Portland, continued: the Fun

image from Hotel Rose website

The Hotel Rose offered luxurious bed, linens, and towels, a we loved the chic, walk-in style of the shower I showed in my last post.  

The Tommy Bahamas lotions and soaps in dispensers on the walls of the bathroom and shower smelled amazing.  

Of course, the 42" flat screen TV with cable, which we do not have at home, helped the hotel experience, too, because it meant:  HGTV!!!  ;-)  We enjoyed Property Brothers and House Hunters until Hubby had his fill.  (I don't think my fill of such shows is possible, which means it's probably a good thing we don't have it at home.)

We ventured to Vancouver, WA to eat dinner Friday night.  Saturday was spent in Portland.


Thankfully, the hotel provided a complimentary umbrella, which we needed as we set out to walk 
along the riverfront park (shown to the left of the hotel in the photo above), to get to the Portland Saturday Market.  Unfortunately, as I mentioned in that previous post, the park was full of a carnival, and we had to walk along a much less attractive, busy street instead.  




Our Kitchen Forum friend, Trailrunner, had put us onto the Market, which was full of wonderful and wondrous items, like specialty foods, jewelry, photography, woodworking, and clothing.  Across the street from that market was another, and I think, maybe another to the side of it! Lots and lots to see and enjoy, and I'm sure one could spend hours there.  Hubby collected a few business cards, mostly from woodworkers, of course.

From there we set out for Powell's City of Books.  Using GoogleMaps on my iPhone as a walking guide was a new experience.  Trying to orient the map on the phone with the direction we were walking was a bit of a challenge at first.  Also, we found ourselves really wishing there was a way to see on that 'app' which streets were the more pleasant and safe-feeling route...

Our walk was nicely uneventful, however, and we arrived at Powell's to see that it, too, was being remodeled!  Must be a spring thing in the city.  In finding our around to another door, we realized we hadn't eaten and lunch would come before books.

More than happily full, we entered Powell's ready to spend a lazy few hours perusing books.  







It's a place full of temptations for those who love books!  Remembering that we had to carry whatever we bought back to the hotel kept our buying somewhat in check.












Sunday, we had a leisurely morning in our room as we readied for check-out just before noon.  Brunch downtown was the final Portland goal, before hitting the road toward home.

We opted for the more rural Highway 30 instead of I-5 for our 

trip northward.  The highway paralleled the Willamette River out of Portland, and we'd never been that way.  It was beautiful, and eye-opening to see how Portland spreads, and has more areas and neighborhoods than we ever thought.  





We had to turn off our intended path when we saw a sign to Sauvie Island.  

A few years ago, we caught a show on PBS, featuring special, farm-to-table dinners, in which the guests dined on special gourmet fare, all made from organically grown or raised food from the area.  The first show we saw was about the foods grown on Sauvie Island, and we've been intrigued about it ever since.  We couldn't pass up this chance to see it.


We felt immediately transported by the views of the quiet, green countryside.  It was easy to forget how close we were to the city, and odd to realize how recently we'd been downtown, in an urban, 'hipster' diner, enjoying brunch.  

It was also easy to forget that we were on a tiny island with water nearby... until reminded by the sight of ships peeking up behind farmhouses!

The contraption above the barn and the red brackets showing above
the containers on the right are all part of a ship on the river behind the farm

We made a loop around the island, and then back out over the bridge we came in on... the only way on and off the island.  There is a big parking lot at the base of the bridge on the island...It'd be a great place to come back with bicycles, park, and ride around for the day.

You may be waiting to hear about the meals I've mentioned.  That's coming up!