On my fifth trip to Portland, my true loves gave to me….

Oh Portland. Aside from rainy and cold days, I do love you so. En route to Kenya (okay so it’s not exactly on the way, but) I took a detour to visit my bestest friends in Portland. The trip started out with an invite-only event for a vineyard tour at Chehalem. Emily and I tasted a few too many samples of wine (okay, I’m lying, I’m not sure there’s such a thing as too much wine tasting), followed by delicious hor d’oeuvres from a local cafe. The wine and food were great. It was a small and intimate event, but we really enjoyed talking to some of the staff at the winery and getting some insider info. After purchasing wine for the holidays, we headed home but not without a stop first at Sonic for drinks and a little snack to absorb some more of the wine!

We also decided to run the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, a 4 mile race to benefit the Portland Zoo. We waited outside for nearly an hour and it was FREEEZING cold! But I did get to see a beautiful sunrise and feel a little less guilty when stuffing my face with delicious food later in the day.

And of course with any good company, comes good food and more good wine. Emily and I ventured to the Saturday market where it was a must to grab breakfast from Pine State Biscuits (my favorite!) and we finally had dinner at Screen Door. We’ve tried to go to Screen Door pretty much every time I have come to visit in Portland, and the line is always way too long. This time we managed to snag two seats at the bar. The southern cuisine is delicious, and I’m slightly embarrassed to admit this as a native South Carolinian, but Screen Door has the best fried okra and dipping sauce I have ever had!

We also tried to have a picnic at one of our favorite parks that overlooks the city but it was so cold that day! We ate our picnic lunch and lasted about 10 minutes before taking refuge in the Songbird Cafe. And we discovered the best hot chocolate in Portland. Seriously- amazing.

Between Thanksgiving and dinners at home, we ate well… and we drank well.

And it also took me five trips to Portland to finally get a taste of Voodoo Doughnut. John made sure it happened, and we delved into all sorts of goodness. If you’re not familiar with Voodoo, they serve unique doughnuts, like ones covered with cereal and others made in more creative shapes like the ‘Cock-N-Balls’.

I promise I did do more in Portland besides eat and drink (like visiting IKEA!),  but I have to admit that in 12 days, I took less than 20 photos. I didn’t even have my camera with me on Thanksgiving. I think it’s just a sign that I enjoyed the company and the atmosphere too much to be bothered with a camera. :)