Travelogue Portland

January 27 -29, 2012

     Last weekend, Craig, Hayley and I popped up to Portland for a weekend getaway.  Alex and Chelsea live en route, in the university town of Corvallis, about an hour and a half south of Portland.  They needed a break for the school routine, so we packed a lunch for the car ride and north we went.

     After a quick stock-up-on-goodies stop at Trader Joe's, Corvallis, we went to Alex's apartment.  Alex lives in a funky, little place, at the edge of downtown Corvallis.  His front door is steps away from the drive-through window at McDonalds, across his concrete backyard.  We hung out in his living room and caught up on life, while waiting for Chelsea to get off work. 

Alex with his mom - just chill in' in the apartment...

And with pops, goofing off.

The trip photographer, Hayley

Hayley with her Mama at Alex's apartment



Chelsea got off work and we picked her up at her creatively decorated apartment.  But, before getting on the road, we had to surprise her with a....banjo!!  She and Hayley have been enjoying some indie groups such as Mumford and Sons, which include a lot of banjo.

Chelsea getting her new banjo!!

Chelsea grabbed her overnight bag, locked up her apartment, and we loaded up in the suburban for our one-and-a-half hour drive to Portland.  We quickly checked into our Embassy Suites room (which Craig loved for the togetherness it created with the kids), and headed off to our dinner reservation at the wonderful Peruvian restaurant, Andina.

Andina

Welcome to Portland!!

Best lunch in Portland - Chicken Tikka Massala and Tom Kha Soup from the food carts!

Elevator photo op!

Dinner at Prime after a full day in the Rainy City

And then on Sunday morning, off to check out the new Portland branch of Mars Hill Church

One last Stumptown Capuccino and a little blogging before we hit the road for  home

Bye Portland!!