On To Portland - Day 1
By Braddah Lance
Driving on da mainland is so different than driving in Hawaii. Da freeway/highway speed limits are greater, slower traffic stays to da right, if there is a faster approaching vehicle behind you da person in FRONT changes lanes so dat you can pass if you're in da "fast lane" and then there's ice.
Yup, winter driving is something 98% of locals would not have to worry about with da exception of da people dat have to drive up Mauna Kea so wen we heard dat there was a bad storm rolling through with freezing rain (rain dat turns into ice, not snow), slick icy roads and possible snow we didn't know wat to expect but to get on da road as early as we could to try and not only beat da storm but to allow us choke time to ride out.
KAN, a natural worry-wort, gave us some tips and wanted to make surah we got to Portland safely and even suggested returning da car and taking da train. Luckily da storm held up enough for us to get to our hotel in Portland and we made it safe and sound but da rain soon followed. 
It's truly been a whirlwind seeing and experiencing different sights and sounds - especially since we both, Da Wife and I, have nevah been to Portland. Hea's wat we went through in a nutshell.
Thought dis building was cool as we left very early in da morning to make da long drive. Seattle started to get some weather and it was dark and cold.
A Lanceformer had emailed me da day before suggesting dis place for their awesome doughnuts
Can you believe dis is a doughnut shop? It looked like a library with a cafe.
Trust me... da doughnuts were HUGE! Bavarian creme filled and it was ono - not too sweet, not too rancid but juuuust right. 
One thing about mainland driving is dat there's always people on da road. Mt.Rainer must look beautiful wen da weather is clear.
Lucky thing we wasn't in a rush even though we were going about 70. Had choke lolo's going fastah than dat and talk about speed trap! In about a half mile stretch, there were about 10 cars pulled ovah. Good thing I wasn't one of 'em (more on dat latah)
BTW, can you guys see da temperature on da car gauge? It's da lower right hand side.... 29 degrees! And yes, I was still in shorts. 
I guess it is true dat ducks fly south for da winter. Those little black specks you see isn't cause da camera was dirty... those are ducks!
Dat was a welcome sight aftah driving for about 2 ½ hours
Dropped off da car at da hotel and walked down to da Portland Saturday Market
Of course had to eat 
Despite da threatening icy weather, vendors still showed up and it was pretty packed with locals and visitors. It's kinda like a craft fair with CHOKE different ethnic food vendors. Most of da craft people don't allow photographs so I couldn't show you any of da "interesting" artisans. For instance, there's these two guys who create whimsical items with... FORKS! And then there's anoddah guy who made "Lego pieces" with wood you can build all kines of stuff and yet anoddah who did name cut outs on old saws.
So wat? You tink was cold? Everyone was bundled up but dis vendor had it going! He had "blowtorch" keeping his legs and toes mighty toasty.
Even had a stage for performers - LOVE da bari sax!
And those who created their own stage
One thing I really respected - admired - was da amount of different ethnic food vendors there were and they were made by their respective countryman. Like dis, they "looked" Himalayan, da Polish looked Polish, da Vietnamese were run by Vietnamese etc.
I thought dis sign was hilarious from a street cart vendor
Had lunch at Grand Central Cafe
Some weird roast beef thingy with pickled onions, blue cheese, organic lettuce and horseradish concoction
Tuna melt with lotsa cheese
Can you believe dat there's dis skating rink.... right smack dab in da middle of a shopping mall?
Had to still eat right? Dinner was at our hotel and Typhoon! is supposed to be da top 10 of all Thai restaurants in da United States... so we've been told... or was it da Northwest - you know me and my hearing.
I remembah a softball buddy of mine telling me about dis beea' so I had to try 'em and it was pretty good 
Ahi spring rolls
Spicy string beans
House specialty stir-fry peppercorn sirloin
Most recommended dish - massaman curry with beef
I going say dis. I don't like Thai food - I've tried a couple times before - but da food at Typhoon! is supah ono! Da curry was broke da mouth and da stir-fry sirloin is onolicious! If you evah in Portland, go look 'em up and make reservations cause da place was packed!
CLICK HEA TO SEE MORE PICS!
