Epic road trip, Day 9

The next day we headed to Proper Eats.  We could order both breakfast and lunch and so we did!  We had a Reuben (of course) and breakfast scramble.  

Proper Eats has a market on the other end of the building.  I would swoon if we had a market full of organic goodies like this near our home.  I love the old fashioned cases.  It reminds me of the grocery stores in my small hometown when I was growing up.  

Afterward we headed out to wash clothes.  Laundries are one of those places that can be dicey, in my experience, so I looked for one that had good reviews online as to cleanliness and safety.  This one was both clean and felt very safe.  Well, except for the VIPER hanging out of the bathroom ceiling.  Have I mentioned before that snakes are my biggest phobia?  That if I see one in a magazine or on TV there's a very good chance I will have a nightmare about it that night?  We had been in the building maybe 2 minutes when somebody announced the snake was peering out of the bathroom ceiling. 

 Did we stay?  Yes we did, but I had to suck up all my courage just to put the clothes in the washers and dryers. I spent most of my time either outside or positioned near the emergency exit door.  I would consider it a definite emergency if that snake came out of the bathroom.  The manager was called, and he came and took a look.  Then he called animal control and they were working on getting it out of the ceiling when we left.

Tumble dry, thankfully with no snakes inside.

After THAT experience, we headed to Ikea.  That place is completely overwhelming, but I did decide to buy a couple of things.  I bought a lamp, lampshade, and rug for J's room at my house.  We also picked up a lamp that attaches to the headboard for reading, and a dimmer switch to attach to my lamp so I can read after Mr. GV goes to sleep.  

And of course Mr. GV stocked up on multiple jams.  These are all varieties you cannot get anywhere near home.  

As it was our last night in Portland, we headed to Blossoming Lotus, which had been our favorite place to eat so far.  First up--pierogis!  I could have just had unlimited plates of this and been happy all evening long.  

Chana waffles with curried chick peas, cauliflower pakora, cilantro-mint chutney, and cashew sour cream.  

BBQ bowl:  soy curls in a whisky ginger bbq sauce, mac and cheese, smokey potato salad, green apple slaw.  

Cheesecake

I had one more thing on my Portland bucket list:  Voodoo Donuts.  Naturally we waited in line, but it wasn't that long.

They were out of some of the vegan varieties, so we just got the Voodoo Vegan Dozen, a variety that were picked for us.  I was disappointed that it was heavy on the cake donuts, which are not my favorite.  But in the end I was pleasantly surprised because the cake donuts were actually very good.  Was I glad we stood in line for these donuts?  Yes.  Vegan donuts are not very common, and it was a treat to have a whole box of them.  Were they extra delicious, unlike any other donut?  No.  They were decorated in an unusual way, but in the end they tasted like any other donut.  

And then it was time to pack up after 6 days in anticipation of leaving Portland the next day.  Or, as the sign below suggests, "Do the Hustle!"  

We enjoyed our time in Portland.  Yes, there are tons of places for vegans to eat, and places that aren't  exclusively vegetarian or vegan often at least know what the word vegan means and even list a few items on their menus.  Would I visit again?  Sure.  Am I yearning to go back, and dreaming of another visit?   No.  

This trip was partly to determine if Portland would be somewhere we might think about retiring in 20 years or so.  The verdict?  Portland is not right for us.  The traffic is crazy, and it's a large, busy city just like any other city. We never felt truly comfortable anywhere we went. I am certainly not running down Portland.  I know it is a perfect fit for so many people, vegan and otherwise.  It's just not a perfect fit for us.  

Epic road trip, Day 7

Day 7 of vacation!  We were headed to a museum but the parking was nonexistent and the crowds were crazy so we just skipped it.  But we did discover that the vegan mini mall was nearby!  

I can't remember the name of this sandwich, but it was something like a Reuben and was de-lish.  

I believe this was something like a sloppy Joe.  It's Mr. GV, so he got kale.  Naturally.  

And I don't recall the name of Mr. GV's dessert, but mine was a pain au chocolate.

Bread with chocolate inside.  I'm not sure it gets any better than that!  

It was pouring down rain but after it slacked a bit we ventured next door to Herbivore.  We had a blast looking around that store.  There was a huge wall of vegan books, mostly cookbooks of course.  My only complaint would have to be that I could not wear any of their cute shirts!  Yes I'm a plus-sized gal, but their XL is nowhere near the typical XL you would find in most stores.  Dear Herbivore:  Please make shirts for us larger gals and guys.  We would like to represent our vegan values too!  

Next it was on to Food Fight.  

Loved this place!  All kinds of vegan goodies, and the staff was very friendly.  

So, our haul:

A coozie for me and a coffee mug for Mr. GV.  

I replaced the one that advertised our local natural gas company pronto!  

A lid for drinking out of a mason jar, free coaster, soy candle, and soap.  

Couple of lip balms, and 3 adorable little pins (I'm addicted), and a ring that says "vegan."  

Food!  Plentils, jerky, ginger candies, licorice, caramels, chocolate, and soy curls.  

Bought as gifts:  licorice and gum balls for J and dog treats for my three rotten pups.  They love them! 

Another mug for Mr. GV, his fave lip balm, and some lotion for me (love it by the way.)  

And some iced coffee.  Not pictured is a new wallet that Mr. GV picked up at Herbivore.  It's pretty awesome, and something he'd been needing for quite some time.  

We had a very enjoyable time on this day, just knowing everything we ate and everything we bought was vegan.  Not having to ask about ingredients or read every label is such a gift!  

Epic road trip Day 5

Our first night in Portland, we had plans to go out and have dinner.  But we thought we'd have a little nap first, around 4:00 p.m.  And then we woke up at 2:30 a.m. the next morning.  I guess we were more worn out than we realized!  

We did manage to get up later that morning and make our first trek to a vegan bakery, Back to Eden.  

We shared a delicious broccoli cheddar tart, 

and some biscuits and gravy.  One thing I noticed about the vegan places we went to:  If they served breakfast gravy, it was going to have mushrooms in it.  To which I say "eww."  I have never seen mushrooms served in breakfast gravy before.  Overall it was a good dish though.

Mr. GV's necessary coffee.  

A ginger citrus scone to go along with the coffee, 

and a cinnamon roll for me.  

We picked up a dessert to have later:  a rocky road mini cake.  So good!

After that we headed to Powell's bookstore.  I had heard a lot about it.  It was OK-- kind of overwhelming, and swarming with people.  Truth be known, I prefer McKay Books in Nashville.

That evening we headed to The Bye and Bye, a vegan bar.  Naturally since we were at a bar we had this to drink:

Yep, water!  Neither of us are big drinkers.  We don't have anything against drinking alcohol in moderation, it's just doesn't interest us very much.  

We shared again (just add that to the list of good reasons to have a partner--twice as many dishes to try!)   We had the Eastern bowl (nooch breaded tofu, broccoli, brown rice, and a spicy ginger peanut sauce.)  It was quite good.

We also had the meatball sub (veggie meatballs, marinara, oat cheese, and almond Parmesan.)  Very tasty as well.