Day 4 in Portland

We decided to forego the Residence Inn breakfast and try a local favorite this morning....Voodoo Donuts. It is located in a rather questionable area of town, but is highly worth the hype and the view!!!

Brad Pitt may be a fan of the maple donut with bacon, but I'm sold on the Voodoo Doll donut, a man shaped donut with (ahem....) an anatomical addition via pretzel stick, with iced face and filled with rasberry jelly. W had the triple chocolate penetration, a chocolate angel food cake donut with chocolate frosting and Coco Puffs on top. What a sugar rush we had on our journey to the Oregon coast!

Sights along the 90 minute journey on Route 26 west included signs warning of elk, car washes, tall hills, and lots of trees. It appeared as if many areas were strategically logged or burned. You can see the famous Haystack Rock and the ocean from the highway. We stopped in the town of Cannon Beach and headed to Bill's Tavern & Brewhouse, based on a recommendation from our friend Jason. Great find!!! W is a huge proponent of the 'don't fruit the beer' rule, but a sample of the Blackberry Beauty may have expanded his horizons slightly. A nice wheat beer with just a hint of berry taste, it was perfect for sipping out on the porch while eating lunch and watching the world go by. I stuck with a simple turkey sandwich while W ate the largest chili dog we'd ever seen. It was more a plate of chili with cheese and onions, with a hot dog sort of sitting in the middle. A knife and fork were necessary.

We then wandered around the Cannon Beach shops, found some peppermint ice cream and drove down to the parking area for the beach. You can see by my hair that it was extremly windy down at the shore, with gusts of up to 40mph and temperatures in the 50's. Very different from what we are used to on the east coast beaches....Shortly after, we headed back to Portland.

It turned out that we picked the ideal hotel for this wedding! While my choice was partially dictated by Marriott points, and partly on the recommendations of Heather and Jason, it turned out that the rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony are both a two minute walk from the hotel! Katherine and Eric's rehearsal dinner was held at Thirst, a local wine bar. We had the chance to meet lots of Katherine's friends from Penn State, childhood friends of Eric's, along with everyone's family. A nice surprise were the researchers there that W has attended conference with over the years. We also had the chance to catch up with our friend Steve, who we spent a week with at the Outer Banks a few summers back. It was a great evening of wine and people watching, with just a short walk back to our hotel.