Portland

Nathan and I have wanted to go to Portland, Oregon for years! We finally booked tickets and went over fall break. Of course, we loved it, and it will be somewhere we frequent often. We arrived after dark on a Friday, and the next morning I was so happy to see the fall leaves on the ground. It actually felt like fall! We needed to get out of California in order to find it! 

On the first morning, we went to the Portland Farmer's Market, one of the biggest in the country. We enjoyed a yummy chicken biscuit sandwich with a delicious apple butter sauce, fresh juice and a slice of Chicago style pizza (random, I know). Afterwards, we headed to Roloff Farm which was surprisingly close to the city. We have watched "Little People, Big World" on and off over the years so it was cool to go the the farm. I saw a lot of obstacle courses and games and such that I remember being built on the show. We took a tour around the property and saw their home and other iconic locations from the show. Matt, Amy, and Jeremy were around doing tours and photo opps. It is a super fun place for the kids to play. We spent most of the afternoon there playing and I loved doing something that felt festive for the Halloween season. That evening we grabbed dinner at a food truck court and then headed over to Voodoo Doughnuts. Nathan got the Grape Ape and, sadly, I panicked and got a boring Old Fashioned  (whomp whomp). Next time I will be more adventurous. 

On the second day it was raining, but we didn't let this slow us down. We rode the train to the zoo, and we were really impressed! Such a cool zoo! For lunch, we went to The Brunch Box and then headed over to the Children's Museum and let the kids have fun. We grabbed dinner at Escape From New York Pizza and headed over to Salt & Straw for some ice cream. I got "The Great Candycopia" and it was freaking goooood, and that's coming from someone who thinks ice cream is just, meh! 

When Nathan was doing research on things to do and see in Portland, he realized that the town in which Disney's Halloween Town was filmed wasn't too far of a drive. Every year, this small town reinvents the set of Halloween Town and people come to watch the pumpkin lighting the cast even comes out. On our last day we went and we were able to see the setup and explore the town. It is a very quaint but semi-impoverished town full of antique shops. We did a little shopping and I bought myself a vintage hat. It was a relaxing morning. Afterward, we headed out to the airport and took the quick flight home. 

We though Portlandians were kind, chill people and the city was clean and had lots of cool things to do. We loved the weather too! We are already thinking about more things to do the next time we visit.