Road Trip Day 15: Portland

The purposefully weird town of Portland is one of our favorite vacation destinations. My brother lives here and we have visited more than once so we feel like we really know our way around. Since we don’t have to live in the constant drizzle, we also very much enjoy the weather

We started the day at the gorgeous Rhododendron Garden and saw a plethora of flowers and waterfowl. It was a beautiful area and the weather was perfect.

Then we sat down for lunch at Laughing Planet. This burrito place would absolutely be a weekly happening if I lived here. I had the Veggies Gone Wild burrito. It was a very large whole wheat tortilla filled with curry-spiced green beans, a grain mixture of quinoa, barley, and rice, spinach, broccoli, and topped off with cilantro lime slaw and peanut sauce. I loved every bite.

Brad had a BBQ chicken quesadilla

After our filling lunch we walked around the Rose Garden, which wasn’t in full bloom but I still thoroughly enjoyed the sunny weather and meticulous garden. The few roses that had bloomed were gorgeous and very fragrant.

Because we didn’t spend much time at the Rose Garden we visited the Pittock Mansion 1,000 feet above the city.

Then for the highlight of Brad’s day and maybe even the trip: Voodoo Doughnuts!  This shop is very famous and for good reason. Luckily, we were able to go on a Friday afternoon and the line was only about 5 people deep (yes, we stood in line for fried pieces of dough covered in pure sugar). I had an Oreo doughnut and Brad stocked up with half a dozen: 2 maple bacon (his favorite), an Arnold Palmer cake doughnut, a cotton candy flavored Miami Vice, Portland Cream, and spicy chocolate. Their cake doughnuts are incredible, as are their traditional raised versions.

Our day ended with a relaxing few hours at Powell’s, dinner in, and the rest of the movie Alien.

This is my brother's second rescue kitty, Melody. She is a total spaz cat but she's gorgeous and is as sweet as can be.