Food Glorious Food and other stuff

Wow my blog went over the 10,000 hits mark yesterday.........I never ever thought that would happen when I started this journey....thanks for the "hits" blog friends!

We had a great sleep last night after the great BBQ food and then the hot tub..... woke ready for the day!  Having a full (and I mean FULL) breakfast buffet in the hotel is such a bonus (and cost saving) but all I have had is yoghurt and special K!  One has to spend ones calories wisely....... (Fiona - see I am trying!).  But the kids load up and love the freedom of eating whatever they want, as crazy as the combination might be!

We headed off to Powells Books, coffee in hand..... and had a delightful couple of hours wandering around the variously coloured rooms...... oh to have endless cash......... so many old books, so many new ones, so many topics....... I even found books for the daycare that are "indestructible" chew proof, rip proof, non-toxic and 100% washable!!  We came out with a bag full of books - David alone got 5!!  I found a great one for Allan called "A Man with a Pan" - culinary adventures of Fathers who cook for their families!  There truly is a book for every topic imaginable.

This was bad planning at the beginning of the day as we were now schlepping a bag o books with us but Allan shouldered the burden and his arms are now an inch longer....or the left one is!!

We hopped on the Streetcar and rode it to the end of the free zone which gave us a great tour of downtown Portland (and a chance to sit!).  We spied some food carts on the trip so on the way back we stopped and had our first course! Chicken and smoked sausage gumbo with cornbread - we all had a taste - very good!  Then hopped back on the streetcar and headed back to the centre of the City to the main food cart hub.

Oh the torture of choosing what to eat...... the "paradox of choice" as Allan calls it - it seems so great but really it's not!!!  In the end David and I split Fish and Chips from the Frying Scotsman and Allan and Lindsay forgot they were in the land of giant portions and each had a take out from a Taste of India...... we sat in a square close by and enjoyed lunch in the sun. 

And then we shopped.  Tax free.  Alot.

The Blueplate Diner (another Triple D rave) just happened to be on our walk back to the hotel so we sat at this old fashioned soda fountain bar and  Allan and Lindsay had milkshakes and David had a "Brown Cow" (ice cream and rootbeer - YUCK!) and I had....... coffee....!

Now those who are not reading are snoozing (or blogging) before we head for dinner later at the Kennedy School in the NW district - a school that has been made into a hotel/restaurant/ movie theatre - a recommendation from a former Portlander.... looking forward to it!

Tomorrow we head out of Portland........... stay tuned.........