Portland

We just returned from a fun family vacation to the west coast. I want to share our experiences so that I have record of all the good times we enjoyed on this trip.

We flew into Portland, Oregon and spent the afternoon exploring downtown. Portland was a neat first stop for our family since none of us had ever been to Oregon. We found Portland's downtown to be easy to get around and we enjoyed beautiful weather while we were there. It was heavenly to leave behind Dallas' 100 degree temperatures for a cloudless 75 degree day!

We walked along the Willamette River, which runs through downtown Portland. 

We enjoyed a delicious lunch and great IPAs at Fat Head's Brewery.

After lunch we explored Powell's Books, the world's largest independent bookstore. Amelia was in heaven!

Our next stop was Voodoo Doughnuts, the famous doughnut shop that originated in Portland. The shop was founded in 2003 and has a cult-like following. John had done his research on the doughnuts in advance so he knew exactly which flavors he wanted to try. We waited in line for about 30 minutes before it was our turn at the counter.

Voodoo's interior had funky decorations and a fun atmosphere.

We got a half dozen doughnuts to share, among them the Pothole (Bavarian cream filled chocolate bar topped with Oreo cookies and a trail of frosting for adhering to the proper side of the road to eat first), a Portland Creme (raised yeast shell filled with Bavarian cream and topped with chocolate and two eyeballs, representing the vision of the great city of Portland), and the Homer (raised ring dipped in strawberry flavored icing and a smattering of round sprinkles). Descriptions are courtesy of Voodoo's website. I don't often care for doughnuts, but I thought the apple fritter was delicious.

Even though we all enjoyed samples of the different flavors we wanted to try, they were so rich that even though the doughnuts travelled with us for two days, we still weren't able to finish them all.

Portland had a great atmosphere, some interesting architecture, and good people-watching. 

The kids were interested in the Nike city bikes we saw stationed throughout Portland. As in most big cities, you can rent public bikes from a kiosk and return them to a different kiosk around the city. We didn't rent the bikes in Portland, but understanding how the bike rental process works came in handy for when we were in San Francisco later in the trip.

We stopped at a tavern for happy hour and Amelia and John noticed all the odd items that appeared to be pasted to the ceiling. When we asked our waiter about this, he informed us that the bar owner collects donations for charity and tacks them to the ceiling. Once a year the donations are removed and donated, with the bar owner matching the proceeds with a separate donation. Of course the kids wanted to participate. So we gave our waiter a dollar and two quarters, he twisted the bill around the corners (almost like a candy wrapper), climbed onto a short ladder, and threw the contents upward. The bill and quarters stuck to the ceiling because the ceiling is magnetic. How clever! The waiter did not describe this to us in advance so we were surprised by the trick.