GOLD BEACH TO PORTLAND, OREGON

Yes, it's been difficult to blog this first week.  Mainly because my computer was not cooperating.  But, we are up and running again and ready to go.

Heading to Portland

Friday morning we awake early, anxious to get on the road to Portland to see our granddaughter Delaney Renee.

Gold Beach Bridge over the Rogue River

Although we know it will be a long day driving we make the decision to take an extra hour and stop at one of our favorite dining spots on the Oregon coast:  Local Ocean in historic downtown Newport, Oregon.  It's on the waterfront and offers fresh local seafood.  I choose my favorite tuna kebobs on a bed of teriyaki vegetables and Fred opts for the fish and chips.  Absolutely as good as always.

We continue north to Portland.  Highway 99W can't make up its mind whether it wants to be a two-lane road or a four-lane highway.  Traffic slows down and speeds up, slows down and speeds up.  We finally reach the outskirts of Portland and start looking for a place to camp for the night. 

Columbia River RV Resort - Note what's in the sky!

I start making phone calls only to find RV parks are full on this Friday night.  At last we snag a site at Columbia River RV resort, conveniently located just 8 miles from Delaney's house.  This is one BIG RV resort and the rigs in it are HUGE.   We look so cute tucked away in the corner.  Reviews on Trip Advisor are mixed, particularly relating to the jet noise from the airport across the street.  We really don't think it's such a big deal.  We and only white knuckled it a couple times when one of the bigger jets flies over.

Portland - Friday Evening

We pick up Delaney in an area of Portland called the Hawthorn district.  She is dressed in a long skirt and now has "sun" streaks through her brown hair.  She looks very Portlandia (one of our favorite shows by the way which is predominantly filmed in the Hawthorn district) and she is as adorable as ever.

We go to dinner at a popular spot a few blocks away from her house.  The Screen Door specializes in Southern-style cooking and you can expect to wait for a table on weekend nights.  You won't believe how much the three of us order:  hush puppies, fried okra, breaded pork loin, fried catfish, jambalaya shrimp, fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, mac & cheese, coleslaw, and corn bread.  I know, obscene, huh?  But you have to give us credit for passing on dessert!  My favorite?  The fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy - just like home cooking in the south.

Portland - Saturday

Saturday morning Fred and I spend a leisure morning in the VW enjoying cocoa and toast. 

Delaney picks us up at 1:30 for lunch downtown.  We are introducing her to one of our favorite food carts in Portland:  The Brunch Box at the 5th Street food cart pod.  Absolutely the best burgers you will ever eat.  Fresh grilled bun, special thousand island dressing, grilled onions, and a good selection of specialty burgers.  Fred and I always go for the "You Can Has It" burger:  a juicy meat patty with all the aforementioned fixin's, nestled between two grilled cheese sandwiches.  Yes, you read that correctly, TWO GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES - and it's OMG fantastic.  Delaney chooses the Blue Cheese Burger and says it's the best.  

After lunch we head for OMSI, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  Our favorite thing here is the Science Lab where we get to play mad scientist and experiment with all kinds of stuff.  They have lab stations set up with different rotating experiments involving magnets, air, electricity and chemicals.  One stations reminds us how bad Styrofoam is for our planet as we try to dissolve it.  As hard as we try we can't.  Evidently only acetone will dissolve it and even then it hangs around the planet for hundreds of thousands of years.  Nature has no quick antidote for Styrofoam.  

Portland - Sunday

Sunday morning  Delaney picks us up for a boat ride up the Columbia River aboard the old stern-wheeler Columbia.  We drive to the Cascade Locks and embark at 9:30 a.m. after first getting a souvenir photo taken.  

We are there for brunch and pleasantly surprised to find the buffet is ready for us the minute we board. The food selection is mostly breakfast items with a good choice of egg dishes, breakfast meats, fruits, cheeses and pastries.  The champagne flows and coffee is poured.  We comment on how good the brunch is since we didn't have big expectations.  We are pleasantly surprised.  The food is good, the service is excellent and of course the views are exceptional.  We are glad we chose the Columbia stern-wheeler brunch over the jet boat ride. 

We return to Portland and hug our precious granddaughter goodbye.  We are heading to Seattle to visit our good friends Jack and Sarah Knudsen and the smell of pork ribs haunts our thoughts.

Next:  Portland to Seattle and the Cascade Mountains