Our First Weekend

What a weekend! We started our fight against the 9-hour difference jet lag by grabbing breakfast at Shirley’s Tippy Canoe, a classic American restaurant in the Columbia River Gorge on the Historic Lewis and Clark Trail. It was really cool, reminding us of a nice German Biergarten but with ginormous pancakes and amazing omelets. Delicious! We had Papa John’s pizza with garlic butter dipping sauce, visited the downtown Portland artists’ market, and on Sunday visited the 25th annual Oregon Brewers’ Fest in the Waterfront Park.

One thing that we’ve always loved about life in Germany has been the emphasis on family and community. There seem to always be public places and events designed to bring people together. We were/are definitely looking for something similar here in America and we found it in downtown Portland. The big open air fountain was a magnet for kids and adults alike, drawing in pretty much anyone with a little wild streak to run through the cooling jets of water. Bridger dropped his shirt, shoes, and inhibitions to revel in the spray. Sam just drank the water and soaked up the love that he seemed to garner from all corners, including from a cute little girl in a pink tutu who rubbed his ears and hugged him like a big soft teddy bear. This is definitely a dog-loving town!
Portland goes by a few different nicknames, including Portlandia, the People’s Republic of Portland, Bridgetown, and Beervana. The Brewers’ Fest certainly lived up to that last moniker, with an amazing selection of beers available for sampling. Most were from Oregon, with a smattering of others from California, Washington, and as far away as Delaware. Live music, great crowd, and excellent beer – what more could you ask for? We topped the weekend off with a big pink box of locally famous Voodoo donuts, including their signature voodoo doll shaped donuts complete with pretzel stick voodoo doll stickpins. 🙂 Ridiculously good and well worth the wait in line. So far, so good.