My parents have been in town to visit me yesterday and today. I had been debating about where to take them while they were here. We ended up doing a variety of things that are distinctly Portland. It’s always fun to take people to see some of the things your city is famous for.
The day started when I took my father for quick walk up to Council Crest Park. This is the highest point in Portland. I had only been up there once before and had really just run through that time. It’s a cool park and now that I live closer I think I will use it more. The views are spectacular. It was a bit foggy so they weren’t as good as they could have been, but they were still pretty awesome.
When then hooked up with the rest of the group, my wife and my mother, and headed out for some donuts. When you have out of town guests there is only one donut shop that makes sense. That’s right, Voodoo Doughnut. We drove over to Voodoo Doughnut Too on NE Davis. The line was deep, but we waited. We had two of the Memphis Mafia. This is an apple fritter that is then covered in chocolate chips, chocolate icing and peanut butter icing. We also had a Portland Cream, which is a chocolate covered, custard filled beauty. Finally, there was one of best known, the Bacon Maple Bar. That little feast would certainly hold us over for a while.
The next stop was Powell’s City of Books. This is another can’t miss spot in Portland. Powell’s is an awesome store. We wandered around through various rooms. I checked out a book on magic and read how to make a coin disappear. I’m going to practice it some today and see if I can do it. Everyone left with at least one book.
We then charged up Burnside to the Pittock Mansion. We didn’t do the full tour, but did walk the circle around the gardens. By this time in the day, the fog had burned off and the views were even more spectacular. Unfortunately, we still couldn’t see any of the mountains, but the city was clear. This place is a treasure and everyone should get by to see it.
We next drove up around the International Rose Test Garden and took Kingston Drive through Washington Park to the World Forestry Center. (Wow, three hyperlinks in one sentence!) I was a little surprised at how much admission was, but $32 later we were all inside. This is cool museum; there are lots of hands-on exhibits and plenty of things to learn about forests. Despite living in Portland for 15 years, I had never been. I’m glad I finally made it.
We wrapped up the day with a visit to Phil’s Uptown Meats for some steaks and City Market for fresh vegetable and some cheese. I got some awesome Kobe ribeyes at Phil’s. City Market (aka Pasta Works) had some fantastic blue cheese. The green beans there were good as well, surprising for this time of the year. I swung by my wine cellar at Willamette Wine Storage and picked up a good bottle of Robert Craig Mt. Veeder Cabernet. Dinner was wonderful.
All in all we had a pretty awesome Portland Day. There was even a little bit of sunshine. This phenomenon can be elusive in Portland.
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