Views, Doughnuts, Bikes, and Books

Memorial Day Weekend - Day 6
I spent the night at a hotel in Lake Oswego, which is just south of Portland. My flight wasn't until 2PM. I wanted to explore Portland a little more. Surprisingly, I was up early which is not like me. I had laundry list of things I wanted to see and I was determined to see as much as possible.

My first stop was the Portland Aerial Tram at OSHU. The ride was $4 roundtrip. The tram gave me an opportunity to capture these images.

Mount Hood


View of downtown Portland


Tram on its way up

The tram ride was brief and treated me to some great views. However, truth be told, it wasn't anything to write home about. I won't complain too loudly... It only cost me $4.

Next stop was Voodoo Doughnut. My cousin Marnie and I happened to watch a segment on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" about this little "hole in the wall".



After watching the above clip, I was determined to find this place. It took a bit of maneuvering to find it, but I did.

The verdict on Voodoo? They were good, but so sweet I nearly put myself in a sugar coma.

Final stop - Powell's City of Books. This is a bibliophile's version of heaven. Powell's in an independent book seller that takes up an entire city block and is comprised of floors and floors of book.

If people in Los Angeles think they are "green", they have nothing on the folks in Portland. There as many bikes parked everywhere. There are bike lanes everywhere. It's a cyclist's dream. Public transportation is fantastic.

I kid and say that the folks are "crunchy granola", but they really do take caring for the environment seriously. If I was surrounded by as much natural beauty as the folks in Portland, I would too.

A quiet day

Memorial Day Weekend - Day 5
Monday morning we all got up really early to drop my mom off at the airport in Eugene. It gave my mom and Auntie Lilly a little more time to chitchat and spend time together. Once we got back, we all were comatose until mid-afternoon. The only thing that revived Auntie Lilly, Khurram and I was the prospect of Khurram's and Mel's friends Dave and Idalee arriving for dinner. Dave and Idalee had graciously offered to bring dinner to us.

While Dave and Idalee finished preparing dinner, Aalia cuddled with Auntie Lilly.

It didn't take long. Aalia and her godbrother Dashell {Dave and Idalee's son} were fast asleep.

While the babies slept, the adults had an amazing dinner. The food was so good that I neglected to take photos of the dinner guests. Needless to say, the food didn't last long and we were all very happy.

Barbecue


Panko-breaded Tuna Rolls

I had a wonderful time with Auntie Lilly, Khurram and Aalia, but I didn't want to overstay my welcome. So after dinner, I said my "goodbyes" and headed back to Portland. I had reserved a room just outside the city and wanted to do some exploring before I headed back to L.A... more on that.

Along the coast

South View from Cape Perpetua

Memorial Day Weekend - Day 4

Because Saturday was such a jam-packed day, Sunday was more low-key. It was my mom's last full day in Oregon. As such, we decided to go for a short drive up the infamous Oregon Coast. It was a view that I had missed during my last trip.

Aalia was so well-behaved during our jaunt the day before that we decided not to push our luck. We only traveled 30 miles from Florence to Yachats. In that short drive, we were treated to some spectacular vistas. Rather than tell you about them, I'll just show you.

Heceta Lighthouse

View from Cape Perpetua

Heceta Lighthouse

Beach in Yachats, Oregon

Sea Lions {Yes, those slug-looking things are Sea Lions}

Beach in Yachats, Oregon

Our little road trip had a purpose. Khurram wanted to have some lunch at a place that was one of his and Melanie's favorites. {Are you actually surprised that we went to get something to eat?}

Yachats River House


Chuka Ika
smoked squid salad with wakame seaweed and crisp wontons


Chinook Salmon Pate with foccacia sticks


Clam Chower & House Crab Bisque


Clam Pot
Manila Clams in a butter white wine sauce with shallots, tomatoes, and mushrooms


Parisian Ham Sandwich


Halibut Frites

Strawberry Shortcake on Puff Pastry

All this deliciousness was shared among 4 adults. Aalia slept peaceful through our an entire meal. {What fantastic manners!} Like the day before, we all lapsed into food comas. It's a rough life, I know.

An Errand, Dessert, Wine & More Dessert

Memorial Day Weekend - Day 3

Saturday was an action-packed day. Khurram had an appointment with the Toyota dealearship in Eugune, which was 1 hr. away. We decided to make a day of it. So, all five of us piled into Khurram's Highlander and headed to Eugene.

Aalia waits to be put back into her car seat.

The girls- My mom, Auntie Lilly, Aalia & me- did some shopping while Khurram took his car to be serviced. I took the opportunity to teach Aalia about shoe shopping.

We grabbed some lunch at PF Changs. The food was good, but not necessarily photo worthy. Besides, we were a bit starved and the food disappeared rather quickly. The most notable thing about lunch is that Khurram had his first bout of stroller envy. The family at the table next to us had a Stokke Xplory stroller.
Cool isn't it? The $1200 pricetag put a halt to that purchase.

We went to Sweet Life Patisserie for dessert.

They have a dizzying array of dessert.

Auntie Lilly had the chocolate chip cannoli. My mom had creme brulee. I had a lemon bar.

Khurram loved his cupcake.

Somehow, after all that dessert, we decided to swing by King Estate Winery.

Even Aalia enjoyed the view... sorta.

The King Estate Winery is breathtaking.

We decided to try some of their wine.

I fell in love with their 2007 Next Pinot Noir. So delicious.

Somehow, we were tempted to eat yet again.

My glass of 2007 Next Pinot Noir.

Raw Almond Cheese with Crudites

Scallops with Pork Belly

We opted for dessert again. Read the menu below very carefully. Check out the Profiterole.

That's right. Candied bacon. We had a dessert with CANDIED BACON! It was unbelievably good. It was almost criminal how good it was.

After all the noshing, we headed back to Khurram's house in Florence where we all passed out early from our food comas.