Believe it or not, dat was all in our first day there which included da long drive ovah, cruising da pretty huge market, shopping and eating. It was a great start to Portland and there's more to come so stay tuned!
Happy Feel Good Friday everybodies!
Shoots!
k-den
Wassup Wit Dat!
December 18th, 2009 at 2:24 am
First and it's a FGF!
December 18th, 2009 at 2:37 am
Glad the two of you made it safe and enjoyed your first day there.
Keep warm and have fun... looking forward to more pics on your vacation.
December 18th, 2009 at 2:52 am
BL:
Try going 70 on the H1....only early mornings
When is the last time you used cruise control in Hawaii 
What Dat 
How much is gas up there 
December 18th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Dat was Seattle's Central Library, pretty cool building. Pretty cool inside too, nice to browse with it's winding staircase/ramp. Maybe too modern-cool as I'm used to the warm cozy main Hawaii State Library.
December 18th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Hey Mr & Mrs. BL!
Have some Marionberry jelly with your toast in the morning. It's my fave jelly after guava. If you have the jam, make sure it's seedless... unless you like seeds like the ones in raspberries.
Keep warm!
December 18th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Love the picture of that tall sexy chick walking on the fountain. It was very Breakfast at Tiffany's-ish. That beer is very good, they have it at Tamura's if you want it at home.
December 18th, 2009 at 6:31 am
As always, great pix, BL. That one of you guys by the Bridge is terrific.
I'm so glad you guys went to Top Pot! I luuuurve them.
I think there used to be a Typhoon! Restaurant in Seattle for a while, but they closed. I don't know if they were related or not - also Thai-style food. Looks ono - I gotta try it next time I'm in Portland.
Those guys who make things out of flatware: Spoonman Creations. I've bought some stuff from them before - I like their barettes.
http://www.spoonman.com/
December 18th, 2009 at 6:40 am
Boy, this sure is a fun virtual vacation! Aw, love that picture of you and da wife! Happy FGF!
December 18th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Hello BL and da Wife!
Great picas as always! Do you even own a pair of pants?
You guys can pound some food. Dats want I do on trips too, grind, grind and grind some more.
December 18th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Right on BL. as much smack as I talk about Oregon, i got some good memories of my two years up there. the fresh fruit from the roadside stands on the country roads is amazing. the wildlife is pretty cool. My school had a salmon run in a stream about a half block away, so every fall, you'd see these hugemongous fish swimming upstream in water that didn't even cover their backs.
which mall is that rink in? we used to go up to Clackamas mall where there was a big rink in the middle and where Tonya Harding used to practice (before her trailer trash started to show too badly). saw her in there a couple of times.
December 18th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Glad you got to go to Top Pot Doughnuts... working just a block away from there makes it really hard not to go everyday...
Hope you are enjoying Portland... no sales tax!!
December 18th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Looks like you two ARE having a great time!
From the prior post "REI" is this HUGE sporting goods store in Seattle. Its got a rock climbing wall in there and its multi-level.
And before I forget.........I GOING BE UNCLE OL or what?
Hahahahahahahaahha................
Keep on having fun and mahalo for sharing BL!
OL
December 18th, 2009 at 8:20 am
That Black Butte Porter is fantastic. I really like all of the Deschutes Beers, except for the lager. The Mirrorpond Pale Ale, The Obsidian Stout, but my favorite is the Inversion IPA. Fantastic American style IPA. Never had the Green Lakes Organic Ale, or the Bachelor's ESB, though.
December 18th, 2009 at 10:09 am
BL- awesome pics again my man.
2 1/2 hours of driving, not bad. The train takes about 3-4 hours. I did it once. First time on a train other than ones for amusement parks.
Isn't Portland cool? I spent about 2 hours there once...haha. I went to a conference in Vancouver, WA right on the other side of the state border with Portland. Went into Portland to take some pictures of parking meters...haha. Job related at the time.
December 18th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Oh sit! Forget Disneyland already, you making Grungetown look unreal. Really getting me thinking about over there.
December 18th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Hey braddah Lance, thanks for the travelouge, spent 2 hours back tracking and catching up on your exploites. Makes me want to take a trip up there, like take off a whole month and visit da West Coast, start from North than end up in LaLa land.
