Portland - Travel (Home) Day(s)

The journey home began with several complications. The first of these bumps in the road occurred before we even awoke. Planning to stop by the Waffle Window before going to the airport, Emily set an alarm for 7, and we planned on leaving at 7:30. However, for one reason or another, the alarm didn't go off and we instead woke up at 7:32. We got ready, finished packing, and hurried off by 7:45...record time.

Despite this setback, we decided we still had time for waffles, so we drove to Alberta St. and made a stop at the famous Waffle Window.

...and no wonder why it's famous, because these waffles were gooooood. I got the "Three B's": bacon, brie, and basil on a waffle with a peach jam. I've been dreaming of my own waffle stand/window/truck/shop for about a month now, but I have never been more inspired...hmu if you'd like to contribute to the cause.

However, while awaiting our waffles, a lady hit our parked rental car and left a nice set of scratches. :)

We finished our waffles and drove to the airport, approaching the sad end of our time in Portland. Despite the delay via alarm clock and car issues, we still had plenty time to get to our gate. Of course when we went through security they had to pat down my hair (they always do that) and investigate the water bottle in Emily's mom's purse (whoops!), but we made it through with time to spare

Not that this was particularly significant, buuut on one of our flights some guy pushed back in his seat really hard and broke the mechanism that holds the tray behind his seat up...so naturally the man behind him taped it up with about 500 pieces of tape, and I couldn't help but giggle...

...and at last we landed in Tulsa.

BUT the trip was still not complete...We still had a concert to go to. When we arrived in Tulsa, we drove by the venue to check out the line. Seeing that there was no line yet, we went to the hotel to check in, found out they didn't have power due to the tornado, and went to my personal favorite Mexican restaurant in Tulsa, El Guapo (However, Mexicali is the fastest Mexican in Tulsa -- the traditional pre-concert stop...but they didn't have power)

After rushing through dinner (don't worry; rushing is always a good option when eating Mexican), we returned to the venue, the Vanguard, a few minutes after doors at 7...We soon realized that maybe we had not needed to rush through dinner...When we first got there, there were 2 other people...When the first band (Capitol Cars -- Tulsa local band) began, there were 12...By the second band (Swear and Shake) there were maybe 20...and by Bronze Radio Return, there were about 30. This was super odd and kind of uncomfortable at first, but the bands embraced it well and made the best of it (which I thought was super impressive). I enjoyed each of the bands and definitely thought they were all very talented (as musicians and performers). Although a bid odd, the private atmosphere was also pretty cool...I now feel like I'm buds with all the performers.

Luckily, our hotel did have power by the time we returned. However, by the end of the night my phone was dead, and I was too exhausted to get my charger out of the car (...so it stayed dead until the car ride home). Despite the time change, we fell asleep with ease...We awoke the next morning with less ease. We decided to end our trip where it began, at Chimera. I got a wonderful, warm scone and an awesome juice with a bunch of stuff I can't recall. Emily got some nice-lookin' breakfast tacos. I'd share a picture, but my phone was still dead soo...

After breakfast, we headed home. Portland treated us well, but I must admit it is always nice to return home.

Portland - Day 4

Of course all good days must start with a good breakfast, so on Portland morning #4 we went to the delicatessen just next door to our hotel for a pretty traditional breakfast...other than my less traditional breakfast dog topped with cheddar, bacon, and eggs...difficult to eat but worth the effort

Before heading out for another day of adventure, we stopped by the "Keep Portland Weird" building to snap this necessary picture.

We then began the 90-ish minute drive to the coast. As always, the drive was beautiful. I also spent a majority of the drive reading How to be Parisian Wherever You Are, which I picked up at Powell's yesterday. What could be better than a scenic drive through Oregon and Paris-dreaming? idk

...and at last we reached the Cannon Beach community, a cute little area that also happens to be home to iconic views of the ocean. Today's rain impaired the view a bit, it was still pretty incredible.

You have no idea what I endured to get this next picture. Never in my life have I felt such strong, continuous wind. It was ridiculous. You could literally lean into the wind and not fall. On our way back to the car, some whale-watchers started making small talk with us, so we politely continued the conversation as long as we could stand the weather...but it was rough. When we did finally return to the car, we were soaking wet and freezing cold...but pretty nice picture, right?

After this, we decided it was time to warm up. We went to a coffee shop called Insomnia, which was near Cannon Beach. I think we all felt a bit better after a warm cup of coffee.

We then drove to the cutest lil' taco joint in all of the world, called ¿Por Qué No?.

I was pretty much already sold on its cuteness, but the delicious pineapple juice, guacamole, salsa, and tacos blew us all away too. I got one carnitas and one pescado. Both were fabulous, but I preferred the pescado (mainly because it was topped with pineapple and I loooove pineapple).

tip: If you can get yourself on a weird eating schedule, you can avoid massive crowds at popular places like this one.

