Portlandia

Last week we traveled to the soggy city of Portland, Oregon. Sean had a conference to attend for work, so I decided that it would be fun for Declan and I to join him and look at it as a mini vacation.
Sean and I love Portland. It is a thriving metropolis, near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, filled with a quirky, off beat pulse that separates it from any place we have ever been.
While we actually stayed in a suburb of Portland called Gresham, we did venture into the heart of the city on a couple of occasions and enjoyed some memorable experiences.
One of the first things we did was meet our dear friend Jenna at an out door shopping mall called Bridgeport Village. It is right off of I-5 as you come into the Portland area and it reminded us of Corte Madera (an outdoor shopping mall in CA near San Francisco). Jenna works at a 100% Vegan restaurant called Native Foods Cafe, so we met her there for dinner on Monday evening. It was great to see her and catch up, and eat some amazingly delicious food. Declan and I also traveled back there on Wednesday for another meal and to shop in a couple stores. One being the Container Store. It is a paradise for anyone as crazy organized as I am.
We then traveled into Downtown Portland on Thursday evening to have dinner with our friends, Nick & Casey the world travelers. They had just returned from a trip to London, Morocco & Paris, where they brought me back a little pink Eiffel Tower key chain!
We also ventured into Powell's Books, the largest independent new and used book store in the world, which also happens to cover an entire city block and house 1.6 acres of retail floor space. It is incredible. They have rooms that are color coded so you know where to find what you are looking for. They have a map hanging up to help you find the rooms, so you can find the books you are looking for. They also have a paper map that shows a layout of where all the color coded rooms are in the store, so you can again, find what you are looking for.  Like I said, incredible!
We then attempted to experience the uniqueness of Voodoo Doughnuts. It is a locally owned & operated doughnut shop that prides themselves on their original creations and flavors. But, after walking SEVERAL blocks in the rain to get to the shop, we noticed, as per usual, that the line was out the door! And unfortunately we are not the kind of people who particularly like standing in the rain, with a 7 month old tired, teething baby, waiting to purchase one of a kind doughnuts.
So, we left and decided to swing by again on our way out of town. Well, when we pulled up to the store, the line was even LONGER than it was the day before so we decided to pass yet again. Oh well...maybe next time. Because there will be a next time!