Northwest Journeys: Portlandia!

Our family recently returned from Portland. We spent the weekend of April 20-22, 2012 visiting friends and enjoying the delights of the City of Roses.

April 20, 2012

We headed down I-5 from Seattle at the crack of noon. Alex commented that we looked like the Clampits. How could 4 people and a dog need so much stuff for two days? I bit my tongue as I thought, "Well that's YOUR bike in the back!" There was also a small kennel for the world's cutest dog, Ellie (I insisted on bringing the dog. And it was my idea to get the dog.) Plus about 11 books per person (boredom busters for kids). What can I say? We like to read. And put stuff in the car.

Our first stop, after unloading at our hotel (Best Western in Jantzen Beach - very plain vanilla, but clean, affordable and takes pets), we headed over to Furever Pets on Broadway. The staff was helpful and full of fashion advice. The shop was bright, clean and full of a really great selection. I desperately wanted a collar/leash combination with a bird on it, but they were out of her size. Instead, Ellie got that great collar and harness you see in the photo above. Our cutsie puppy was outfitted with a new collar, leash, harness and raincoat (this is the Northwest, after all).

Our first stop was Ivy's house, where we found her folding paper airplanes with her 9 year old neighbor. She also gave Dylan some coffee stirrers and yarn scraps so he could make a god's eye. It broke in my purse, but he kept trying to give it to someone who celebrates Kwanzaa. "I made it in the Kwanzaa colors, red, black and green." We hung around while Alex walked Ellie, he called to say he bumped into Ben, who was out walking his dog. Turns out, Ben and Ivy are neighbors! Small world.

Dinner was at the delectible and fun Porque No? Taqueria (Hawthorne location). Ivy said on our way over that she always tells visitors that the line always looks long and that it seems like there will be no tables, but it always works out, so don't panic. She said this in all her "Ivy-ness", reminding me why we became friends in the first place. The line was, in fact, out the door. The evening was fine, and the kids were happy, so we just relaxed and enjoyed the sights and sounds. At Porque No? come for the tacos, stay for the margaritas! Yum! Drink orders were taken while we were waiting in line, and we did manage to find a table for all six of us on the patio - so it did work out.
After dinner, we went to Ben's house to say hi to the rest of his family, Nikki, Ellie and Leo. What a fun, active house, with music, art, baking and Chinese caligraphy going on all over the place. We were invited to come over for bagel brunch the next morning.

April 21, 2012

Alex and Ben enjoyed an early morning bike ride. They rode back to the hotel, where we loaded up the Highlander again and went to get the bagels.

Now, you East Coasters are probably thinking that we don't know nuthin bout bagels out West, but don't forget that this is PORTLAND we are talking about. Naturally, there is a small, artisinal bagel place not too far from Ben's house. Apparently, there has been a big shake-up in the bagel bakeries of Portland. A beloved baker was bought by a big chain, leaving a gaping whole for new artisnal places.When Ben ordered 18 bagels at Spielman's Bagels, Mr. Spielman invited us to the kitchen in back to show us how small an operation he was. Could we please be mindful of this?

But those bagels!!! We ate them with cream cheese, salmon, onion, capers, tomato and lemon. Ivy brought gluten free scones with home-made jam (we are both jam junkies, as it turns out, and are now signed up to take a jam making class with Rachel Saunders - but that's another post).

Ben and Nikki's house could be a Northwest set for Modern Family. Neighbors popped in and out. Kids made lemon meringue pie.

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Dogs barked.
Other kids swang from tree swings.

Grown ups ate bagels. We discussed pirate vernacular. We discussed the differences between privateers and pirates. Ship boarding etiquette, the best way to attack a ship at sea. Ben and Nikki and several neighbors were off to a pirate murder mystery party. Of COURSE they were. This is PORTLAND!
Ben roasts his own coffee.

The neighbors are into pickling.
Ben was off to a rehearsal for Mozart's Requiem.
Ellie (the person) was off to a erhu lessons.
Ivy went home to spread compost on her garden.
We were off to the Portland Saturday Market
It wasn't even noon.

We were so full from the bagels, so we didn't try any of the yummy looking food, but it would have made a lovely picnic by the river. I bought this cute plate:

And this yummy looking jam:

The kids bought some bookmarks with their names in Chinese from the cutest Chinese couple - the lady was smaller than my 10 year old.

Then we went off to the nirvana of all book stores: Powell's Books. This is the largest bookstore on the West coast, possibly in the country. I made a small detour into Sur La Table for some tart pans:

This is the highlight of every family trip to Portland. The pre-departure family meeting in which I asked what things people want to do and see in Portland, the one universal request was to visit Powell's. Alex, feeling generous and joining in the fun, gave each boy a $50 budget, and we scoured the shelves. I did not make it past the cookbook section, Alex focused on cycling training (he is riding in RAMROD this summer, but that is another post), and the kids got some great stuff, too. Here is the haul, in all it's splendor:

From there, we took the dog and kids for a walk in the world famous International Rose Test Garden, located in Washington Park, with its many attractions. The weather was perfect and the views were lovely. We particularly loved the view of Mount Hood, the Shakespeare garden and the tiles with all of the Rose Queen's autographs. The roses were not in bloom, but the rhododendrons were. So lovely. Sigh.

The next stop was a visit with our friend Curt, Leah, Danielle and Zach. Xander was off on a boy scout camp out. We enjoyed relaxing in their lovely home in Beaverton, catching up with each other's lives and nibbling on pizza. A highlight was when the little kids attacked the big kids with with nerf machine guns. Hahaha! Even the big kids eventually laughed. Curt and Leah are busy parents and had been up early for Danielle's dance competition. We also had had a full day, so off we went to sleep away the night.

April 22, 2012

We were a bit more bleary eyed on this morning. Alex went out for a training ride, while the kids and I relaxed and packed. We had about 15 different potential plans for that morning but eventually ended up eating at Sanborn's, a delightful place that specializes in German pancakes, or "Dutch Babies".

We did not have to wait in a line of Portlandia "Brunch Village" proportions, but there was a short wait. Thank goodness for that trip to Powells and a day with fine weather. (Here is a cool link I found in case you find yourself in a "Brunch Village" - Eater blog brunch map ) The service here was cheerful and prompt, but not rushed. The tables were nice, and the dining room was cozy and big enough. Alex and I agreed to order the two dishes that had caught our eye - the pear, blue cheese and pecan pancake and the apple smoked gouda almond pancake. They were still sweet, but they were VERY good, and kept me topped up till dinner.

Our last stop was at OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).

To our surprise, there was a special exhibit of Lego sculpture by Nathan Sawaya. I was really surprised by my emotional reaction to many of his sculptures, done entirely with Lego bricks. The kids were also fascinated because everything was Lego. The kids especially liked making their own creations with the bricks provided at the end of the exhibit. I was struck by the differences in what the kids were making. Instead of space ships, I was seeing trees and houses. Enjoy the exhibit: