KO and the Turk

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Portlandia, We Love You!

really - this is me and the Turk in Portlandia - really

Portland Oregon is a bit of a magical place. The comedy Portlandia seems more fact than imagination when compared with our experiences there. First, everyone is quite friendly and cheerful, even in the nonstop chilly rain. Apparently this is normal fall weather. Second, there is never a rush or time limit when it comes to discussing food. This could be discussing a menu, a food preparation, meal recommendations, or grocery shopping. And this suite me and the Turk just fine!

Portland is known for many things, and one of them is their donuts. Donuts are not a part of our food repertoire, but when in Portland they ARE. We tried a couple donuts at Blue Star and were not overly impressed. They had a choice of 5 and while ours were tasty, they werent remarkable.

Blue Star donut instructions

Voodoo donut shop sign

Then we headed to Voodoo Donuts. Voodoo is recognized for starting the donut movement in Portland. The shop we went to was their original site in old town. Note that walking there, in the dark, was a bit uncomfortable at times. People are living on the sidewalks and door alcoves. The streets are dark, even though just a block away, the streets are lit and lively.
We got to the front door with only a small line though they are set up with winding roped crowd barriers for busier days. I didnt do my homework, so I had no idea what I was looking at when I saw shelves of different multi-shaped and multicolored donuts. The Stress! The line of customers had grown to the corner and I had to make decisions quickly.

With no real understanding of what I was choosing, I got these (but note that I didnt have descriptions then):

Old Dirty Bastard doughnut
Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreo's™ and peanut butter!
Voodoo Doll doughnut ©
Raised yeast doughnut filled with raspberry jelly topped with chocolate frosting and a pretzel stake!
Chuckles doughnut ©
Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting dipped in mocha powder and topped with peanuts and caramel & chocolate drizzle.

These were HUGE. Notice the pretzel stuck through the voodoo doll. What leaks out is raspberry jam!

We grabbed our goods and escaped the shop to some tables sitting outside. The turk and I bravely jumped in and took a bite of each. As the sugar surged through our bloodstream, we grabbed for more. In our haze, we bravely refrained from eating these completely because in our primal brain we realized we had to survive to live another day. Were these good? Yes - but how can chocolate, bread, sugar and oreos be bad?

On to more healthy tasks, we got to beer. Portland has a zillion breweries and we found a fun brew pub, based out of Bend Oregon, at Deschutes Brewery. The beer was great, food was delicious, building was a remodeled car repair garage with impressive log carvings.

tasting some beer!

We headed out for brunch on our last day to Tasty N Alder. We were not disappointed with the experience. This was yet another Portlandia experience. Their food is seasonal with unique dishes, so we had many questions. Despite the lobby and sidewalk full of waiting customers, our waitress had no concerns to discuss any dish we asked about. We pointed to plates around us and she patiently explained every one. The Turk ended up choosing the Cowboy Breakfast with eggs and skirt steak. Happy Turk.
I failed to mention that along our walk to the restaurant, we passed a park that was completely surrounded with food trucks of every type. I was so excited that I circled the park twice looking for one to try (even tho we were headed to brunch). I selected a Shanghai Crepe truck: Bing Mi.
The Turk and I split it and it was delicious! The crepe black bean paste, chili sauce, pickled vegetables, green onion, cilantro, and a crispy fried cracker. Yummy and crunchy appetizer before brunch.

Bing Mi crepe truck

chinese crepe

Our other notable food experience was Fred Meyer grocery store. We naively walked into the store looking for some fruit and found we had walked into grocery Oz. This place had everything: bakery, butcher, chocolate shop, cheese shop including Murray's Cheese from NYC, wine shop and bar, prepared foods, dishes, kitchenware, plant nursery, clothing, hardware, appliances, sheets and towels, pharmacy, jewelry store, shoe store, and more. Amazing. Fred started his business in 1922. Kroger bought them in 1998.

Notice the BIKE THRU for coffee

Portland is nothing if not quirky. People dress as they like, are picky about what they eat and drink - mostly around fresh and local foods, they embrace everyone (except those who are close minded). We were pleasantly caught off guard by the veterans day fireworks as we walked the park that night. So many fun surprises!

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Beach Baby - But Its Cold in Oregon

Cannon Beach, Oregon

The drive and the ferry trip from Seattle was rainy, woodsy, and beachy. This coast is so different from any other and we always enjoy the views. Our destination: Cannon Beach.

This coast may be beautiful, but for ships it has historically been treacherous. Apparently you can tour ship wrecks like people tour light houses...which are supposed to prevent the ship wrecks. This ship was at the entrance to the Columbia River near Astoria. We passed it from the highway. I cant find its name or age.

mystery ship wreck

The Astoria-Megler Bridge, opened in 1966, is a continuous truss bridge that spans the mouth of the Columbia River between Astoria, Oregon and Point Ellice near Megler, Washington. This span is the last (or first depending on which direction you are headed) segment of US 101 between Olympia, WA and Los Angeles, CA. It is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. Longest span 1,232 ft. Total length 21,474 ft.

