDX public transit system.
Flew back to STL without a hitch and am already plotting my return. It was just maginal being out there. Everyone was totally chill, and I was not stressed out the entire time I was there. The city is beautiful, well-planned, and efficient. There were so many young, fit people, zipping around on bikes, and vegan food everywhere!
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