Because coffee, guacamole, salsa, and tacos weren't enough, we continued on our food tour of Portland down the street to a bakery called JaCiva's. Lemme tell ya: this bakery doesn't mess around. They had three rooms: a wedding cake-consulting room (complete with elaborately-decorated cakes); a room filled with cases of fresh, yummy, chocolatey goodness; and a room of packaged chocolates in every size and shape imaginable.

The peanut butter mousse chocolate cupcake got my approval...

 Once we had eaten all we could, we drove to Alberta Street, where we shopped for a little bit before most things started to close. One of my personal favorite stores was a craft store (of course) that had wall of color-coordinated washi tape (heavenly, I know).

On the way back near our hotel, we stopped for a picture with this iconic Portland sign.

After this, Emily and I walked around and did some last-minute shopping. We both had decided to buy something we had seen yesterday, so we returned to those stores first. We managed to get to both just before they totally close up for the day, so that was a great success. Satisfied, we returned the hotel for about five minutes before deciding to walk to Forever 21 (only because we had been to most of the local boutiques near + local boutiques are quite expensive + Forever 21 is cheap + Portland Forever 21 is huuuuuge). We each bought a couple things, shocked at the reasonable prices in comparison to what we had been seeing in most of the boutiques.

We strayed from our usual Yelping-technique when deciding where to eat dinner tonight and instead listened to a bartender who told us to go to a pizza place called Oven and Shaker. It wasn't the best meal we've had, but you can't go too wrong with pizza.

With empty pockets (empty fanny pack actually) and full bellies, we returned to the Ace Hotel, our home away from home. In this sad moment we knew that our time in Portland had almost come to a closure. We walked up the three flights of squeaky stairs and into our very messy, but still very cute, room. We began the trying process of packing all we had brought and all we had bought into the bags in which we once barely fit only what we had brought. Portland has treated us very well, but all good things must come to an end (at least until we move here for good).

Portland - Day 3

This morning it seemed our Voodoo doughnuts were a bit stale, so naturally it was time to replenish our doughnut supply. We decided to go with a less decadent option this time and went to Pip's Original Doughnuts.

how cute is this place??^^ omg

rule of thumb: if you can't decide, don't

I got one of each of today's doughnuts. My favorites were the raw honey & sea salt and "the dirty wu," but they were all pretty incredible.

We then went for a scenic drive to Multnomah Falls. We knew the destination would be incredible, but what we didn't know was how incredible the views on the way would be.

When we did arrive at our destination, we were awestruck. This is no trickling waterfall. It is a gushing, crashing, spraying beast of a waterfall.

Today was supposed to be pretty and rain-free (lol funny joke; of course it rained), but being near the falls was pretty much like being in a downpour...pro tip: When dressing for this outing, take into consideration the inevitable wind and water...

Upon continuing up the trail, we found even more beautiful views...

After returning to the base of the falls and grabbing some roasted pecans (I'm a sucker for freshly roasted nuts), we drove back into town and had sushi at Masu Sushi...definitely fresher than any sushi at home...

We then did a little shopping in Union Way. This is primarily an upscale men's mall of sorts, but they also have some masculine-influenced women's clothing including shirt dresses, killer pants, and perfectly tailored button ups (all of which I am hopelessly in love with). Unfortunately, everything here was crazy expensive, so I bought nothing. However, I did torture myself by trying on some super super super cute things that were waaaaaay out of what I could ever actually afford.

We did buy one thing in Union Way...cream cheese brioche from Little T Baker...excellent

...and then...the moment we've all been waiting for...*drum roll*...Urban Outfitters in Portland...what could be better??? Yes, I bought another black dress. Yes, I bought another button up. Yes, I bought another shirt dress. But I couldn't help myself!

After walking around near Urban Outfitters for a bit, we returned to the vicinity of our hotel and finally went to THE Powell's, the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world. It's massive. It's often referred to as a city of books, and there is no question why. They've got it all (including some Tim Gunn books I had been on the hunt for and another book about Paris to add to my collection).

It's super easy to get turned around in this place, but that's not always such a bad thing. I'm not the most avid reader around, but even I could easily spend hours flipping through pages in this store (especially in the fashion section...there's a section for everyone).

After tracking down our book wish-lists (and then each other), we walked back to our hotel and went to dinner at Clyde Common, conveniently attached to our hotel lobby. Despite said convenience to the hotel, this restaurant served food far from your average hotel food. I would say it was the second best meal we've had while in Portland (behind brunch at Tasty n Sons).

Our favorites included...

...brussel sprouts^^...

...pork collar^^...

