After picking me up at the airport, we had several hours to run around, just the two of us. She took me to a lovely place to eat in the Boise-Eliot neighborhood called Gravy. I love that they decorated with gravy pitchers!
Although everything on the menu looked amazing, I decided to try the Chile Verde dish. It was filled with tasty pork, cojita cheese, tomatillos, and more!
We walked around the neighborhood, peeking into quirky little stores. (The weird hyena-giraffe was labeled 'Vermicious Knid,' which is the best Roald Dahl reference ever!)
We also had to stop at Blue Star Donuts to get a snack for later. I decided on the Orange Olive Oil donut, my sister the Hard Apple Cider one. Felix seemed fairly approving of our choices.
While I have odd collections of trinkets myself, this was a bit odd for a front window display.
On the way to pick up my nephew, we stopped at Dairy Queen. Why would I travel half-way across the United States, from Texas (which is already known for being DQ Country), to eat at chain burger restaurant? Because of this. Behold the cherry-dipped cone.
Growing up in Alaska, we had Dairy Queens for a while. You could get a chocolate, cherry, or butterscotch dipped cone. Cherry was my absolutely favorite flavor and I was sad when all of the DQs eventually disappeared from town. Flash forward to moving to Texas and discovering that I could once again go to a DQ ... and then being crushed when apparently Texas Dairy Queens have no idea what you are talking about when you ask for this cherry-flavored witchery in a cone.
Portland. I love you.
When we all got home, I'm very pleased to say that I think I won "Aunt of the Year" award this visit when I gifted my nephew a reptilian hoodie that was promptly dubbed his "Godzilla" jacket. We roared. It was magnificent. (It was even more magnificent watching him wear this hoodie all week with his real "Texas cowboy" boots we bought him for Christmas. I love this kid!)
This trip was a delightful mix of spending quality time with my family and taking solitary trips downtown via mass transit. On my first day of taking the MAX, I got downtown pretty early. Since not a lot was open, I decided that more coffee would be best. (And honestly, when is more coffee not a good idea?) My stop put me right outside of Case Study Coffee Roasters. I decided to go with a latte made with house-made bourbon caramel and an olive oil coffee cake. A delightful way to wake up!
I wandered through shops like Crafty Wonderland and Fat Fancy, all the time heading closer and closer to my favorite downtown destination, Powell's! I spent a long time scouring the shelves for hidden literary treasures. I did find this amazing column in the SciFi & Fantasy area!
After all of those books, I decided to explore more of downtown. I spent a bit of time in the Museum of Contemporary Craft, explored a high-end deli, found an elephant statue, then decided it was time for lunch.
Although my first thought was to try one of the myriad and interesting food trucks that can be found downtown, the weather was getting a bit iffy and I didn't want to eat in the rain. So I headed to the Deschutes Brewery to rest my feet & have a nice lunch (and beer or two). And what better food to have when it's dreary than a grilled cheese and soup? Although, this was technically a grilled cheddar, chevre-cream cheese, hazelnut kale pesto, and apple onion slaw sandwich with butternut squash soup. So decadent!
I also decided to try a small glass of the Abyss 2015, an incredibly dark Imperial Stout that was aged in bourbon, oak, and pinot noir barrels for 12 months. Powerfully good (and a powerful 12.1 APV), but one small glass was enough. I tried several other beers, but decided to not have photographic evidence. My husband was already sad he couldn't come with me this trip. Flaunting my awesome beer selections just seemed mean!
It was soon time to be picked up by my sister. As I headed to meet her, I came across these posters. I couldn't immediately tell if they were serious or sarcastic. This is Portland, after all.
Over the rest of the week, I had several more adventures!
My sister, nephew, and I went out for Sunday brunch at Watson Hall. I had a lovely hash while the nephew and his dinosaur friend shared their own meal!
He also got to try his hand at shuffleboard, where he did surprisingly well.
One day, I decided to take the light rail and bus to get out to the Hawthorne District and explore the delightfully odd resale shops, local artist boutiques, and satellite Powell's bookstores. I started out having breakfast at the Cup & Saucer Cafe.
For hours, I wandered through stores such as Presents of Mind, Red Light Clothing Exchange, and the show-stopping House of Vintage (containing over 13,000 square feet of vintage clothing and various other home goods). I topped it all off with lunch at the Fried Egg I'm In Love food truck. (Enjoying the "Sriracha Mix-a-lot" and a Hopworks Urban Brewery hard cider)
I don't always get to see my sister in her natural baking habitat, but I did get to visit her business, the Desert Tray, this time around. She was very excited about the decorating project she was working on. Ha!
The two or us were able to get away for lunch one day. We decided on the Cedar Hills McMenamins pub. My sister decided on a well-deserved beer. I decided on a well-deserved whiskey flight!
There was one more place I wanted to visit before I returned to Texas and we managed to drop by for breakfast right before I headed for the airport. I had a very lovely meal at La Provence Boulangerie & Patisserie, but I was most enamored with my hot chocolate flight! So incredibly rich and tasty! My favorite was the Spice: smooth & decadent, with a touch of heat.
Although, I was glad to see the husband again, I felt that my trip was over too soon. I look forward to the next time I can visit my sister and her family again!
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