Any questions, just ask. Take a look! Leave a comment if you want, I’ll be waiting….

San Francisco 2011 photos

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And yes, there will be pictures here soon. But not yet!

We decided to take a short trip to San Francisco for our anniversary. We left Friday early afternoon and arrived a couple hours later at our first destination, a reuse/recycle store called Scrap. We found a few things there but not much, but it was still fun to look. Then we made our way through the traffic and rain to our hotel, the Galleria Park. It’s in a great location and close to a lot of things. We checked in, just in time for the free daily wine reception (translate: free wine). We were getting pretty hungry and luckily we had brought with us  a 24-page list of vegetarian/vegan friendly places. Good luck, there was a pizza place five blocks down the street that offered vegan cheese as an option so we walked in the drizzle, looking forward to the meal. Alas, they no longer offered the option so we left, a bit disappointed. But after checking on our phones, we found an all-vegan chinese food  restaurant less than half a mile away, just into Chinatown. We walked there, to the Lucky Creation. The rice was just ok, but the other two dishes were really good. Then back to the hotel and we called it a day.

Saturday we had a full day planned. We starting walking and stopped for a few minutes to watch people skate at the outdoor skating rink near Macy’s. Then we took a ride on the famous cable car system to the North Beach area. We had lunch at Cafe Sapora, with a number of vegan and vegetarian options on the menu. It was a tasty sandwich. Next we stopped at XOX Chocolates, a very small shop that also offered four types of vegan truffles. Dessert! Then we hopped a bus to the touristy area. We breezed through Ghirardelli Square, not finding much to see there, on past some street vendors, through the Fisherman’s Wharf area, and then to Pier 39. All tourist stuff but still fun and a nice way to spend the afternoon. We rode the cable car back and, lo and behold, at the turnaround end of the line there just happened to be a five-story record store, Rasputin Music! Yes, we spend a while there and our wallets got a little lighter too. So we walked back, pausing again briefly at the ice rink. But we were hungry again! We found a little place called California Golden Cookies and Cafe (really!). It was cold and damp outside but this place had the best vegan lentil soup I have ever had. So good. Then back to the hotel, just in time for the free wine reception! It was time for more shopping though, this time to Amoeba Music. Their three locations are huge, and this one is a former bowling alley and truly massive. Two and a half hours later they were getting ready to close so we grabbed our purchases and left. We headed a couple miles down Haight Street and had a vegan sandwich at Love and Haight. It was pretty good and at after 10:00 it was fine. And that was Saturday.

On Sunday we took the BART train over to the Mission District to go to a vegan restaurant (a chain of three actually) that we had been to a few years back, called Herbivore. We had a great brunch and we were ready for the day. We stopped at a nearby shoe store, the Bonita Trading Company, because Petra wanted some rain boots (yes, it was raining again) and she found some. We took the BART train back to the hotel and then went to spend the afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art. It was my first time there but I will be back. It was large and full of interesting art, all modern, which is what I like for the most part. Next, it was back to the hotel for that free wine reception again. Afterwards, we had dinner at a mall food court. Say what? Well, this was actually a vegan place in the food court, one of the worldwide Loving Hut locations. We thought we were going to see the play Hair in the evening but due to a scheduling mixup it didn’t happen. We were bummed about that but went back to the hotel and had a couple glasses of wine and got a decent night’s rest.

Then it was Monday, the day to go home. We took a brief walk at the third floor garden area and then checked out. We went back to Herbivore and had brunch again. And it was really good again, maybe even better than the day before. Instead of going home, though, we took a side trip to Santa Cruz, about an hour and a half southward. Our friends Larry and Robin live there and we always like to see them. But the draw that day for Petra was that former American Idol finalist James Durbin was at Streetlight Records signing copies of his first CD, released that very day. We stood in the cold for a couple hours and then got to talk to James and he signed her CD and t-shirt. He seems to be a really nice and genuine person. More power to him. We had dinner with Larry at Cafe Gratitude, a local vegan restaurant, which was very good. Then we said our goodbyes and drove home. It was a good trip!

Note: These photos came from my cell phone camera. There may be other pictures posted later.

Any questions, just ask. Besides Petra and me, you might even notice a couple pictures of our friends Mama O and Liz. Take a look! Leave a comment if you want, I’ll be waiting….