...and apple-ginger ice cream cake^^

Just when we thought Portland couldn't get any better, it did. From the urban lifestyle to the scenic views to the incredible food, Portland has continued to impress.

Portland - OK GO Concert

In the last few years I've seen 29 bands (that I can recall), and I can say with certainty that the OK GO concert was the coolest, most interesting one to date. If you have seen any of their music videos, you know that they are insanely creative and entertaining, and those qualities are displayed beyond belief in concert as well. Honestly I don't even know how to begin to describe it...but here goes nothing...

Alright so first off, White Arrows opened up. Now generally speaking I'm a fan of theirs and was excited when I saw that they were opening...but I must say they were a disappointment. It's easy for people to hide behind music tech stuff these days, but all that changes in a live performance...and it was pretty evident that White Arrows just isn't all that great. Also, their microphones stopped working like 3 times, so that didn't exactly help (although maybe it did errrr...). However, I will still jam to "Get Gone" and "I Can Go" in the car regularly, and I liked the lead singer's leopard print button up.

Now let's talk about the venue, Crystal Ballroom. This place is so so so cool. Most Portland travel websites/blogs will suggest that you see a concert here (even if you don't even care about the band), and I would second that (...although a killer band doesn't hurt). If you've been to Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa (one of my favorite venues), imagine that times a thousand. Ballrooms are my personal favorite type of venue, because they're typically general admission (so everyone has an opportunity to make it to the front), and if you're in the front it's just like a small venue no matter how expansive the venue actually is.

(Also Crystal Ballroom has the craziest bass I have ever heard in all of my life.)

a few pointers to getting to the front of the crowd no matter where you start:

1. It's easier to work your way sideways than it is to work forward. Most people don't take this into consideration, so the middle area is usually denser. Get as close to the front as you can on either side and then cut in toward the center.

2. Go in hot. Once you stop moving people catch on to what's going on. Find a path and cut as far in as you can without too much resistance before stopping. Then continue in with the following steps.

3. Know when to shove and when to squeeze. Everyone handles crowd-cutters differently. Observe those around you. Shoving is faster, but it doesn't always get you further.

4. If you can get a foot or a shoulder in, you're set. Feet and shoulders are the perfect wedges.

5. Make people uncomfortable. They'll give you space, and you can work with space.

6. Make friends not enemies. This one is tough when trying to steal people's spots, but small talk and jokes are sometimes a good option, especially when you can feel the hatred.

7. Avoid trying to cut through groups. If you walk between a group of friends they will absolutely notice. They will also feel more confident standing up to you. This is another reason why it's important to observe those around. Go around groups or you can count on staying behind them the whole time. (Also if you try to go through and inevitably fail, they might do the thing where they get everyone around to gang up on you, and then you're done.)

8. Utilize distractions. No one is going to try to stop you when they are holding a crowd-surfer, trying to touch a band member as he passes, or in a mosh-pit.

9. Sometimes closest isn't best. If there's a tall guy front and center, maybe there's a better option. (Also on the note of the tall guy front and center, it's not his fault he's tall! Everyone wants to be in the front no matter what their height. Leave him alone. He probably isn't really a jerk.)

10. The tricks you hear from everyone don't work for that reason. Everyone knows them. If you say you're looking for your friend in the front, you won't be believed (which is because of jerks like me who ruin it for everyone...sorry guys...just use these tricks instead).

Okay on to the good stuff...

The OK GO concert began with a projected video of several clips of familiar faces saying "ok" and/or "go". The build-up that this created was insane.

At the end of these clips, the band members' giant singing heads were projected...

...and then the actual band was revealed...

...and then some crazy stuff happened with the projector that was super cool and unlike anything I have ever seen before...

...and then Damian came into the crowd and played an acoustic song (which is a really cool thing for those people who just didn't quite make it to the front (because of course they didn't have my tips like you do))...

...and then the confetti fell...

...and fell...

 ...and fell...

...and fell...

In fact it fell so much that I lost track of how many times it fell. Now I've been to a lot of concerts and a lot of cheer competitions, but I think it's safe to say that I saw more confetti tonight than I had seen before tonight all together.

(This picture^^ was taken about halfway through the confetti storm.)

At one point in the concert, they recorded the audience making various noises and used them as the drum set, which was super fun and way cool.

If you're into OK GO music videos like me, this will probably look familiar...

...and if you're into glow-in-the-dark stuff like me, this will probably look spectacular...

...and it was...

...and like any good concert, it concluded with a bunch of teenage girls dancing on stage.

This was absolutely the most creative, innovative, awesome show I have ever been to (which is fortunate because we had to wait in the Portland rain for it). From crazy lighting to singing in the crowd to unimaginable amounts of confetti to choreographed dancing from one of many super cool videos to glow-in-the-dark jumpsuits to more confetti, it was like nothing I have ever experienced before.