PDX: Hipsters, Food Carts & Doughnuts

It seems crazy that 5 years ago I was taking a train almost every other weekend.  Four hours, heading out Friday night or Saturday morning and coming back on Sunday night.  Toronto to Windsor ON.  During those trips I became an excellent train napper (although really, napping’s never been a problem for me), and saw a lot of different versions of Christmas Tree farms along the way.

Well, now that I’ve found myself on the opposite coast, I have different 4 hour train ride options.  Seattle to Portland on Amtrak for the affordable price of $24?  Sign me up!

 

 

The train wound its way along the coast with views of the Puget Sound and rural farmland.  All in all, a pretty relaxing train ride and four hours seemed to fly right along.

And so, I arrived in Portland, suitcase in hand and the map on my phone to point me in the right direction.  The purpose of my trip?  Figure out what Portland, OR is all about.  You have three days to do it….GO!

 

During my pre-research online, where everything looks bigger on the map and you can read all about the food and the streets and neighbourhoods, but you don’t quite get a sense of it, people say that Portland is a laidback city with a hipster vibe.

It was kind of cold and rainy, so I’m not sure if I got the right vibe, but I will say that everyone seemed to be very friendly.  A lot of Portland natives tend to move to Denver for a short period of time, but ultimately find themselves back in Portland.  And yes, I did find the hipsters.  They were all hanging out in my hotel lobby with cups of coffee and black-rimmed glasses.  I definitely felt the hipster vibe, and so I also found myself standing by the wall in the corner.  I did feel like I fit in a little better when I grabbed a mocha from Stumptown and slapped my glasses on.

 

So I walked.  And I walked.  And I walked some more.  What seemed like a huge downtown area, was really pretty small, and we even walked across one of the bridges (to find out later from a cab driver that that’s the neighbourhood you should avoid).  And one other unique Portland thing to know – you can’t hail a cab.  That just doesn’t work in Portland.  You have to call a cab to pick you up – anyone you see is probably on their way to some other fare.  The Jupiter Hotel (right next to the Doug Fir Lounge where you can catch some cool music) has its very own special cab button. Good to know.

Obviously food carts are key.  With so much hype, I kind of thought it would be this elaborate food cart set up and they would look like no other food cart you have ever seen, but really…..they pretty much all look like the beat up foot carts with the laminated food photos in every other city.  But the variety – this is where Portland impresses!  Porchetta sandwiches, rice bowls, thai street food, dumplings with every type of filling.  Yum.

And then, because when you’re in Portland it just seems like something you have to do.  I took the obligatory walk down to SW 3rd & SW Ankeny  and followed my nose until I could actually taste the doughnuts.   Yes, it may have been a little too early for doughnuts at 9:30am on a Friday, but that doesn’t mean there still wasn’t a line up at Voodoo Doughnuts.

I did the necessary research ahead of time because there really doesn’t seem to be enough time to look at the varieties while you’re standing in front of the menu board.  And I didn’t want to feel the pressure and make a wrong choice.  And so, because I can’t say that bacon on a maple bar does anything for me despite my love for bacon, I had to go for the infamous Voodoo Man with the pretzel stake to his heart.

So…Portland, the laid back city with the hipster vibe.  The food cart bonanza and home to doughnuts with pretzel stakes.  You’re only four hours and $25 away.  I’ll be back.  You can count on that.

 

Wrestle….What?

 

 

 

I should probably have mentioned what the purpose was of this pilgrimage to New York.   And although I have to say that for myself, the journey was much more entertaining and rewarding than the final destination….try telling that to a fourteen year old who is on his way to WrestleMania.  Also, try telling him that WWE Wrestling isn’t 100% real….those conversations don’t go to well…or rather they go round and round in circles, until I give up and hope this  fanatic fascination is just a phase (and that it ends soon).

And so, I graciously said, ‘No, don’t worry about me. You guys go…I’m sure I can find ‘something’ to do in NYC’.  So the boys headed to Metlife Stadium, without me.  You can imagine my waves of disappointment and the crocodile tears I cried (kidding).  I prepared them as best I could – tickets in hand, pocket hand warmers, toques, gloves, jackets, etc.  Because who thought it was a good idea to have a show at an outdoor arena in the beginning of April in the NorthEast?  The entire week prior to the show we kept an eye on the weather forecast.  At one point it said 38 degrees, but feels like 34 degrees.  Umm, not even the flames shooting from the stage are going to keep you warm in those temperatures.

