Here we sit, waiting for our Lyft ride to our hotel. We just turned in our rental car after 1,090 miles and 8 days of care-free driving from San Francisco to Portland. The road trip is over. Tomorrow we set sail on the Columbia River.
Today was Portland day. As usual we had some but not extensive knowledge of what we were in for. Stop 1: The Voodoo donut shop that’s a must-see in everyone’s guidebook. The first problem before ingesting sugar-infused fat was to find a place to park. After some fumbling around we found a parking ramp across the street from Stop #2: Powell’s bookstore. That left us with a 10-minute walk to the Voodoo.
For me, Portland is not as walkable as San Francisco. The streets aren’t as clean and the buildings less interesting. Both have lots of hills so that’s a draw.
One upsetting aspect of Portland streets is the frequent presence of street people camped in pop-up tents on downtown sidewalks. It’s upsetting to think of street people forced by circumstance to live like that. It raises concern over safety although we were never panhandled or approached in any way.
The donuts? As advertised. We had four (hey, we’ll never do Voodoos again) plus two juice boxes for $10. I told the cashier that there must be some mistake. “No mistake!”
We discovered that the weekend outdoor market was underway a block from Voodoo. We strolled the aisles and bought a couple of grandkid souvenirs. Call us chicken but we weren’t sure what Esme would want, nor for that matter Griffin. We ended up FaceTime-ing and held up one tie-dyed tee shirt after another’s until we hit the jackpot.
Powell’s City of Books is just that: a square-block building with multiple floors of new and old books. If they ain’t got it you didn’t need it. I bought a used book about the Columbia River published in 1957 for $7.50.
It was a long uphill climb to Portland‘s famous International Rose Test Garden. So, we drove up and found a parking spot without too much trouble. The gardens are a wonder. The roses are a couple of weeks from really putting on a show but those that had bloomed plus the abundant azaleas and rhododendrons in full glory made for a very pleasant experience. The weather? As usual, perfect. Seventies, sunny and a nice breeze.
Not that we needed it after the donut blowout but, given a 5:30 PM dinner reservation, there was nothing to do but cowboy up and down a hot dog, calling it lunch.
We’d hoped to visit the Portland Japanese Garden adjoining the rose garden, but it like everything else in Portland, was booked. We pocketed the $34 it would have cost us and instead hiked up the hill to the Hoyt Arboretum, which, like the rose garden, is free. We made it to the arboretum but it’s an extensive area with 12 miles of hiking stairs. We prudently decided to save our elderly knees and hike back down, drive back up, and see some of the arboretum that way. Which we did, and enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the nice view of Mt Hood in the distance.
Then we drove back down the hill to the Hollywood section of Portland for dinner at a restaurant I’d found on-line – the Cabezon. Cabezon is a predatory Scorpion fish; in Spanish it means stubborn and bullheaded. It turned out to be a small neighborhood outfit. They vary the menu daily according to what’s available fresh. We kinda went overboard, suffering, probably from our sugar high. We started with Totten Inlet Mussels with borlotti beans, Spanish chorizo and fries in a saffron sauce. Judy had Local Ling Cod and I had the Cioppino with lots of fish and shellfish in a spicy stew. Desert? “Did you leave room for dessert?” “No, but we’ll have a look anyway.” “I like it; real class,” said our waitress. Probably the best meal of the trip so far.
Last stop: the airport to return the National rental car. No problem, quick service. Now an Uber to the ship and we’re home free. Except Uber is $50 and Lyft $32 (no cabs in sight). Whatever. Thirty minutes later the Lyft car has hardly moved and is still 19 minutes away. Uber? Now $25. Cancel Lyft and book Uber. The Uber guy was parked right behind us so off we went without further delay and we’re back “home” with tomorrow’s home docked right below our window.
By the way, I left my big Fuji gear at home today. All pictures were shot on iPhones.