Seattle/Bumbershoot 2011 photos

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Saturday September 3

Mid-morning we took the convenient monorail over to the Seattle Center, the site of the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. Today was the first day of this amazing event. Doors opened at 11:00 but we got there at about 10:30 and they let us in early! I took that as a good omen. We got our Starbucks pass, allowing us free coffee drinks for the entire festival. Can’t argue with that. Then we went to the VIP hospitality lounge for some food to get us started for the day. They were determined to provide vegetarian and even some vegan options too. We checked our schedules for the day and decided to start with a new stage this year (EMP Level 3) where Seattle’s Tomten was playing. They had won a competition to get a performing slot and were pretty good. Indie-type rock with a little more to the songs than some. Oh, and in case I forget, all three days of the festival we ate some festival food too. Eating is fun! But back to the music. The next act we saw was at the Main Stage (moved indoors this year), 90s act The Presidents of the USA. We watched about half of their set and they are still doing what they have always done. Of course they did their hit “Lump” and a bunch of others. Meanwhile, we realized that with our VIP passes we got some free drink tickets, so we went to one of the beer gardens and had a beer (or in Petra’s case, a glass of wine). At a nearby stage P.S. I Love You was playing but we didn’t hear anything that made us want to stick around. Not with so many other options. What are there, 12-15 stages?

Oh, plus the small “secret” stage that VIP passes get you into, or you can win tickets like Larry and Robin had done. We saw Vetiver in there next. They were good if not memorable.  Pleasant at least. Next up in the secret stage was Trombone Shorty and his band. The music was basic funk and blues, but he was very charismatic and talented and it ended up being a great show. Then we went back to the Level 3 stage to see Pickwick. There were hundreds of people in line for this act, people obviously knew something we didn’t. Luckily our passes got us up to the front of the line and we got in. And the show was really good! It was blue-eyed soul but well done and the band had really made their sound tight. After that, I watched part of a set by Little Dragon, which was kind of electronic with a woman singer. For a couple songs it was interesting but got less so. Petra had left to see the “real” (non-secret) set by Trombone Shorty and soon enough I went over there too. He was good again but not quite as good as the earlier show IMHO. After that was Mavis Staples, and for her we watched the whole set. She is great and has been for, what, 50-60 years since the Staples Singers days. She’s a mix of gospel, political, pop, funk, and soul. This makes twice I’ve seen her live and both times she  delivered the goods. After all of that, we all went back to our hotel room to talk about the day and to strategize over who to see the next day.

Sunday September 4

Day two of the festival. Once again we had a little food in the room and then took the monorail to the festival. We catch it a few blocks from the hotel, it takes about 90 seconds, and we get out right at the festival grounds. So convenient! First thing, we got our free Starbucks drinks. Then the hospitality lounge and a snack there too. First up, in the small “secret” stage, was Mad Rad, a blend of hiphop, electronic, and rock, and some energetic cool weirdness thrown in too. This was a really good set. We chose the “secret” stage again for Tennis (the band, not the sport). This was a decent set by the three-piece, but the guitar was too loud. The woman’s keyboards and vocals were lost a lot of the time. So it ended up being loud guitar mostly. And we were in the center of the second row (our spot for all the small stage shows), so it wasn’t that we were sitting in the wrong place. It was just mixed badly. After that, at one of the booths there was a 4-song mini-set by Allen Stone, a white, long-haired, shaggy guy who sang like a long time soul crooner. He did NOT look like he sounded! Petra liked him a lot and made a note to see his full set later. While waiting for another act a bit later, we heard a few songs by the Jim Jones Review. It was sloppy, punky, and nothing special at all. But we were waiting for Pickwick to play the small stage. We had seen their full set yesterday and liked it so much we wanted to see them in the small stage too. And they were very good again!

