Thanksgiving Weekend in Portland

We love Portland so much and enjoyed the area during last year's Thanksgiving weekend that we decided to go down again this year. We drove down on Thanksgiving Day and didn't hit traffic too bad. There was one slow down in the Joint Base Lewis-McChord area, but when is there not? We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Tigard again because we love it so much. What was our Thanksgiving dinner you might ask? Burger King and Subway as they were the only two places we found open. Not to worry though because we had a proper Thanksgiving dinner the evening before.

On Friday, Black Friday, the girls (Bethany, Tawnya, and Joyce) went shopping while the boys (me and Keith) took Juliana to the Portland Children's Museum. I wanted to take her the last time we were in town, but didn't have the time. Plus, I'm sure she appreciated it more at this age than she would have.

The Portland Children's Museum is the sixth oldest children's museum in the world and the oldest West of the Mississippi. Juliana didn't quite know what to expect when we first entered.

As you walk in, the first exhibit you see is "Water Works". Juliana was kind of scared when we first walked in there, but when she saw that it's essentially a room with a bunch of giant water sinks to play in, she quickly warmed up to the place. Here she is playing with this neat table that you could re-direct the water flow down.

We visited "Grasshopper Grocery" after that, which is a miniature fake grocery market. She really liked this place, too. Bethany and I are considering getting her a grocery toy set with a checkout stand for Christmas.

Then we checked out "Building Bridgetown", but I don't think she had too much interest in that. A girlie girl for sure.

Next, we went to "The Pet Hospital" where she performed an exam on this stuffed dog. Really cute area, but didn't grasp her attention as much as the water and grocery sections.

Our next stop was "Wonder Corner". Julie played with some colorful glowing blocks for a little while.

Then she made a masterful work of art in "The Clay Studio".

The museum's special exhibit was "Tinkertoy". Juliana didn't spend too much time in this area.

After the museum, we met up with the ladies at Pastini Pastaria, one of my favorite restaurants in the world. We always go to the one closest to Tigard in Bridgeport Village, pictured here.

On Saturday, we did what a lot of people in Portland do and visited the Saturday Market.

Just want to share this fun little picture really quick. I took the same picture I took in the same location exactly one year ago. Fall colors were in effect much more last year.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park with Steel Bridge in the background.

Juliana playing on the sloped stone wall in the park.

Part of the market is located under Burnside Bridge.

The market was still quite busy despite it sprinkling and being damp outside.

Walking over the light rail tracks near Skidmore Fountain.

For lunch, we tried a place we hadn't been to before called Pine State Biscuits. Learned about it from Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives (watch the video... really). Not only do they make some of the best homemade biscuits I have ever had, but they do some really creative things with them. Pictured above was Tawnya's "McIsley" which has a piece of fried chicken with pickles, mustard, and honey. Bethany and I tried their famous "Reggie" which has fried chicken, bacon, and cheese topped with gravy. It was my favorite thing that I ate on this trip.

Drove to Lloyd Center which is three-level shopping mall in the northeast part of downtown Portland. It has an ice skating rink inside. Considered taking Julie, but the ice seemed too crowded. Didn't want her getting knocked over and hurt.

For dinner, Tawnya, Bethany, and I went to Red Star Tavern for happy hour. It was recommended to us by my church pastor and his wife. Great tip in my opinion. All of their happy hour food is $3, as well as their draft beer and wine. Cocktails are $5. I started off with their signature cocktail which includes vanilla vodka, raspberry liqueur, and all the fixins of a lemon drop. Sounds girlie, looks girlie, but tastes great. Had a Total Domination IPA from Ninkasi after that to reinstate my manliness.

We rode the MAX light rail in and out of the city so that we didn't have to worry about parking. Here is the train coming into the station with a long exposure.

What is the perfect snack after a couple drinks? Voodoo! Got a half dozen of special doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnut. Pictured here is the Old Dirty Bastard - a raised doughnut with chocolate frosting, crushed Oreos, and peanut butter. Fan-effing-tastic.

On Sunday, we had lunch at Grilled Cheese Grill before needing to make the trip home. We went there back in May and loved it.

Got "The Morton" which is like a meatball sub, but in a grilled cheese sandwich. Delicious.

I couldn't leave Portland without trying a new pizza place though, so we made a quick stop at Hot Lips Pizza for a slice.

I had a slice of pepperoni. It was really good. Not my favorite ever (Can no one beat Pagliacci?), but definitely in the top five.

So, that was pretty much our trip, not including all the shopping we did (I bought a PS3 at Wal-mart on Black Friday), all the times we took Juliana swimming at the hotel pool (everyday!), and all the free drinks we had at the manager's reception (I have nothing to put in parenthesis for this one). Good times, great food, and fun people. Above aren't all the pics I took. See all 72 of them in the set folder on Flickr here.