But, the weather warmed up a little bit, it only kind of rained on them, and surprisingly the flames shooting from the stage did create a little warmth (and possibly singed some eyebrows).  The crowds cheered and heckled as the matches began, one after another, and crowd favorites The Undertaker, The Rock, John Cena, etc. made their way into the ring and battled a completely fair and in no way staged fight.

But, although not my cup of tea, there must be something special happening that attracts over 75,000 people to sit in the cold, bring their own homemade signs, scream their voices out and watch grown men battle in shortie shorts.

To: New Experiences in the City

We had a short opportunity to explore the city and it seemed like the theme of this visit was…..Brooklyn.

We went for dinner at Talde, a restaurant in Brooklyn that is run by Top Chef winner Dale Talde and ate a delicious meal of Korean Fried Chicken, sweet hawaiian bun sliders with pork, fish and portabella mushrooms, pretzel pork and chive dumplings, crispy oyster and bacon pad thai, banana leaf sticky rice and a whole roasted branzino.  The meal was delicious and of course we couldn’t leave without dessert.  Their specialties of the night:  an award winning salted chocolate cookie crumb square, which was given the seal of approval from Cookie Monster, himself, and a Talde take on the Filipino dessert – Halo Halo.  Nothing could prepare you for this dessert, and sadly I don’t have a photo, but when I describe it, I think you’ll get the idea.  Shaved ice with evaporated milk.  Coconut pieces, fresh grapefruit and mango slices.  Tapioca squares and Captain Crunch.  What???  Yes.  Captain Crunch.  Everything mixed together in one big bowl.  At one point Nathan asked if there was a piece of fish in his dessert, it turned out to be the mango, but we wouldn’t have been surprised if there was.  It was the oddest dessert we’ve ever had (and we’ve had a lot) and you couldn’t even get used to it because every single bite was a surprise.

Saturday, aside from making an early stop to Carlo’s Bake Shop, we took advantage of the sunshine and headed into the city. We headed in with the intention of heading to the oyster bar at Grand Central Terminal, but in a snap decision we ended up heading towards Battery Park (an area of town we haven’t explored in the 4 years we’ve been going to New York).

Statue of Liberty (view from Battery Park)

 

 

In an effort to do something a little bit different during this trip we walked through the Financial District, strolled down Wall Street, saw the infamous bull, and Nathan visited his money at the New York Stock Exchange (apparently it didn’t recognize him).  And then we had a couple hours to kill ….so, decided to tackle the Brooklyn Bridge.

My intention was to make the trek across to visit Jacques Torres for a cup of rich, creamy hot chocolate….but we stopped at the halfway point before realizing that we had to be on our way to Wolfgang’s Steak House to enjoy the best thick sliced bacon I have ever had and an aged steak that I wish I could share with everyone.  And that’s not even counting the chocolate mousse cake with homemade schlag…….yum!

And after a glass or two, or three, or four of wine, the tastiest steak I’ve had the pleasure of eating, and the sweet chocolate mousse cake and key lime pie for dessert, it was time to say good bye to Tribeca and head out of the city.

NYC after a Great Night!

This Screams Tourist

 

 

Sometimes you just have to be a tourist.  And on an early Saturday morning, that was one of those days.  Kick yourself out of bed and stumble on over to Hoboken, NJ to already see a line up forming in front of Carlo’s Bake Shop (from the reality show Cake Boss).  Here we thought the early bird would get the cannoli, but alas, so did the tour bus that was heading back to Ohio.   I would hate to see the sugar high and the inevitable crash that will follow for all those people on the bus, considering the huge boxes of pastries they were carting out of the bakery.

An hour later we made it out, unscathed, with boxes filled with pastries that were heavy with cream filling.  Chocolate cannolis, a lobster tail, a hazelnut cream puff and a California Fruit cheesecake.  Delicious!

The Other Side of the Hudson

Sometimes you get so caught up with the bright and shiny, the hype and the frenzy, the minute details, that you forget about the big picture.  And nothing puts that into perspective than staring across the Hudson River, looking at the iconic skyline of New York City.  You see the city as a whole and can picture all of the tiny moving parts, the people, the taxis, and the decisions that are being made within.

Skyline view from Hoboken, NJ

Next Stop: Somewhere New

After four years of traveling around the US, I have made it to 41 states, and have realized that the country truly isn’t that big.  But with that being said, 4 years of travel included a lot of the same roads travelled to a lot of the same places.

So  it was a great opportunity to travel some highways and byways and get…not lost…but rather find some new places to explore.  Traveling up the Eastcoast from Jacksonville, FL to Newark, NJ we managed to stretch out the 900 mile drive into three days of travel.  And I discovered a couple places that I had never been to before.