Of course there was plenty of food today too, don’t ever doubt that.  Then I went to see an all-female band called Warpaint, who ended up being good. I watched for a while and then ran into Mama O and Liz and talked for a couple minutes. Meanwhile Petra was seeing Allen Stone’s full set and loving it. We met back up in the hospitality lounge for more food and then back out into the festival. After a couple minutes of Toro Y Moi, we both decided that was enough of that. Then we watched some of the set by The Kills, a man/woman duo that has a noisy, bluesy minimal rock sound. It was good but it was late and we headed back to the hotel room. The rest of the gang came by and we strategized about the next day and which artists to see then…

To be continued. Day three and more coming soon…

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We just got back from our annual trek to Seattle for the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (and more). I’ll post some pictures soon, but in the meantime here is a short synopsis of what we did. Enjoy, and maybe we’ll see you there next year…

Wednesday August 31

We flew to Seattle (Southwest Airlines) and arrived in the afternoon. Seattle has a great light rail train system that took us from the airport (nowhere near the actual city) all the way up to three blocks from our hotel. For just a few bucks! We checked in at The Camlin and then walked about five blokcs or so to the nearby Whole Foods Market, to get some supplies. You know, chips, salsa, cereal, fruit, soy milk, bottled water, wine, just the necessities. We lugged all that back to the hotel and then we were truly ready for anything. Well, pretty much. But we were hungry too! We were walking the block or so to Cyber-Dogs, a great vegetarian hot dog place, when we bumped into a couple of our fellow Sacramento friends, Mama O and Liz. We chatted a bit on the street (sidewalk actually) and then went to Cyber-Dogs for our meal (menu). This place gives you a lot of food, not just a measly hot dog. Next it was back to the room to plan out the event of the next couple days. Yes, I love Seattle!

Thursday September 1

We had some food in the room before heading out for the day, to the Seattle Center area. First stop was the Experience Music Project, a great music museum that we try to visit every year. New this year was a very comprehensive Nirvana exhibit, and the neighboring Science Fiction Museum (part of EMP, same admission gets you into both) has a really nice Avatar exhibit. Then we went to the Bamboo Garden vegetarian food nearby. A combination plate was a fine choice, though any of the hundreds of things on the menu would have been ok since it is all vegetarian (mostly vegan actually). Sufficiently stuffed, we walked down the street to Silver Platters, a good record, CD, and video store. Of course we found some music we needed. Of course Next we headed back over to the Seattle Center and picked up our VIP passes for the upcoming Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival. The VIP passes cost more but they give you a lot of benefits that make the festival a much better and easier experience.

As we left there we met up with more of our group that had traveled from Sacramento, Larry and Robin. The four of us walked over to the Visual Arts preview. This was a sneak preview of the visual arts exhibits for the festival. One room had “Bumber By Number”, a huge paint-by-number that wrapped around three walls. Anyone could paint in a few spaces so that by the end of the festival it would be all done. So Petra and I did just that. One other quirk was that the paints were actually chalk-like things that looked like vegetables. Yeah. Art! Another room had “The Magic Show” which had objects as art, with emphasis on illusion. There was more, but you get the idea. We took the monorail back to the condo room and then the four of us went to see a Major League Baseball game! The Seattle Mariners to be specific.  We had excellent seats in the first row behind the visitor’s dugout. It was a lot of fun and I got friendly with the mascot, a very energetic moose. Well, not THAT friendly but he was next to me a bunch of times. After the game we went back to the condo but headed up to the 11th (top) floor “Cloud Room” to relax with a couple beverages and to talk about the day and also the one to come next.

Friday September 2

Today’s destination was the University District and the four of us bussed it over there. We checked out a vegan store (Sidecar for Pigs Peace) and then had lunch at the Wayward Vegan Cafe. Man, was this a good meal. Serious. We walked around the district a bit and popped into a few stores here and there. Larry and Robin headed back to town but Petra and I stayed there a bit longer, including a visit to Half Price Books, where we (of course) found more to bring home. Not a big surprise. Next, we bussed it back to the hotel and the took the monorail to the Seattle Center area. We stopped in at Easy Street Records and of course found more music that we needed. Yes, needed. A quick stop at the supermarket formerly known as Larry’s, and then we lined up for the evening’s entertainment. It was a film preview of the Seattle International Film Festival. The film festival is part of the Bumbershoot festival, but we were able to see six short films the night before it for free! These short films are always interesting. One of them had actually won the short film Academy Award. By the it was getting late and we all went back to the hotel room to strategize. No I don’t mean to talk, drink, laugh, and wonder who to see at the first day of Bumbershoot tomorrow. Ok, ok, that is exactly what we all did. Six great minds in one room. And after that we got some sleep.

To be continued…

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Here’s a quick overview of what we did. Oh yes, there will be pictures. Later. For now, thrill to the exciting recap of… “Our Trip to San Diego”!

Monday – April 25th

It’s a long way to San Diego. Even though we had six days of vacation, two of them (one on each end) were driving days. On this one, we headed south from Sacramento, on our way. A few hours  into the trip, we stopped for brunch in Kettleman City, at Mike’s Roadhouse Cafe. Really! It was big and hearty. Then back on the road. It’s not the most beautiful drive but it’s ok. Finally, in the Los Angeles area, we stopped in Coast Mesa at Native Foods, an all-vegan restaurant that has some truly delicious food. How did we know that? We had been to three of their other locations on previous trips. I really wish they had a location closer than 400 miles away! But anyway, we had a tasty meal and then continued on our way. In the evening, we finally arrived at the condo and checked in. We unpacked and relaxed for a little bit and that was that for the first (travel) day.

Tuesday – April 26th

After some food at the condo, we headed out to Balboa Park, specifically the San Diego Zoo. Everyone says it is a great zoo and now I know, they are right. It was huge and we saw, well, most of it. Thankfully they had shuttles that help you get to and from the various parts of the Zoo. More animals than you can shake a stick at (if that’s your idea of a good time). And the granddaughter loved it! This is THE zoo to see. Afterward we had dinner at nearby Pokez, Mexican food with lots of vegetarian options. Once back at the condo, the granddaughter had a little time to get in a quick swim (more like play) at the  pool.

Wednesday – April 27th

Another breakfast at the condo and then out to the Zoo Safari Park. A little way outside San Diego proper, they have animals roaming in an “open” (more open at least) area. Giraffes, antelopes, zebras, etc… And in smaller, but still generous areas, lions, tigers, gorillas. Oh yeah, the gorillas were pretty cool. Did you know they are vegan? Again, the granddaughter had a great time. But this place is just too big to see it all and there were no shuttles, so a lot more walking. But it was still big fun even if we missed a few things. We had dinner at Sipz Fusion Cafe, an all-vegan (except for one or two items that were “only” vegetarian) restaurant. It was really good, wish it was in our town instead!

Thursday – April 28th

After a little breakfast at the condo, we headed to nearby Carlsbad, home of our destination, Legoland. Yes, the famous interlocking blocks have their own theme parks. It was truly a theme park, meaning waiting in line for a long time for couple-minute rides, crowds, expensive and lame food, but kids love that experience! We tried to see most of it and had a good time. The granddaughter got terrified on a pretty tame roller coaster and we got soaked on a water ride. But everyone had fun and that’s what counts! We had dinner at Sipz (like last night) and it was great again. There was a bit of time after, so the granddaughter had a half hour or so in the pool, which she absolutely loves.

Friday – April 29th

Breakfast at the condo. You know the drill by now. Then it was off to Balboa Park. Lots and lots and lots to see there but we only picked a few things and it still filled most of the day! First was the Spanish Village, a group of 35-40 artists shops and studios. Lots of art and crafts and many spaces are studios where the artists actually work too. Very cool. Then we went to the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center, a science museum geared toward kids but interesting for adults too. Dinner was at a vegan fast-food place (really!) called Evolution. Yeah, burgers, chili cheese fries, etc, all vegan. Then back to the condo where Josephine had a few minutes in the pool before bedtime.

Saturday – April 30th

Time to go home. It always comes too soon! We stopped for lunch at Native Foods in Tustin (near Los Angeles) and while we were there we actually met Chef Tanya, the owner of the chain and inventor of all the awesome vegan food that they serve. I’m telling you, this place is great, click on the link and check out the menu. My Rueben sandwich was to die for. After that, a long drive home, with a quick stop later at Taco Bell for dinner. Well, the meals can’t all be great 

A really fun trip for the granddaughter and actually it was for us too. Plus we were given a wheresgeorge bill along the way too. All good…

What do YOU think?

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First off, the road (I-80) is terrible, at least on the California side! It needs paving really badly, especially through the Sierra Nevada mountains. But we made it to Reno, arriving in the late afternoon. We got a free room upgrade, to a pretty nice and roomy room, because they didn’t have exactly what we reserved. Sweet. So I got some much needed coffee and we decide to gamble a little since we had a few hours until the show. Petra had some luck. Me, well, not so much. Easy come easy go?

We had some dinner at a very ordinary casino cafe. On the plus side, free or cheap drinks were easy to find.

As I mentioned, I’ll blog more about the Elvis show soon so be patient! After the show we gambled a little more and quench our wicked thirst too. Then sleep. Crisp white hotel sheets and zzzzzzz…..

And then it was morning. Mother’s Day too! So we went in search of the only all vegetarian restaurant in Reno. You guessed it, closed. We wandered into a nearby casino for a few minutes to ponder. Then we went to a nearby pizza place that offers vegan pizza options. We had a really good vegan pizza (dead serious) at Pie Face Pizza. They do regular pizzas too. And then we hit the road, full and happy. On our way home after a heck of a nice weekend.

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You can and should read all about about the trip here to get the rest of the story, then be sure to check out the pictures (two pages worth) here on the photo page. Click on the first small photo to see the larger image and then you can either click through them, or use the arrow keys, or watch the slide show. Be sure to look at both pages too! Have fun and leave me a comment afterwards!!

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Friday March 19

It’s a long drive to Indio. With a stop for brunch and a couple pit stops, it took about ten hours of driving. Petra actually drove the whole way, though I did my part, helping out by taking a nap. We had a pretty good brunch in Kettleman City on the way and made it to our destination in Indio in time for dinner with Petra’s parents, who were staying about a mile or less away. We talked and visited a while then she and I made it back to our condo and called it a day. Which it was.

Saturday March 20

We went on this trip to relax and have some downtime. But we still wanted to see

and do a few things. Plus, you gotta eat or you’ll die!! So, well rested, we went out for brunch to a mexican restaurant that Petra’s co-worker had recommended. The vegetarian choices were slim but of course we found some things. Then, totally stuffed full and happy, we went to get some groceries to take back to the condo for the week. After that we walked over to the pool for some rest and relaxation. Later on, we drove over to the mexican market for a few more supplies. We also checked out a local flea market but there wasn’t much to see there. When we came back we went for a bike ride, right around sunset. The ride was nice and the sunset was very pretty. We came back and wanted to chill at the condo so we played a game of “Beatles Monopoly”. It was all fun and relaxing and all of this made for a nice day.

Sunday March 21

We had some leftover mexican food from yesterday’s brunch, so we turned it into today’s brunch. Twice the tasty treat! Today’s destination was the street fair at the College Of The Desert. We wandered around and shopped for a while, finding a few small items. Not enough, though, so we went to few nearby thrift stores. Tell me this is not a classic find: I found a record called “Music To Eat Pizza By” and it is performed by 23 accordian players! And they had it in mono OR stereo! For only a dollar each! I bought the stereo version along with a hard to find Groucho Marx record for a few bucks. Score!! Anyway, our friends Larry and Robin were due to come spend the rest of the week with us and right about this time they called , saying that were getting close. So we headed back to the condo and met them there. Of course we had to visit a bit. Then we headed out the a delicious dinner at nearby Ciro’s. The manicotti I had was really, really good. Stuffed again after we ate we went back to the mexican market. We got some fresh-made corn tortillas and a few other items. Larry was on a mission to find some mole sauce and they had lots of different kinds and brands. Then we headed back to the condo to visit the rest of the evening.

Monday March 22

We had a very leisurely morning and then went to hang around the pool. The water was warm and Petra loved swimming in it. In the later part of the afternoon, we all went to some nearby thrift stores to shop and explored a little, and of course by then we were all hungry. We went to a mexican restaurant nearby that we had visited last year, called La Pinata, where they have the big “Margarita Country” sign. We each had a big dinner and some margaritas. Life is good. Then back to the condo to hang out the rest of the evening.

Tuesday March 23

Today’s destination was the town and artists community of Idyllwild, nearly 6000 feet up in the nearby mountains. A friend of Larry and Robin’s had moved there and invited us all up for lunch and to visit. They fed us and then gave us a tour of and arts school there, along with some art galleries. On the way back, we stumbled across a large public art “farm”. Not sure if that is a good term but there were a few acres of public art to explore. So we did. As we got close to Palm Desert, we noticed the high-end Imago Gallery that we had visited last year. The awesome Chihuly glass piece was in the tower and we did a quick visit to see some expensive and cool art. Seriously, $140,000 for a painting? We didn’t buy anything  but it was nice to look at. Before we headed back down the one-eleven to Indio, we remembered a great vegetarian restaurant that we visited last year, Native Foods, so we went went there and had another good dinner. Everything in the place is vegan but you’d never know it. The menu has tons of stuff and everything we tried was good. On the way back we stipped at the grocery store and got some ice cream for desert. Yow! Are we having fun yet?

Wednesday March 24

Larry and Robin spent most of the day at nearby Joshua Tree State Park on a hike, while Petra and I opted for lounging around the pool. We also went to a store called The Alley and looked around a bit. All four of us went to Petra’s parent’s nearby rental house and they made us a really good dinner. We visited there the rest of the evening.

Thursday March 25

We had a light snack at the condo to get us started and then went to nearby Cathedral City. Our destination was the Imax theater. We saw the super-large screen, 3-d version of Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland“. It was very impressive. The visuals were awesome and it was delightfully weird but sweet at the same time. Then we headed to Palm Springs for a few things planned later in the evening. But first was lunch at a different location of Native Foods. It was great too. Wish there was one in Sacramento! Then it was time to visit the Palm Springs Art Museum. Admission is free on Thursday afternoons so we took advantage of that. It’s a really nice gallery, check it out if you get down there. After that was the Villagefest, a big street festival with lots of booths and local merchants. After that, we were hungry again so we went to an Italian place near the condo called The Naked Noodle. It was good too. Then back to the condo to call it a day.

Friday March 26

It was time to leave Indio. We had a great week! Technically, we were spending tonight in Hollywood, on the way back home, so the vacation wasn’t over yet. We gassed up the car at Costco and said goodbye to Indio (adios, Indio) and drove to Los Angeles. We stopped on the way at a Shakey’s Pizza for lunch. Funny thing, that pizza chain started in our town of Sacramento but all the ones here have closed down. The hyperactive, yelling kids in the next booth put a damper on it but what the heck. We got to Hollywood in the afternoon and checked into out hotel. We had some free time so we took a wark down Sunset Boulevard, grabbed a coffee drink, and checked out the area. It got to be dinner time and we had already decided to visit a place we had been to once before on a visit, Toi “Rockin’ Thai” Food. The place is funky, open until 4AM, with rock posters decorating the walls everywhere. Then we headed to our actual destination, Club Largo, where we went to see Jon Brion. He’s a very talented musician, multi-instrumentalist, producer, etc. We’d seen him years ago at a Bumbershoot Festival and were really impressed. He uses electronics to record himself doing pieces of a song and then “looping’ them together to sound like a full rock/pop band. You have to see it to see how great he is at it. Oh, he can also just stand the with guitar and sing/play too. He did that on a couple originals and a great cover of the Kinks classic “Waterloo Sunset”. He did a noise-fest version of The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” that was a nicely shaped wall of electro-pop. And then there was the marimba and loops version of The Cars “Just What I Needed”. Great stuff. There were also original songs from his solo CD and some of the soundtrack songs he’s done too. Great show, very impressive. There was an after-show announced in the nearby “Little Room” (about 60 people) and we got in line for that. We were way back in line but when I went up to ask the guy at the door, he suggested that we come back the next night. I said “we’ll be 500 miles away then”. He looked concerned and told us to stand “over there”. A little later he came over and let us in, he gave us the last two seats in the place. Sweet!! This show was totally different. Jon had a bunch of friends with him and he let them do a lot of the show, but still playing and singing with them. This was more folk and even bluegrass. Very different from the main show, but still entertaining and the musicians were really talented. How fortunate that we were able to see both shows!

