The Honeymooners

After spending yesterday (Sunday) doing more unpacking & returning the worst moving truck ever (I will no longer buy so much as a cardboard box from U-Haul & I would urge everyone else to do the same), we decided today would be a good day for exploration. We drove around our little area of Beaverton & found some cool places. In my opinion, the best one is The Streets of Tanasbourne (www.streetsoftanasbourne.com), which is an outdoor shopping experience just 5 minutes away.

Once we were finished with the Beaverton part of our tour, we headed to Portland. Rather than going on the freeway, which gets you downtown in about 15 minutes, we took one of the back roads & it was incredible! A twisty, turny path through what looks to be the country slowly leads you down into the city. The whole trip is filled with views of the mountains & you can't believe you're going to end up in a busy metropolis, but you do.

John & I must have been on the same wavelength b/c although I didn't say it, I really wanted to drive by the White House (www.portlandswhitehouse.com), the B&B we stayed at on the first two nights of our honeymoon, & that's exactly where we ended up. It was funny to be in front of it again b/c it feels like we were just there! And so began our walk down memory lane...we had lunch at Sammy's Restaurant & Bar, where we had our first dinner in Portland almost 5 years ago & I had the best steak I've ever eaten; we walked up & down 23rd Street, which we both remembered from our previous trip b/c it's full of totally cool & hip shops & boutiques (Jode & Jeannette...I think you'd like the music scene out here); we drove around the streets & semi-remembered our way around. Portland is always described as a very walker-friendly city & I think that might be the best way to learn the layout b/c I'm confused! I found myself getting frustrated at not being able to figure it out right away b/c I'm impatient with that kind of thing....I want to know it ALL, right now! Patience grasshopper.

By the time we headed back towards Beaverton, it was about 5:00 p.m. We came home via a different route, just to learn more of the area, & ended up driving through the less-than-savory part of Beaverton. Man, am I glad our apartment complex isn't in THAT part of town. It's not totally disgusting or anything, I just wouldn't want to bring visitors through it. We really did luck out with our location.

On the way home, we came across the Beaverton Town Center & for this I am truly grateful b/c I found my Trader Joe's!! Trader Joe's is a specialty grocery store (can you tell I like food?!) that offers new & interesting products at great prices (www.traderjoes.com). A lot of their inventory is quite healthy, although technically, I don't think it's considered a health food store. I've been waiting to go to Trader Joe's for several years (there aren't any in Florida), so I was overjoyed to see it! We picked up a few fun items, including 4 bottles of "Three Buck Chuck", which is Charles Shaw wine that Trader Joe's carries & sells for $2.99/bottle. When I originally heard about it, it was called "Two Buck Chuck", so either inflation has upped the price, or it's cheaper in California b/c that's where the wine comes from. Either way, $12.00 for 4 bottles of wine is a pretty sweet deal!

What a fun day! How can I get a job as a professional explorer?!

Later,
PortlandGirl