From Portland to Bandon – A Day Of Color And Images
Over the past 2 days I managed to haul my backside on a whirlwind 10-hour roundtrip to get my cousin from Portland. Whenever I travel that far, that fast it always leaves me with a kaleidoscope of images, almost like a living film-roll. Thankfully my camera manages to capture most of it, even if my ‘ol noggin doesn’t.
We arrived late afternoon to cool weather and rocked over to the Mark Spencer Hotel for our overnight…a very cool little hotel with a 24-hour espresso machine (worth at least 2 stars in my book), free afternoon tea and evening wine-tasting (another 2 stars) in an awesome spot right downtown. My pre-Portland research had led me to three critical things I had to experience while here which I creatively named the CCC -> that would be Cocktails, Coffee and Chocolate…ALL of which (so I’d read) were core culture in this city and all of which most definitely spoke to my inner happiness.
And in fine Fussing fashion we managed to cram it all in, with sunshine and fine weather thrown in for good measure. A dinner with custom cocktails at the famous Teardrop Lounge (I had a tequilla mix which was outta this world), a mid-morning chocolate decadence indulgence at Moonstruck Chocolate Co, and several local expressos which I’ve forgotten in happy jitters. All this wrapped up with a lovely 3-hour walk around town in one of the most “eco-friendly” cities in the US. It was less than 24-hours, but gave us a feel for how cool the town culture is, all the way from hip downtown to industrially architectural waterways to laid-back (think San Francisco feel) 23rd street.
And then from hustle and bustle we charged out of town and drove the long, long road home. In the mere time of ~5 hours we went from traffic to beach, from roadways to clear, blue skyline and from crowded streets to empty sand. Ahhhhhh!
This morning the flags are flying, the sun is shining and we’re off to our first day of work. The images of the last 2 days are already fading like colorful pictures, but remind me that every living day is a new memory to enjoy.
Happy July 4th everyone!!
Alcohol, caffeine & chocolate are not the things that come to my mind when I think of Portland . I think more of bridges, book stores & the people, but we are all different.
If you ever get a chance & you are down there the Portland Saturday Market is worth a visit. It’s not far from Powell’s Books or Voodoo Doughnuts.
I’m glad your trip went well & I’m hoping your 4th of July at the lighthouse went well.
We most definitely enjoyed the bridges, book stores and people too. So very much to see and do in that town. I hadn’t quite realized how diverse it is before this trip and hope to come back and explore more.
Nina
Sounds like a fun, whirlwind trip with enough caffeine to get you through the day. Hope you enjoyed your first day of work and Paul’s back is coming along nicely.
Yup, the back is coming along well…and first day of work was good.
Nina
The weather looks wonderful….so jealous. Colorado is hot and smokey. I think we need to head to the northwest for relief. Enjoy!
Feel terrible for all the folks in CO heat and smoke right now. It’s been a hard month for that state and it’s one of our fav places too.
Nina
I really enjoyed Portland…next time take in the gardens…all three of them you will love them….good luck with the job….
Yup, we didn’t get to do the gardens, but it’s on our list!!
Nina
Really enjoy your reports. Any chance you guys are coming back down south? Really like how you report on how well verizon works in sites. Wife and I are planning on doing a year long “workcations”
We’ll definitely be coming down south again this winter. Likely wintering in the SW again.
Nina