Saturday March 27

It was the day to head home, but we weren’t quite finished yet. We had brunch at the nearby the Hollywood Mel’s Diner (it was OK), and then went to the world’s biggest independent record store, Amobea Music. They have an unbelievable selection of new and used CDs, records, memorabilia, and other music items. It’s a huge place, they even have maps of the store if you need them, but the staff is helpful too. It’s so big it would take a day (or more) to look at everything. But we did spend a few hours and did some dollar damage, finding some rare things, some very good bargains, and some other stuff too. I’ll list that stuff in a diffent post when I get some time. But after all that time in the record store, we were finally ready to hit the road and go back home. And that’s just what we did…

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Thursday June 25

And we hit the road running. Well, driving actually. Portland is a ten or eleven hour drive from our NorCal home base. On our way, we stopped in Yreka, right up near the top of California on the I-5, at a small place in a mall, called Linda’s Soup Café.  We had stumbled on this place a few years back when we drove to Seattle and somehow remembered it. Linda’s is not your usual mall food. They even have a vegetarian menu with a whole bunch of items that looked good. Imagine us vegetarians having too many things to choose from!  Anyway, fully refreshed, we headed north again. We stopped in Southern Oregon for gas and remembered the unusual law in Oregon that says you can’t pump your own gas. So we let the man service us and headed north once again. Round about dinnertime we pulled into Portland. Or I should say the suburb of Lake Oswego, where our hotel was. We checked in and unpacked. We got on the internet with our laptops and although the Ethernet connection worked the WiFi didn’t, meaning only one of us could be online at once. That wouldn’t suffice for the whole week, so we had someone from the hotel check it out and they got it working within minutes. Yay! We’ve had Internet problems at hotels a few times, and this was the fastest it ever got fixed. The room was nice too, and the rate was very cheap for a Hilton Garden Inn. In fact, the Hotel situation was great for the whole week. But I’m jumping ahead. Then we walked a block or so to a small and local Thai food restaurant called Thai Basil. Coincidentally, there is a Thai place in our town with the same name. No relation. Both are good though!

Friday June 26

Today was the first day of the Lake Oswego Art Festival, which was one of the reasons we made the trip. The festival was split between a building complex and a park. In the building (and a huge tent behind it), there was lots and lots of art. The theme was mosaic and there were amazing examples of that, but there were also paintings, metal work, ceramics, glass, and other art. We’re talking hundreds of pieces. Then, at the park there were 60-80 vendors showing and selling various types of arts and crafts. There were food vendors too, and music. Mid-day we grabbed some lunch nearby. Petra got a sandwich at an Italian deli and I got a chili relleno burrito (never heard of that before) at Senor Taco and we met at a table in the middle to eat. We took a break from the festival in the afternoon and went to Trader Joes to get some breakfast food and snacks to keep in the hotel room. We had a fridge and microwave, along with the aforementioned Internet and one of the most important things a hotel room can have, an in-room coffee-maker. On our way back to the festival we stopped at a chain Mexican restaurant called Azteca. They said it was a chain. It looked like one but I’d never seen any others. Anyway, just that day they had started a special with two enchiladas, beans, and rice for only $6.99 so both we ordered that. What a bargain! It almost made up for the $8.75 margaritas. Ouch! But they were huge so I guess it was ok. Then back to the  art festival. The music for the evening was Marv and Rindy Ross, better known (maybe) as the 80s band Quarterflash. My wife Petra had always liked that band and had seen them in her early years, so we watched the current version. They did do a few of their 80s hits but everything else was more recent.

Saturday June 27

We ate breakfast (some fruit) in the room and then had the free hotel shuttle take us to the local light rail station (aka The Max). Portland has a great public transit system, much much better than the meager one here. We took the light rail train downtown. We’d seen most of the art festival yesterday so we decided to start exploring Portland today. Big surprise, we checked out a record store first. But we didn’t buy anything there. Yeah, how often does that happen! Then we had a pizza slice at Hotlips Pizza. Mine veggie slice was pretty decent but Petra found her plain cheese a little lacking I think. We wandered around “The Pearl” district downtown and looked at shops and walked. One of our “must” destinations was Everyday Music, a huge new and used record and CD store. I love that place and we spent quite a while there and found a number of items to purchase. We strolled through a couple art galleries, including the Bullseye Glass Gallery, which is always cool. We stopped at the Deshuttes Brewpub and had an appetizer and some liquid refreshment. I had the Black Butte Porter, one of my most favorite dark beers. Our friends Larry and Robin were scheduled to get into town to hang and explore with us and, well, also, their son Brian lives there. Maybe that had something to do with it too. We all checked out the amazingly huge Powells Books (a square block with multiple levels, you could easily get lost in there). Then the five of us stopped at a small local Lebanese Restaurant for dinner. We got a quick look at Brian’s nearby condo and then all went to see him at work. He works as a bartender at The Lotus. He suggested a concoction of about a third Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, a third orange juice, and a third cranberry juice. It was mild and very tasty. It’s amazing how the Captain works with so many things.

