Portlandia Part I!

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So, last week we went to Portland to visit my best friend and her boyfriend, Liz & Cory (and their cute doggy Jax, Becks' new bff). I hadn't seen my friend since November of last year (for my baby shower!), Mark and Becks had never been to Portland before, and Liz & Cory had never met Becks. We had such a great time! It was so nice to have a few days together as a family, away from work, house chores, etc. Glorious! Becks and I love having daddy to ourselves all day long. The weather was great while we were there, Becks was such a good little traveler, and most importantly, it was so nice catching up with my best friend. We can't wait until our next visit! Oh, and I obviously took a crazy amount of photos...

 We left at 5am on Wednesday morning (ugh), so that Becks would sleep for the first leg of the trip. He woke up around 9:30am, so we stopped for breakfast (at Black Bear diner in Yreka).



 Our next stop was in Eugene for lunch, and to walk around/get Becks out of his car seat for a bit. We ate at Pita Pit (husband's choice) and Becks loved it.

We made it to Portland in just over ten hours...pretty good timing considering we stopped for breakfast and lunch and two additional bathroom breaks (sorry, husband!). It was a loooong drive. Becks was such a trooper and slept or watched Sesame Street through most of it. Mark and I switched off driving (although he drove for 90 percent of it) and listened to an absurd amount of music. Mark was upset that there wasn't a safe way to drive and watch Breaking Bad at the same time...

When we got there, Liz had an amazing dinner waiting for us (pot roast with all the trimmings)! We spent the first night at their lovely home, eating and catching up and letting Becks chase Jax around in his walker. We went to bed early because there was a lot I wanted to do the next day...

The next day we waited until after breakfast and Becks' first nap before heading into downtown Portland. There was only one thing I wanted for lunch...food trucks (emphasis on the plural)! While pondering our choices, we saw Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes doing the same thing. I'm curious what he decided on for lunch!



 I had a pulled pork sandwich for lunch, from "A Little Bit of Smoke". It was good! They have three different types of sauces that they make to choose from (vinegar, red or mustard). I went with "red", and was not disappointed.

 Liz and me, happy after food trucks!


 Love these two! Mark had a peanut butter and chocolate waffle "appetizer" before devouring a cheese steak. He liked both (loved the waffle) and wanted to go back for "thirdsies", but his stomach didn't share the same sentiment...


 Powell's Books! It was so cool to be at this bookstore that I'd heard about for so long. It's huge (it takes up an entire city block) and we picked out a few great books for Becks.


 For dinner that night, we went to McMenamins in Oregon City. The weather was perfect for dining on the patio, and we all enjoyed some great beers and burgers. Becks tried his first tortilla chip!

 And then dropped the chip. Poor boo made this face afterwards and it was too cute!


 For dessert, we decided on pie and found the amazing Pacific Pie Co, home of the "best pie in Portland" and we have to agree! We each had a different slice of pie, and they were all incredible!


 Summer Berry pie with fresh whipped cream!



Goofing off before bed in Becks' new glow in the dark PJ's!

As you can see, our first 24 hours in Portland were very filling (literally!). We had the best time, had so much good food to eat, and loved exploring downtown Portland. More to come!