First Stop:  Savannah, GA (and when you say it, you have to say it like you’re from the south)

A cute little downtown area that has a downtown shopping/outdoor plaza that reminds me of Faneuil Hall in Boston.  Lots of outdoor parks and some great eating opportunities.

Our intention was to have some good ol’ southern home cooking at Paula Deen’s Lady and Sons restaurant.

But after seeing the line up, and not being able to get a reservation for another three hours, we started asking around, to see if it was worth the wait.  Turns out, the locals don’t think too highly of the place and at the first mention of the restaurant, their faces started pinching up like they had eaten a sour grape.  So I can’t give the restaurant or its food a fair review, but I can say that the locals love their BBQ, and sent us to a little hole in the wall place called Angel’s BBQ that you might have passed by if not for the little BBQ flag that hung outside its door.  And for dessert, tiny morsels of tart sweetness with key lime cookies from Byrds.  

The best part, they have a sampling station at the front of the store so you can try out flavours from chocolate chip and chocolate macaroon to lemon, key lime, peach and apple crunch.

Second Stop:  Myrtle Beach, SC

What can I say, it was dinner time.  And before we even made it to the Myrtle Beach city limits we started seeing signs for roasted oysters, stuffed clams and other delightful treats.  We made it as far as The Hot Fish Club in Murrells Inlet, a restaurant that has a history dating back before the civil war and who’s first club house was located on a place called Drunken Jack Island (who doesn’t love that!).  Fresh gulf shrimp, Alabama oysters (coming for a Pacific NW’er, I can say they had a great taste), Seafood Paella, Lobster Pot Pie and key lime pie for dessert.  Yum!

So needless to say, by the time we rolled into Myrtle Beach, SC it was dark and I’d had a couple glasses of wine, so I can tell you nothing about the beach.  I assume it is glorious and the reason why so many people were walking the streets that were filled with All-U-Can-Eat Seafood Buffets (some of them boasting up to 200 items) and surprisingly, one after another, giant neon/fluorescent lit beachwear stores and each time there was a store so bright it hurt your eyes, it was followed by a huge, elaborately built mini golf course.  What is going on Myrtle Beach?  It was nothing like I expected, and kind of reminded me of Niagara Falls (the Canadian side), which considering it has been named the ‘Honeymoon Capital’, surprisingly has a lot of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not type places, wax museums, and gaudy souvenir shops.

Third Stop:  North East, MD

I don’t know that this little east coast town would have ever been a destination for me, if Nathan hadn’t stumbled upon it 7 years ago.  He always thought he’d make it back around, it just took him a little while.  Cute main street and a great casual seafood place, called Woody’s Crab House.  Their specialty:  Hard Shell Blue Fin Crabs – pride of the Chesapeake Bay.  Too bad they’re scared of cold water and the waters are cold in Maryland right now….brrrr.  So, we’ll have to find another opportunity to visit North East, Maryland, hopefully in less than seven years.

All in all, a great little road trip.  Fun to see new places and to have those places surprise you.  I love to plan things, but there’s no way that I could have planned the meandering trip that we had along the coast.  Sometimes it’s best to just let things happen and let the trip find you.

Jax Beach @ Sunrise

Our last morning at Jax Beach I was tempted to sleep in, but when I saw the whispers of pink peeking into our room through the patio door, well it was enough for me to throw on some clothes and grab the camera.  With Nathan gone to pick up the rental car, and mistakenly taking both room keys, I was momentarily swayed….will I be able to get back into the room if I leave……or should I just take my chances?  With the pink creeping in further and now with touches of orange…..screw it…..let’s go.  Hopefully the front desk will understand I just couldn’t miss this sunrise.

I apologize in advance for including so many photos but…there were just too many to choose from!

 

JAX Beach

Jacksonville, Florida.  An unlikely vacation spot and a place that I wouldn’t have necessarily picked, or a place that I would have thought that I would be spending any real time in.   But, low and behold, Easter Weekend comes a calling and Jacksonville Beach looks like the perfect place to slow down after a week of traveling.

Picture a white sand beach with sand so fine that it’s like a fine spun sugar.  Even if you get a layer of sand on your legs, you don’t even feel it!  But truly the best part about this beach is that it wasn’t that busy.  I don’t think you could go to another Florida beach (Daytona, Miami, etc) during Easter Weekend/Spring Break and have as much space to yourself as at Jacksonville (Jax) Beach.

