’23 Jul: Oregon with Lilly

Catching an early flight out of LAX.

And we’re Off. It’s a pretty small plane that takes us to Eugene.

Cali and Andre picked us up at the sweet little airport, took us to the Timber Inn to drop our bags, and we were off for a day of Good Times. Here’s a representative look at wandering around the streets of Eugene.

First stop, “Off the Waffle, Home of Oregon’s Finest Liège Waffles”. I had a savory topping of goats cheese, avocado, basil, some herbs, and a fried egg and tasted everyone else’s of course. I was totally over the moon for this place, so what are liége waffles? According to The Belgian Kitchen “Liège waffles, are quite different (from American Belgian waffles) and are made with a yeast based brioche dough studded with special pearl nibs of sugar that caramelize on the (hugely expensive commercial) waffle iron as it cooks. They are buttery and chewy soft on the inside while crispy and crunchy on the outside where the pearl sugar hardens similar to crème brulee.”

You can get them in several places around LA including the Mar Vista Farmers Market and I will so be there this very Sunday.

Voodoo Donuts. Gotta try one.

Andre took us on a tour of his campus, the University of Oregon (go Ducks), including the remarkable Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. They have a serious collection of Asian arts as well as a broad sampling of other programs. It was an unexpected treat.

We decided to have a dinner picnic at a nearby park.

Andre, Lilly, Cali

Lilly’s selfie with Cali.

And a walk in the woods. Andre had to get going, back to Portland for his summer internship. Lilly and I rested up from our early morning.

Still in Eugene but at a new hotel, we had another nice hotel breakfast this morning and then Cali picked us up for an outing. But before heading out for Corvallis we went to the 5th Street Market for ‘the best ice cream ever’. We walked around a little and then sat on a bench, looking straight ahead, waiting for the place to open.

The 5th Street Market, the chicken and the truck tells the story.

And then we’re off for the 45 minute drive from Eugene to Corvallis. Cali attends Oregon State University there (go Beavers), studying remotely and hence she is able to live with Andre in Eugene.

It was a tree-filled campus here too with this path as an example, leading to one of the academic buildings.

We made a swing by Cali’s apartment to pick up some things – her lease is up at the end of the month and she’ll be renting a room in the house where Andre has a room so they’ll have a two room suite to enjoy.

Time for Food! We went to a local make-your-own pizza place which was very good, and everyone got what they wanted. Here’s Lilly’s picture of her choice, pesto and cheese. Yum.

And we ended our day with a swim at the hotel pool.

Let me begin by saying the train was more than two hours late, and the guy at the station said this particular train, the Coast Starlight, is Always late. I wanted us to have that travel-by-train experience and this is probably part of it. Cali left us at the train station when there was only 30 minutes to wait, and drove herself to Portland in half the time it took us on the train!

But first we went to a very cool park in Eugene.

It’s the Willamette .. damn it!

And now, a few scenes from the train!

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Once in Portland and settled in our hotel Cali and Andre picked us up for a nice dim sum dinner and a stroll along the waterfront. You’ll notice from the pictures above and below, Portland is all about the bridges. Even our hotel decor is all bridges all the time.

Portland’s Union Station. Designing began in 1882 and opened on February 14, 1896. LA’s Union Station didn’t open until May 1939.

From the waterfront.

Reflecting in the restaurant windows.

Here’s one of Mount Hood, in case we don’t get a better view.

And lastly ICE CREAM at the trendiest gotta-have-it place in town, Salt & Straw.

Cali has to go back to Eugene for work in the morning while we stayed in Portland, so we decided that for our last day together we would do things that Cali hadn’t had a chance to enjoy yet. Before we started our day we did get to meet up with Andre for an early lunch at a cool pasta place across from the hotel and one block down the street from Andre’s office. (Andre has an internship in Portland and he’s staying here with his parents during the week.)

First stop, the Portland Aerial Tram that leads to the Oregon Health & Science University and opens into the Center for Health and Healing. Our lyft driver told us how the Center offers free health care for people who don’t have insurance. He was pleased and grateful. Many people on the tram were going to work, we could tell from their badges.

Views from the tram including that nice vision of Mt Hood at the top of the page.

Bridges and more bridges.

Then we went on to Powell’s, Portland’s legendary and world’s largest independent bookstore. Oh yes it is big.

We had to get badges to visit the Rare Room which was worth it.

And lastly, the gorgeous Japanese Garden.

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Then Cali had to get back to Eugene and we got a to-go dinner at Veggie Grill to bring back to the room and snack on while we packed up for the flight tomorrow.

We had several hours in the morning before heading to the airport. I ate breakfast from a food truck and Lilly enjoyed her favorites at Starbucks. Then we left our bags at the hotel and walked through a large park to the Portland Museum of Art.

YAY Lillly! She packed all her things into a carry-on size so we didn’t have to wait in the check-in line but she still wanted to check and used gate-check. That’s her, handling it all by herself!