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Once we got to Cannon Beach, we saw the rocks of course, but also got to walk up to the rusted bow and masts of the Peter Iredale, a ship that ran aground over 100 years ago.

Peter Iredale remains today

Peter Iredale when it ran aground in 1906.

The beaches here are very wide and usually flanked by sand banks where homes and towns are located. In Florida, we are accustomed to alligators and hurricanes. On the Oregon coast, they have tsunami warnings. There are signs and siren towers everywhere. The last tsunami occurred in 1964 as a result of the Anchorage earthquake.

We enjoyed the town of Cannon Beach. Shops, restaurants, informative wine shop, amazing chocolate shop where the turk once again taste tested the hot chocolate. When we checked into our hotel, we were given a choice of 3 flavors of Tillamook ice cream, and told where the wine tasting was taking place. We had the well equipped gym all to ourselves and got to hang out in the pool and jacuzzi in the evening. What's not to like?!

COLD....!

Giant Puffin - on the left


which came first? chicks or eggs

happy Turk

Our crepe!


loving that sunset!

Friday, November 11, 2016

Sleepless in Seattle

Glass House Studio in Pioneer Square. FUN

Each time we go to Seattle, we do something different. On this trip, we crashed with a good friend who works in Pioneer Square. So we HAD to explore this part of the city. I am a glass fan - afterall I did marry the Glassman! And I was excited to find the Glass House Studio in the Square.

Makin' glass

The Turk and I strolled around the neighborhood and found the Underground Seattle tour. Had to go! We ended up walking around UNDER the sidewalks of the city. Found out that the city originally was quite dirty with raw sewage due to poor/nonexistant sewers. Then in 1889 the city burned down which gave the city fathers an opportunity to rebuild, the right way. They decided to build retaining walls to hold the roads 10 ft or more high to provide a location for the sewer pipes. This process was going to take about 10 years to complete. But the businesses of Seattle couldnt wait 10 years. So while the city built high roads, the commercial sector built their buildings at ground level.

Stuff underground

toilet found in one of the groundfloor stores

There were ladders positioned beside the streets since you had to climb over the street to get to the other side. Eventually the streets were completed and sidewalks were built between the streets and the buildings, at the second story level. this left the first floors underground, a convenience when it was raining. People would shop underground and stay dry from the Seattle weather. Alas, the plague came and the ground floor shops were sealed off to keep the rats from infecting more people. And that is how it stayed until the mid 60's when the underground tour started. This in effect helped start the preservation of Pioneer Square - the birthplace of Seattle.

streets of Seattle were full of saw dust that filled with water and turned into deep mud

holding up the sidewalks

downtown - oldest buildings

more finds underground

notice the white bird on his head!

totem pool downtown

waterfall and stream created between high rises

Our tour guide Tulin, who lives in Seattle, took us to the Fremont neighborhood. For some reason, it is a very unusual place, but very interesting. Lenin was hanging around and I wondered why - wouldnt you? Here's the story. Weighing over 7 tons, the sculpture, Emil Venkov, took ten years to complete it.This statue is unique in that it may be the only representation portraying Lenin surrounded by guns and flames instead of holding a book or waving his hat - a nod to his true violent actions. It was installed in Poprad, Slovakia in 1988.
Lewis Carpenter, an American veteran teaching in Poprad, found the sculpture lying face down after it was toppled in the 1989 Revolution. He recognized Venkov’s work its boldness, and determined that the statue be preserved. Carpenter mortgaged his house to buy the sculpture and bring it back to Issaquah. He died in 1994. The statue is now owned by his family. It is sited here temporarily for viewing and sale. And that is how Lenin came to live in Fremont, Washington!


Fremont Troll, under the George Washington Bridge in Fremont

We walked down the street to Troll Avenue to meet the Fremont Troll. Why is he there? That's where trolls live, under bridges. This one was created in 1990 to help rehabilitate the area under the bridge. This particular troll is holding a VW that he grabbed from the bridge. It has a California license plate!

a mini pie shop around the corner!

interesting building in Fremont

The neighborhood is full of creative buildings, sculptures, tongue in cheek signs.

Yes, that is Saturn on top of an apartment building

Seattle is not only Starbucks!

Inhale....Exhale...Inhale...Exhale

Duck in front is having none of that duck butt stuff

Had to stop at the Theo chocolate maker, also in Fremont. Theo chocolate started in 2006. I almost moved into the shop when I realized they have free samples of EVERY chocolate they sell. Needless to say, I walked and ate my way around that shop several times.

chocolate dinosaurs - of course

At the end of our Seattle visit, we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island to start our way to the Oregon coast. Because there are so many islands and peninsulas around there, ferries are a normal mode of transportation. More relaxing than driving!