This beach trip reminded me of all of those beach family vacations that we went on when I was young.  Let’s just say, I was an avid shell collector.  I think I spent most of my beach vacations hunched over staring at the sand, picking through the seashell mounds scattered on the beach at Sanibel Island and hunting for petrified shark teeth on the black sand beaches of Hawaii.  I’m pretty sure I even had a shell book as a reference guide on what I was looking for on the beach.  Well, I wouldn’t say this was as full of treasures as those other beaches, but you can’t stop a shell collector from collecting!  I walked up and down that beach in the morning, weaving in and out of the way of the tides.  The only thing that distracted me from the shells were the sandpipers scurrying back and forth with the tides beside me.  They fascinated me!  I followed them around for a while and when I saw that they were actually digging up little butterfly shells and feasting as quick as they were, well,  I was amazed that they knew where to dig to find their breakfast and could do it so quickly before the next wave came up.

On the hunt for seashells and stalking some sandpipers

All in all a great stay.  Our beach base was the Hampton Inn, which was situated right at the beach so it was the perfect way to enjoy the beach and their beachfront tiki bar.  It was only a quick walk down the beach to get to the main drag of restaurants.  Once you hit the pier, you know you’re close!

JAX Beach Pier

Flock of Pelicans overhead

Sunset at Jax Beach

A great weekend getaway with a killer view of sunsets and sunrises.  Now you know where to go if you find yourself near Jacksonville, FL.

Just like Rules…Routines are Meant to be Broken!

There is something comforting and familiar about routine.  I’ve spent the last few weeks establishing a pretty good rhythm of learning spanish, working out, knocking out puzzle after puzzle, doing a little bit of work, and of course…. stalking seal pups.  But just like rules, routines are meant to be broken.  And it was definitely time to shake up the grey, drizzly weather of Seattle.

So off to Vegas I go, for sunshine and Vitamin D, and some much needed quality time with Nathan.  As I landed in Vegas, seeing the sun glinting off the Mandalay Bay, I thought, ‘finally.  Some sunshine.  I can’t wait to feel that warmth on my face!’.  But as we’re used to in the Pacific NW – sunshine does not mean warm!  It was still cold with the wind whipping my hair around me.  And, I took a look at the weather forecast in Seattle, and wouldn’t you know – sunshine….every day and 60+ degrees, which in Seattle terms = heat wave.

Well nothing knocks out the routine like landing in Vegas and seeing a car hauler driving down the road, and knowing that that’s your ride.  A strange thing to see a big truck and know that that type of vehicle is your most familiar mode of transportation criss crossing around the country.

Nothing normal about the week that we just had.  We spent the weekend hanging out with some of the feistiest, sassiest women I have ever met.  Yes, they were in their 70′s but you would think you were watching the antics of the best of friends in the early years of university (before that last year when you start panicking that you need to figure out what you’re doing with your life).  It was so great to see all that energy and craziness.

We started the week drinking Landshark and soaking up some rays puttering around Lake Havasu.

Landshark Spokesman

But once we hit the road it was a blur of saguaro cacti reaching out their arms in strange angles in the desert as we passed through Arizona.  On a side note:  I just started reading ‘The Host’ by Stephanie Meyers and we drove past Picacho Peak – what a coincidence!

Wednesday morning was a 2am wake up call in Deming, New Mexico and watching the sun come up over the hillside early in the long drive through Texas.

Texas Sunrise in ‘the middle of nowhere TX’

It seems crazy that you can drive all day and still be in the same state.  Aside from the sparse sightings of Texas Blue Bonnets, the highlight of my day – I swear I saw a zebra eating hay in the Texas hill country.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

And just when you think that you’ll never, ever, get out of Texas, we hit the bayous in Louisiana, crossed over the 16 mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain and made our way into Alabama.

Finally…finally, we found ourselves driving through the dark outskirts of Jacksonville, FL and wound our way to the oceanside at Jacksonville (Jax) Beach.  Three days and 2200 miles later, we finally found our landing spot for some much needed R&R.

Such a different week than the ones I’ve spent the last few months, but strangely enough, I can’t say that it’s a week that I haven’t had before, or one that I’m sure to have again.  Funny to see what becomes ‘normal’ over the years.

The Hoover Dam!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can’t help but think about the Transformers movie and the fact that the All Spark is hidden under the depths of the concrete and water every time I’m at the Hoover Dam.  But other than thinking about Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee while I’m taking in the sites, you have to admit, it is a pretty cool place to see.  And of course, everyone gets a kick out of being right on the border lines of Arizona and Nevada, and experiencing two time zones at one time.

 

The new bridge: You can’t see anything unless you park and walk the bridge or you’re in a truck!

 

Setting up an instagram shot…as per usual