last Portland post

The actual reason we went to Portland was to see Coldplay. The concert was so so good. We sat on the lawn so we had to get to the venue super early to get even remotely close. We waited for a couple hours, and took kissing pictures.


I haven't really listened to Coldplay a lot recently, but I had once vowed that I would see them if they came anywhere close. I don't know why I don't listen to them more - and we have, since the concert - Rob has been playing them a bunch lately. Or maybe it's just because they are still on his iPod from the roadtrip (you know, cramming before the concert). Either way, their concert was as enjoyable as I had heard they would be. We decided that the people who paid $75 for actual seats probably felt like it was totally worth it. Chris Martin (lead singer and Apple's dad) is quite the entertainer, dancing all over the stage, talking to the audience (but not too much). There was confetti, a couple song covers, cool camera and lighting effects. The band even surprised us by popping up in the lawn!!

Jen and Jenaca came too and they probably didn't even see us kiss. While we had to wait for the concert to start we played a little "catch phrase." We are so so good.

Have you ever seen someone eat a green pepper like it was an apple? I promised Jenaca that when I posted a picture of this couple (you can't really see her bf) I would also reference this (I can't find the original - is there an original?).

One more...

We didn't JUST eat in Portland

On Sunday we took a drive down the Old Cascade Highway, just about a half hour outside of the city. We first went to Multnomah Falls, which is a pretty popular sightseeing spot, apparently. We drove back via the cool old highway. We didn't stop again until we got to the scenic crown point, but there were other waterfalls along the way. It was a really great drive. We missed church because it took longer than we expected, but the travel brochure we picked up at one of the falls had a spiritual message from the highway's engineer, and that's got to count for something.

Multnomah Falls (note the cool bridge)

Rob is taking a picture of the inscription on the cool bridge.
Me with a grumpy face - I just don't think I need to smile for every single picture, that's all.

Crown Point. These viewer things are 50 cents these days. This economy!

What Jenaca viewed:

Hawthorne District

We spent the majority of our Portland Saturday in the Hawthorne District, which is lined by consignment shops and vintage stores. I have some favorite consignment shops in Seattle, and in on Hawthorne they have the same ones, but they are all on the same street! Jenaca and I were in heaven, and Rob went to the record store.

Hawthorne also has waffles! We wanted to go to the Waffle Window while we were in Portland, but we had forgotten to look up the location when we were in the hotel that morning and texting google wasn't effective. When these things happen we throw our heads to the sky and yell, "I need an iPhone!" Luckily, we had remembered to say our prayers and morning and were due for a blessing from heaven. As Jenaca and I left Rob to his records to head to Crossroads (where I would later buy the cutest teal trench coat), we turned the corner to find a happy surprise. The Waffle Window! We skipped back to get Rob and then the three of us shared a chocolate dipped waffle ice cream sandwich (even better than a Smart Cookie) and the daily special which was something about lavender and nectarines and lemon panna cotta. So pretty!

sliders and donuts

We had dinner in Portland at Mother's Bistro. Jenaca and I had been there a couple of years ago and I'd been craving it ever since. We didn't take any pictures. It was a little too fancy of a place for pulling out the camera. It's too bad, too, because Rob's slider trio looked as good as it tasted - crab cake, pulled pork, and sirloin burger sliders - oh, yum. I had order regret - I felt too pressured, which always results in choosing the most random thing (in this case, the caesar salad. Boring.). How does that happen? I had bites of Jenaca's macaroni and cheese du jour, so I was okay. Yep, mac&cheese du jour - which is kind of what makes this place so great.

On the drive back to the hotel we were groaning about how full we had made our poor bellies that day, when we saw this sign, stopped, and demonstrated stuffing our faces once again:
We ordered up 3 of their signature donuts. Rob chose the oreo + pb one. When you go to Voodoo, you'll be tempted to order the voodoo doll too, understandable. However, you should instead get Rob's choice. Yum!
We waited until the next day to eat our donuts, which was the first healthy choice of the weekend.

cheese

We headed to Portland last weekend for a Coldplay concert and decided to make a weekend out of it. Our conclusion after the weekend was that we really like Portland. As in, if we have to move there for jobs or something sometime in our future, we'd definitely be okay with that. There is no move in our near future, by the way.

We ate good food, which is always a big focus of our trips (problem?), so we totally have pictures to show here and in subsequent posts. We highly recommend checking out the Grilled Cheese Grill for amazing grilled cheese sandwiches eaten in a bus painted like this:



Jenaca, Rob and I shared the "Fromage A Trois" deal - 3 sandwiches, 3 of us = perfect plan. Mike joined us after we had already finished our sandwiches, which meant that we didn't have to share with him. However, it also meant we were too full by the time his order of a burger b/w 2 grilled cheese sandwiches (the "Cheesus Burger") was ready, so we didn't get to share with him either.

The BABS: Bacon, Apple and Bleu cheese

The Jalepeno Popper: jalepenos, cream cheese, cheese, and corn chips (our favorite!)

The Hot Brie: brie, red peppers, tomato, spicy mustard

Jenaca and I have already eaten our sandwiches by this time and we miss them.
Rob is so jealous that Mike is still eating.

Syd-O

Visiting my former roommates while in Provo was definitely a highlight of mine and Rob's recent road trip. Paramount to that, however, was hanging out with their kiddos. I told them that I get to see them on the computer all the time (on Liv and Es's blogs), but that I was so happy to play with them at their houses. I don't have any here with Quatro, but we were chill. Berto really didn't want anything to do with me, but I understand. And then there's Sydney...

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