Portland - Sunday

One advantage of knowing people all over the place is getting to visit so many amazing places and not having to pay for lodging. It's grand.

Portland is the first stop on my summer travel journey, I'm visiting a friend I've known for 20 years while Eric visits a good friend in Vancouver. I arrived Sunday afternoon. After a very stressful week of moving, visa drama, and shipping frenzies, I woke up at 4 am to catch a flight up here. Several naps on the plane and some caffeine later and I was functional enough.


Sunday we went to Deshutes Brewery in the Pearl District for dinner and a flight of beer. They have an amazing warm pretzel with a cheese/mustard sauce that was TDF. Our main course was the Sweet and Spicy Mac and Cheese. I'm a sucker for gastropub! The flight was 6 small glasses of different beer so I got to try several different kinds. I seldom drink beer, but I really enjoy a good quality, brewed-with-love pint (or half pint) now and then. I'm really grossed out by Miller Lite, etc. that gets processed and pasteurized until it's not even worth it. But Deshutes beer is awesome.

Then we visited Washington Park to see the rose garden and the arboretum. The views cannot be beat - you can see all of the city and Mt. Hood. And I came at a good time to see the roses in full bloom, what seemed like acres of them. I should also mention that the weather has been perfect. It doesn't hurt.