| | Portland trip Apr 10-12, 2009
This Easter weekend I went with Steven, Vincent, and Eunice down to Portland, Oregon. The weather on Friday and Saturday was wonderful. This weekend has definitely been one of the longer trips I've driven in, but it didn't feel like 5 hours of driving because I had close friends in the car. I'm thankful for all the new technologies available in my 2009 model car, making it a powerful multimedia machine. Combine it with a V6 268 horse power engine with 248 pound feet torque and an ultra quiet noise-sealed Toyota Camry LE cabin, the trip was very enjoyable.
During our trip down to Portland I remember Steven remarking, "It feels so comfortable to be out on the open road, with all the trees and rivers." Indeed Friday was the ideal driving condition. It was cloudy and the breeze was cool. We went over hills and valleys on the Interstate 5 (I-5) route, and opened our eyes to the splendid creations of our Creator.
Friday
We arrived in Portland after noon.
On Friday we visited Pioneer Center in downtown Portland. The transit in Portland was good - best of all, it's free to travel on the tram.
Steven happily volunteered to be our tour guide, and with a simple map obtained from the Information Booth, off we went exploring Portland. Vincent had done a lot of looking into places to shop, so we made good use of our time, knowing exactly where we wanted to go. We wish we had another day or two as some of the shops we didn't have time to visit. We did manage to go to Nordstrom Rack and Nike Town and looked at some apparels.
We went to the wine and beer festival at the Portland Conventional Center. Eunice remarked it was more beautiful than our own Canada Place Exhibition Center. I agree with her - since the building was decorated with wonderful bright colors and from its ceilings hangs with cultural symbols like dragon boats and flowers. There was also a large pendulum that swung from the ceiling using gravity alone to propel its long sweeping motion.
We tasted a variety of wines, including Reisling sweet sweeeeet wine, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and several combination wines that swept Steven and I off our feet. The cheese there were my favorite part of the festival. There was a very aged cheddar cheese which we all tried, and as it dissolved smoothly in our mouths, we knew it was pleasantly strong. The orange colour was extravagantly flamboyant, which was appealing at sight. Vincent and Eunice also found the Swiss cheeses and goat cheese very delicious.
That night we had dinner at a fancy but not too expensive restaurant at the rich end of downtown Portland. It was actually not our first choice restaurant. Vincent and Steven were disappointed our top choice restaurants had 35-minute waiting lines. The service was top of the class, but we were somewhat disappointed at the food. Vincent's seafood sphagetti was too rich and cheesy. My duck confiti dish was too salty I had to pass on most of the ingredient mix.
After dinner we went in search for desert. We drove across one of Portland's six bridges out of downtown into the rural outer areas in search for the desert heaven "Pix Patisserie". However, when we got there, we were disappointed it was closed and became a place that now sells sausages. We were all so disappointed because we are such dessert lovers. But our quest for our dream dessert didn't end there because Vincent was well prepared with a back-up plan. We simply hopped back into my car to another destination called "Papa Haydn's". Here, they served at least 30 types of cakes and other deserts that had us rubbing our bellys and licking our lips. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.
Saturday
Saturday was the highlight of our shopping spree trip. Heading south from Portland, we strolled through the isles of Walmart SuperCenter. This was no ordinary Walmart. It was humongous! Eunice managed to find a Winnie-the-Pooh plush toy here. Her face glissened by a smile.
Our next stop was the Walburn Company Stores. Here, we were in shopping heaven, surrounded by our favorite brands such as Columbia, Converse, Kitchenware, Vans, Helly Hansen, Nike, Coach, Kenneth Cole, North Face, Adidas, GAP, Banana Republic, Puma, and if I continue listing them out, it would take another 3 paragraphs. This place was E-N-O-R-M-O-U-S! We spent at least 6 hours there, and were nowhere near quenching our shopaholic thirst. Several highlights include Steven's new pair of blue and neon yellow laced Nike running shoes which he wore for the rest of the trip, Eunice's Coach bag and assessory, my Kenneth Cole leather shoes and Helly Hanson "stay dry" out fit, and Vincent's Calvin Klein jeans and Quicksilver slippers.
The only places to eat at Woodburn was a pretzel place and a Japanese/hotdog & poutine fast food diner. Steven said they are likely Korean Christians as they had Bible verses taped to the wall, and were broadcasting a Christian worship video. I was hoping they would at least have some reputable restaurants like an Earl's or Milestones'.
That night we had mouth-watering steaks at Ruth's Chris Steak House in downtown Portland, very popular and well-known. The filet and New York steak combo was excellently battered in the meat's own liquid fat, with a seer of blue cheese. We side-ordered 6 jumbo shrimp, which were crispy and juicy. Add a 2004 French Merlot and that excels our pleasant evening dining.
For dessert, we went to The Cheesecake Factory at Washington Square, for cakes. We enjoyed our time together very much.
Sunday
On Sunday we went to church in Portland: First Baptist Church. Eunice and I remarked the children were very well-dressed. Indeed, they were flamboyantly dressed and groomed. Vincent said the pastor's message was like a Master Life class - because he preached about faith! I agree with him. We checked out of our hotel after church.
On our route we visited Frye Electric, a mega electronics store, REI which had deals on outdoor gear, equipment, and clothing, and Sports Authority. Vincent, Steven, and I were worried when we couldn't find Eunice, who had told me she would be going to another store. Luckily, we found her very quickly in the store next door looking at shoes. Vincent managed to find a pair of red and white Puma shoes at a very good price.
The drive back to Vancouver was tedious, as it rained very hard. Luckily, my co-pilot Steven was calm and reassuring with the correct routes. We made it back safely.
It has been a fun and exciting trip, although tiring from lack of sleep. I am very happy.
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| | Posted 4/16/2009 10:22 PM - 4 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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