Day 9 - Leaving Portland
Trip Start
Jul 16, 2010
1
16
17
Trip End
Jul 25, 2010
Portland, Oregon
Sunday, July 25, 2010
We did most of our packing late last night so it was relatively easy getting the kids up and dressed and out of the hotel. Our plane wasn't scheduled to take off until 3:20pm so we had a full morning to accomplish something in Portland. We decided to head back to Pine State Biscuits, the restaurant we tried to get to yesterday in the Belmont Neighborhood but had lines down the block.
The Belmont Street area in southeast Portland
has many locally owned coffee shops, markets and
restaurants. I didn't see any chain stores such as McDonald's, Wendy's or Wal-mart which seemed to be hard to spot anywhere we went in Portland by the way.
As the day before, as we approached Pine State Biscuits we noticed a line out the door, but we were not turning away this time as we had time on our hands.
Now, in case you're wondering why the fuss over this restaurant that is well off the tourist beat and why we're trying our best to get to it. It's because I circled this place on my "gotta-go-there-while-in-Portland" list after I saw it featured in Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, the show about America's most interesting and unique restaurants.
Parking was hard to find anywhere along the main street through Belmont and--once we found a spot two blocks down the street from Pine State--the wait was long just to get up to the counter to order. And as for sitting somewhere in the restaurant, forget about it. One of the reasons people hang out the door was this place was the size of a cracker box on the inside. There may have been room for maybe 15 people to sit at most. So after we placed our order we basically stood back outside and listened for our name to be called to squeeze between people and step back in to pick up or order.
As for our food the name says it all - the menu was focused around big fluffy biscuits. So if you love biscuits like I do, you're in heaven.
Aria and I had a biscuit sandwich with sausage, egg and cheese and I had side of "hashups" which is a mix of hash browns, onions, ham, mushrooms and other stuff thrown together. Jadin had an egg and cheese biscuit. Laneshia had her favorite: fried-green tomatoes to go with her biscuit sandwich.
Because we didn't want to stand on a corner and eat, Laneshia did some quick work on her iphone and found a local park named, Laurelhurst Park, which we drove to and ate. The weather again was sunny and mild with a very light gentle breeze which made eating outside a good move (better then a cramped & busy restaurant would've been). Laurelhurst Park was a nicely maintained park containing some seriously tall trees which provided plenty of shade. We found a shaded bench table and enjoyed our late breakfast (which may have tasted better if it was freshly served hot in the restaurant).
After battling a very aggressive bee that evidently LOVED biscuits as much as I do (the darn thing wouldn't shoo away for nothing), the kids ran off to play on a nearby see-saw in the park playground. We let them play for a few moments while I hopped in the car to filler' up for our trip to the airport.
I got a pleasant surprise at the gas station when I found out that it's against the law to pump your own gas in Oregon. Wow, there is no such thing as a full-service gas station in Texas. I felt uncomfortable having a lady-who worked there-fill my tank. I asked if she needed any help and she said "nope". I wasn't sure if it was customary to tip or not but I gave her a dollar anyway. Felt weird.
After rounding up the kids we had a little time before we needed to get to the airport so I headed back to downtown Portland to check out a world famous doughnut store called VooDoo Doughnuts. As was Pine State Biscuits, this place had a line not only out the door, but wrapped around the building. These popular Portland businesses need to upgrade to bigger establishments. I wasn't going to wait in line for a doughnut at the risk of missing my plane so we didn't bother parking the car - off we went to the airport.
Well, my vacation ended on an unexciting note as the flight was smooth and peaceful. I sat with Aria who took a nap, watched a movie then did some coloring. Laneshia and Jadin hung out in the row behind us. I didn't see much of Jadin when I looked back as his DSi was covering his face the whole flight. And Laneshia seemed to do a combination of sleeping and studying.
We took a cab from the airport arriving home around 10pm to a clean house. Big tip to those reading: clean your house good the night before you leave on vacation as it is so refreshing walking into a clean home after an exhausting trip.
It was fun and memorable vacation for me and my family. Thanks to all who shared our journey.
Love your life!
Comments
I'm glad you all had a memorable trip!!! Thanks for sharing. Now get some REST!!! (smile)
CURVIE JR SURE IS A GREAT WRITER! LOL I FELT LIKE I WAS RIGHT THERE BESIDE YOU GUYS THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH. WITH THE GREAT HUMOR AND DESCRIPTIONS. GLAD YOU GUYS HAD FUN AND MUCH LOVE TO ALL.