food, wellness, travel and life
Next on my road trip I headed to south Bend, a city that I had heard amazing things about and couldn’t wait to check out. I headed out from Hood River and had stunning views of Mt. Hood for the first half of the ride as road hugged the side of the majestic volcano. The second half of the drive was through the high desert and the road followed the gorgeous Deschutes River for a while.
Driving Views of Mt. Hood
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After spending two days in Portland I headed out of the city in search of mountains, trees, blue sky and waterfalls. First stop, PDX to pick up my trusty rental car that I’d drive all the way back to San Francisco. Upon arriving at the rental car center I was reminded that it was Hood to Coast weekend (big running relay race from Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast) and I had to wait in line with everyone waiting to rent their vans to transport their teams. An hour and a half later, I was finally on the road and headed out to the Columbia River Gorge.
I headed out of Portland on I-84 and to my first stop, Vista House, for my first grand preview of the glorious Columbia River Gorge. The Vista House was built in 1917 as a refuge for travelers to rest and refresh themselves while traveling through the Gorge. Inside the house you can get historical information but I stopped primarily for the epic views and interesting architecture.
Vista House and the Columbia River Gorge
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Welcome to Part 2 of my Portland Guide! When I last left you, I had just finished my first day in Portland with some tasty sushi. I had heard lots about the donut scene in Portland and the debate between Blue Star and Voodoo. So when in Portland on vacation, why not start your day with a donut. After careful consideration, I decided to try out Blue Star Donut. I examined all the flavor options, sought counsel from the server and decided on an Orange Zest Olive Oil Donut. Let me tell you, it was a delicious cake donut with subtle hints of citrus and after I finished I almost went back to try another flavor. One of the worst things about traveling alone is not being able to sample more things off the menu.
Blue Star Orange Zest Olive Oil Donut
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Earlier this summer I had a spare week and wanted to go on a solo trip somewhere to recharge my batteries with lots of nature and tasty food. After a bit of brainstorming I decided on a Oregon road trip – flying up to Portland and renting a car to drive back to San Francisco. Having never been to the Pacific Northwest before, after this trip I can tell you that I will definitely be back for more.
I woke up early to catch my Virgin America (don’t they have the best safety video?) flight up to Portland. Once at SFO I stopped at Napa Farms Market, my favorite airport market, to pick up some plane snacks before catching my flight.
Arrived in Portland to see them infamous PDX carpet and then hightailed it over to SE Hawthorne for lunch at Harlow. Harlow is the restaurant of any healthy eater’s dream. They’ve got tons of vegetarian and vegan options from scrambles, to pancakes, to soups and salads. After much contemplation, I settled for the Outlaw Scramble with farm fresh eggs, chipotle black bean chili, greens, guacamole, peptitas and jalapeño cashew cheese all over brown quinoa. I will definitely be recreating something like this at home. I also grabbed a local Happy Mountain Lavender White kombucha because I’m that person that likes to try local kombuchas while normal people like to try local craft beers. My first meal in Portland set the bar high. I’ll definitely be back to Harlow, hopefully with more people in tow, to sample more of their menu. In the meantime I might have to settle with whipping up a batch of their “life-changing” pancakes from the Minimalist Baker.
Outlaw Scramble with eggs from Harlow
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