Portlandia

Back in August Kevbot’s mom came to visit us in Portland! While there are so many advantages to this crazy travel we are doing, it has it’s hard parts, and going 8 months between family visits is definitely one to them. We are so thankful to everyone who has supported us, and shown your love by traveling to meet us along the way.

I was getting pretty lonely in Portland. Kevin had rented office space, and was taking the bus into downtown, and I know I should have been productive, but I wasn’t for a number of reasons. I wasted most of the days napping and playing on the computer. This was the first time I realized we were far from home, and still had half way to go before we’d be back. Having my mom-in-law (Kristen) there really helped to cure my homesickness.

That week it was nice because Kevbot took some days off work so we could all go on an adventure together. One of my most favorite things about Oregon was how beautiful it is. Just outside of Portland there are the most stunning waterfall hikes I’ve ever seen. The weather was absolutely perfect. Summer was starting to give into fall, and you could feel it in the wind. The three of us drove out to hike an easy, out and back called Elowah Falls. It was so peaceful and breathtaking. There is something so calming about lush, green moss surrounding a shallow pool of water. I think we could have stayed there for hours.

And speaking of zen places, right in town we visited the Japanese Gardens. These gardens are nestled atop the Washington Park hill. Huge, green trees climb high in the sky and surround the whole area which makes it feel completely secluded. We casually strolled along the narrow paths, taking snap shots and joining in to listen to a tour. The only thing missing was a cup of green tea.

Kristen’s aunt and uncle live pretty close to Portland, so we all planned to have dinner one night. Kevbot has a relatively small family so it was very nice meeting some of his extended relatives. They chose the Cafe Hibiscus, a fabulous Swiss restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing with their famous salad dressing, and their service was excellent. We filled the tiny, cozy restaurant with warm laughter and good conversation for hours. Even when we closed it down, the owners just smiled and thanked us like they truly enjoyed watching family catch up.

Of course this wasn’t the only time we ate out, and we took full advantage of being adventurous. The night we got back from Seattle (this tale is to come) we really didn’t want to cook so we headed down the block to Killer Burger. Every burger is served with BACON! Now while that’s awesome, it gets better. Our server was super friendly and gave us all suggestions on what type of burger to get. All of us made a face at their famous Peanut-Butter-Pickle-Bacon burger, and continued to pursue the menu for somethings less weird. However, he was persistent that at least one of us try it. He even gave us a sample of the peanut butter sauce to try on french fries. I decided to take the plunge and HOLY CRAP that was one awesome burger. Seriously I think peanut butter should be on every burger from now on!

And since our diet was pretty much blown with the delicious peanut buttery bacony combo, we might as well keep going. So we drove over to Salt & Straw Ice Cream Shop. Yummm! They have deliciously weird flavors like honey balsamic strawberry with cracked pepper, pear with blue cheese, and sweet pepper jam and goat cheese. I chose sea salt caramel blended with habanero chocolate to make one hell of a shake. I’m sorry I’m not sorry! And at risk of becoming Homer Simpson, I’ll end on that note.