Portland, OR: day 2
We started the day at a breakfast spot close to our Airbnb called J&M cafe. It was a really action packed day. There are a lot of zoo shots so I'll let those photos speak for themselves. We went to a few breweries and the famed salt & straw ice cream shop as well as some food trucks more late night.
Super cute spot! Huge windows and wooden ceiling.
This is scrapple! It's sausage covered with corn meal and maple syrup. SOO good. We'll give this place 4 stars because it didn't blow our mind.
Walking down to old town to get to the public transit!
So cutieeeee.
Only a couple stops to Washington park to get to the zoo!
Heidi is a billy goat whisperer.
Black bears.
Hatching little eagle-ettes!
Animals just coming out of every tree.
Otters!! They were so adorable.
So pretty. Made a kind of knashing sound when walking by.
Just a falcon.
Polar bear.
We kept calling this girl our elegant lady because we weren't sure exactly what she was (we missed the sign).
Orangutang being all sorts of pretty.
This baboon was not impressed.
Tall tall bamboo.
Mom and baby!
They are ginormous.
Elephant booties!
We are all animals.
Cheetahs just chillin'
Cheetahs were my favorite animal growing up!
On an African Safari!
Big boa.
Lioness on Pride Rock.
Hippopotamus.
Elk and gazelle.
I was waiting for the giraffes!
Gators.
Penguins!
This seal kept coming around the corner and doing this back move. So cute.
Bye zoo ! Onto the Japanese garden.
Koi fish everywhere! They were huge!
Bridges. Don't forget it was 88 degrees out. We were sweaty from all the walking at this point.
Waterfalls.
One of the best views of the city here.
We stopped for lunch nearby at Elephants delicatessen. It was a really cool spot. It was a giant deli with a salad bar, grill station, stationary, wine, a bar, and little gifts.
I got the portlandia beet burger with shaved pickled zucchini. Never knew I was a huge fan of pickled zucchini! 5 stars for this place.
For dessert we checked out salt & straw. They had flavors like pear and blue cheese, strawberry with balsamic and black pepper, olive oil (actually really good) and they had a an elementary student competition where they picked the best 3. They had Sunday brunch which literally tasted like bacon and pancakes, beet sorbet (amazing) and triple chocolate cheerio chimp YUM. Of course we needed a taster of all of them before we chose. 3 of us got a split scoop of the honey lavender and the strawberry balsamic.
This was our server. She dirtied many silver spoons for our samples. She was awesome. This place definitely gets 5 stars.
The BEST!
We walked by blue star donuts but didn't try them yet. Still on the list! As well as voo doo.
Next it was happy hour at Oba Latina Nuevo fusion. We got $5 Margs and mojitos. We didn't eat there so it's hard to rate but the drinks are 5 stars.
Then we stopped at rogue. Our server had a handlebar mustache and a Hawaiian shirt. The customer service everywhere was pretty well done. 4 stars here.
Everyone is pedaling on this cart. Nothing to see here.
Deschutes! 5 stars.
I had to go into the free people just to say I did. I've only ever shopped online! None of these back in NH.
POWELLS. So. Many. Books.
We got late night general tsos chicken and dumplings. Most of the other carts were closed so this was the only spot that really grabbed at us. It was okay, 3 stars.
The iconic sign lit up!
On the way home we passed Doug Fir. Really interesting interior decor. They had huge exposed logs for the wall and crystal moose heads.
We sat outside by the fire in this huge patio area.
We grabbed a 6 pack of citrus mistress and sat on our rooftop deck. We were not ready for what was about to go down. I was playing David Bowie on my phone and then this guy who must've gotten rowdy at the bar down the street comes walking up past our place yelling at this other dude. The neighbor across the way started yelling "SHUT UP" and "I'm going to call the cops." This went on for like 15 minutes as the guy was literally in the middle of the road blocking traffic and making people go around him. We were silently giggling up above and then the cops actually came and took him into protective custody. Then another couple walked by and the neighbor gave them a single person trampoline that was on the sidewalk and then the couple said thanks and just walked away. Really random and unexpected, but that's what traveling is all about!
It was really an action packed day. Tomorrow, we hike and see 5 waterfalls and cannon beach where the goonies was filmed!
Read more about Portland, OR: day 3
