Portland is for Lovers

Mr. Bear and I have taken multiple honeymoons this summer. It was originally supposed to just be one huge month-long trip, but we worried we'd get burnt out, so we broke it up into three week-long excursions. Our final stop was Portland, Oregon, which is also our long-term destination once Sgt. Husbear retires in 10 years. So long to wait...but I digress.

One of our favorite stops to make is breakfast at the Waffle Window.

Mr. Bear preferred the sweet Banana Caramel Sundae, while I favored the savory Farm Fusion.

Across the street from the Waffle Window is an awesome vintage clothing store called The Red Light, which you may notice is painted in our wedding colors! I found a fabulous red and white checked tennis dress there.

Later the first day, we took Ponyo to Fernhill Park, a dedicated off-leash dog park. She was fairly indifferent to it, considering herself to be a people and not a dog. Mostly she was perturbed that we kept allowing other dogs to sniff at her.

She did seem to enjoy being out in the park with us, however. I remember when getting her to go for walks was like pulling teeth. Our little rescue girl has come a long way.

After the park, we checked in at The Kennedy School, where we stayed in Miss Kinney's room. If you've never stayed in an elementary school that has been converted into a quirky hotel, I highly recommend it.

 Mr. Bear had fun doodling on the original chalkboards in our room.

I loved the strange art all over the halls.

And a nice scotch and cigar in the Detention Bar, where all the cool delinquent kids hang out.

Saul Williams performed at the Doug Fir, which was a highlight of the trip. I remember hanging out with him after the show he did at SFCC several years ago, when he bought us pizza. Mr. Bear had never seem him perform before, and was duly impressed. I'm excited for his new movie.

We found a new favorite place to eat; the Tin Shed garden cafe, where dogs aren't just allowed, they're served! The food was amazing! Ponyo had grilled chicken and rice, which she promptly devoured.

No trip to Portland is complete without book shopping at Powell's. We left with a bag of swag.

From there we visited the Yarn Garden, where I found a gorgeous skein of self-striping yarn in summer carnival colors, while Mr. Bear relaxed on the sofa.

The day's haul:

Later in the week we took Ponyo for a walk through Laurelhurst Park, which was lovely and full of ducks to chase.

My favorite part of Friday was looking at the brand-new baby chicks at The Urban Farm Store. I was pretty smitten with them. I can't wait for a small flock of our own, and the fresh eggs!

I would name this one Mozart.

 Saturday, we got up bright and early for a walk around Broadway. We found this ingenious corgi sculpture made from tools. I love the ears! Ponyo was wholly unimpressed.

Continuing the dog theme, around the corner from the corgi was a mobile doggy day care bus.

 The highlight of Broadway, for me, was Twisted. Easily the best yarn shop in Portland, so says I! I left with a skein of sunny yellow wool and a bottle of citrus Soak in my purse.

We took a day trip to the beach at Seaside, where Lewis and Clark concluded their great expedition to the ocean.

 

Ponyo hates the water, poor girl.

And we always conclude our visits to PDX with Voodoo Doughnuts.
Good things come in pink boxes. ;)

All in all, a most fabulous conclusion to our honeymoon adventures. Someday I'll get around to editing and posting a handful of the some 5,000 pictures we have from the first two legs of our honeymoon. And then the wedding photos...oh look! Doughnuts!