Portland…Portland…Portland…I’m not sure quite what to say about this unique and interesting town. Known for it’s avant-garde lifestyle and breathtaking views of Mt. Hood, I was excited to explore this new city. However, due to constant downpours the entire time a viewing was out of the question but experiencing this cities uniqueness was not.
We began our first with a walking tour of downtown. Yes it was raining, but when has that ever stopped us. It was much smaller than we had expected but full of interesting sites. From the mural that stated “Keep Portland Weird” to the Voodoo Donuts Shop that served donuts topped with bacon to the world’s largest independent bookstore it was an interesting day indeed. The donuts were fantastic, though I had one topped with Oreos (when in Rome…) and we spend hours rummaging all the available titles at Powell’s Book Store. We ended our time downtown with a street vendor suggestion from our friend and host Kerry Foxx. Kerry has only lived in the city for a few months, but he insisted that the gyros from the street vendor would change our lives. He was right! YUMMY!!!
Full on gyros we headed to the interactive science museum. There was an interesting exhibit on “Fear” for Halloween. It was still open so we decided to check it out. We learned about fears of animals, loud sounds, falling and even being put in a guillotine. Topping the visit were some “mind benders,” where the guest tries to solve the riddle such as, move the pegs from one side of the board to another only jumping one space or peg and only moving forward. It’s always fun to try and challenge yourself. 
The following day, with MORE rain, we headed to Pine State Biscuits. This slice of southern goodness serves up some good biscuits and gravy with various toppings. I know it sounds like we ate a lot, but what else are you supposed to do when it’s raining? 
Then a theme emerged from this gloomy day. Wanting to stay inside we checked out an old-school arcade with games like Mortal Kombat, Paper Boy and Super Mario Bros. It was a great throwback. Of course, I found the original Dance, Dance Revolution and spent the bulk of my time dancing. Gotta work off all that good food! That same evening the video game theme continued as we attended Video Games Live – an immersive event featuring music from various video games performed by the Oregon Symphony and the Pacific Youth Choir combined with synchronized lighting, video, live action and audience participation. My favorite parts were the montage of Kingdom Hearts, Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros. The most interesting performance of the night was when one of performers blindfolded himself and played a Super Mario Bros medley on the piano. Incredible!
Of course, we shared the MonaVie opportunity with our gracious hosts and as we left the city the rain continued to fall. Our conclusion: the mountains don’t really exist ☺
Next Stop: Vancouver
