Portland, OR

Coincidentally, when Rochelle was planning her trip to visit us here in Texas, it was also around the time that Martin and I had planned a work trip to Portland, OR.

Rochelle stayed with the boys for a few days while we went and played!  Actually, Martin had a conference to attend, but we made big plans.

Unfortunately while we were in Portland, Martin got pulled into a customer issue at work and spent most of his time in the hotel room putting out fires for his job.  He missed most of the conference, so our little vacation became more about food than anything else.  Martin was able to get breaks for lunches and dinner, so we spent a lot of time looking for - and finding - great places to dine.

Here are some of our favorites:

 We ate lunch at a little diner called Blueplate.  It was showcased on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  Kind of funky.  One of their specialties was their homemade milk shakes.  We tried the huckleberry lavender one.  Yum.

 Way too many Starbucks in Portland, but it was fall there, so we enjoyed some hot chocolate on several occasions.  We thought this was funny that our Starbucks was connected to the "Henry" building, since our Henry was born in Portland.

 I had one afternoon to myself and went to a fabric shop I had been hearing about - Bolt.  Quaint.  As I was leaving the store I noticed across the street an ice cream shop.  It saw Salt and Straw - an ice cream shop I had on my list to find.  I most certainly crossed the street and fell in love with this great place.

 Their menu is to die for.  That afternoon I had two scoops in a cup - Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper ice cream and Sea Salt Ice Cream with Caramel Ribbon.  Oh, my.

 That evening, Martin and I ate at our favorite restaurant, Ken's Artisan Pizza.  I can't even describe it.  We were in heaven.  Of course, we went to Salt and Straw after for some Pear with Blue Cheese ice cream and Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache ice cream.  Yeah.

On our last day, we decided to try Portland BBQ at Podnah's Pit Barbecue.  We had seen this place on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  It was good, but we've been spoiled in Texas.

We had beautiful weather and got to really relax - I read two books.  One I really enjoyed.  Because Martin couldn't be too far from the hotel, we didn't get to go to the coast, but we got to spend a lot of time together (without distractions of the child kind!)

The only thing we missed was VooDoo Donuts.  It was two blocks from our hotel.  We walked there but the line was so long it would have taken at least an hour to get in.  Bummer.  We had a great time and I really got to relax.  Martin didn't so much, so he's thinking we should find another conference and try again.  I'm in!

Thanks again, Rochelle - we owe you one!