Sunday June 28

Happy birthday to our granddaughter Josephine, who turns eight years old today. We started the day again with some fruit (and a scone) in our room. Ok, so now we’re ready to go. First stop was the Bullseye Resource Center. This is the headquarters for the Bullseye Glass Company, makers of the high-quality art glass that Petra (and others of course) use for their glass art projects. We learned about the “Bull Pen”, the bargain glass room and had a nice visit there. Larry, Robin, and Brian met us there and we all headed over to the Screen Door, a small but inviting local restaurant for breakfast. It was really good food. Then we continued our exploration of the city, first walking the Alberta District, then the Hawthorne area. After all that walking, shopping, and wandering, we were hungry again (surprise) and had dinner in the area at Vege Thai, a vegetarian Thai food place. It was good but not great. By that time it was getting late, but the day was not over. Brian’s band was having a rehearsal and we were invited. Sure, the rehearsal started around 11:00 PM but they had a great rehearsal/studio space and we went for a little while. They are a good band, but it’s a little funny to hear young kids doing that British Blues aka early Led Zepellin. Still, we liked it and thanks to Brian for letting us be there. Rock on, dude…

Monday June 29

After a small snack in the hotel room, we went to have lunch with a high school friend of Petra’s (named Margaret) and her husband Tim. We ended up spending the whole afternoon with them, talking. It was a nice visit. Then we met back  up with Larry and Robin at a nearby movie theater, the Laurelhurst, to see Adventureland, a recent film. The movie was entertaining and we all enjoyed it. But the really cool thing was that the theater served beer and wine and food that you could take into the theater. Some of the rows of seats had been replaced by tables so you could set your food/drink there while you enjoyed the movie. We had a carafe of wine (the ladies) and a pitcher of Oatmeal Stout beer (da boyz) and a couple slices of pretty tasty pizza, all in a movie theater. How cool is that? We sure need some theaters like that here in Sactown! After the movie we took a stroll down the street and paid a brief visit to a large record and CD store, Music Millenium. I found one item before they closed. More music, more fun!

Tuesday June 30

We met Larry, Robin, and Brian for breakfast at the Cricket Café. Yep, another delicious breakfast. I could do this everyday. At least until I went broke. We decided to use a combination of The Max (the light rail) and the streetcar to get around. We went to the Rose Garden, a famous tourist attraction. Lots and lots of roses. I mean lots. We’ll have pictures on the site one of these days. Also at the same general location was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Holocaust Memorial. We saw both of those and they were both impressive. The Holocaust Memorial was especially moving when we read some of the quotes from people who were there at the time. We had a shaved ice and headed on. After a walk back to the condo, we caught the light rail and the streetcar and got off near the Rogue Brewery. We had a snack and I had a couple pints of the Shakespeare Stout. It was heavenly. I mean really delicious. Oh, yeah. Then we rode the Sky Tram, a tram on a wire that goes up the side of a mountain. Yikes! But it was enclosed and it was smooth and there was art at the top. So it was good. Then we headed to dinner at a nice place, a little more upscale maybe than the rest of the trip. It was The Farm and I had the best veggie burger I have ever had, totally different and miles ahead of any other. Go there. Get one. Then we went over to the Doug Fir for a cocktail. It’s a combination of modern retro and log cabin. Weird, no, not really. It was pretty nice. Then we headed back to Brian’s work at The Lotus and spent a few minutes and a drink there. We said goodbye to Brian since we were leaving in the morning. Then after we got back to the car it was another farewell, this time to Larry and Robin. Then back to the hotel for the last night.

Wednesday July 1

We hit the road for home. Bye-bye to Portland, a great city that I liked a lot. We stopped at an unremarkable diner for lunch and got home in the evening. One last meal out, at 524 Mexican, was in order. Then the vacation was over. We had a great time, I loved it!!!!!

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