Love the pics, and it got down to 55 here in Waihiwa, getting chilly
). Stay safe and warm and enjoy, both you and da Missus.
December 18th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Eh BL, did you notice "Top Pot" is the same forwards as backwards? Must be a "Lee" thing, lol.
December 18th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
More great pix!! Thanks! Looks like the two of you are having a great vacation. Way to go! Where to next?
December 18th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I think the last time I went to Portland was 15 years ago! I also remember the skating rink in the mall. Cute pic of you and your wife! Looking forward to your next pics!
December 18th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Eh nice shot of da beer. I asked my wife to try um and now.....Let's just say sometimes fo bettah or fo worse is one drag.
Den again, sharing my good beer is one small price to pay for having one wondahful wife (just in case she stay reading)
Gotta watch the po-po up there suz dey stay some tricky buggahs. They stay up in helecopters, and get da kine where they driving on da oddah side of the road and da radar automatically subtracts their speed. Got tagged by dat once upon one time.
December 18th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
BL, so wea we going next and what we going eat?
December 18th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Cool. Literally! 29 degrees. Yikes.
I know that Saturday Market well. We usually stay at the Embassy Suites 2 blocks from there.
That skating rink is at Lloyd Center right? There used to be one at Clakamas Towne Center before they renovated. That's where the infamous Tonya Harding skated.
I'm liking the pics!
December 18th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Great pictures!!! You still wearing shorts!!!! You sure you not COLD!!!
December 18th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
oohh doughnut and da roast beef thingie looked guuuud! Ice skating at the mall looked fun, torch guy was smart and that sign was hilarious!! BONKERS, bahhahaha...
Happy to see a pic of both BL and Mrs. BL together! hee hee...
December 19th, 2009 at 4:42 am
Yeah, mainland driving is an adventure.
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No comment.
Wat is dat - cruise control? Gas is anywea between $2.59 - 2.90.
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Really? Dat is pretty cool. I nevah would have thought. We saw da library from da front but it nevah look anything li'dat from da back.
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It seemed like every vendor at Pike's had some kine of marionberry thingy. I read/was told it was a blend of two berries dat they concocted.
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She was doing poi balls... and not too good at it either.
Darn... and I wanted to try beea's we nevah have.
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I kinda like dat one too.
I got really lucky on dat shot.... uh, wit da camera settings dat is. 
I'm surprised they all stay around cause get wat? Voodoo, Krispy Kreme AND Top Pot - wow!
Mahalos for da link! Yeah, their stuff is way cool.
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Fun now.... broke latah.
And dat pic took forevah cause it was a constant drizzle and I had to fut around wit da settings and then wipe down da lens everytime. Crazy I tell ya.
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Believe it or not I own SEVERAL but CHOOSE not to wear them.
Unfortunately it does happen to have it's drawbacks like not having your pants fit.
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Yeah, dat's one thing I wish we really could have done was do some sceanic hiking or rafting or something.
I believe it's called Lloyd Center.
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We could have stopped by then!
Seriously, no tax has I tink saved us a few hundred dollahs!
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We are but it is a long trip.
Ooooh.
Doesn't dat take like nine months?
December 19th, 2009 at 6:38 am
BL
Whoa brah - should have been visiting your blog more often.
Looks like the trip we've done before, except we took the train and started in Portland to Seattle to Vancouver.
The places you went to look very familiar - open market, etc. Are you folks staying at the Hotel Lucia? I think Typhoon is in that hotel. We stayed there also.
Seeing some guys on Wednesday - will you be back by then?
December 19th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Good Morning BL!
"Doesn't dat take like nine months?" - BL
"I can wait" - OL
December 19th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I'm not a lager fan either but I'll try it if da "name" interests me.
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Mahalos.
I kinda wanted to ride a train and see different scenery. I'm always da driver so kinda hard to do both.
Stay tuned for da WWD! 411 about dat.
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Oh sit! Forget Disneyland already, you making Grungetown look unreal. Grungetown
Took da words right out of my mouth.
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Only 2 hours?
Not end up in Tijuana?
Duck soup!
No, did not notice but dat is pretty cool.
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Well we're on our way home now - flight delayed!!!
- but there's more Portland and a few more Seattle stuff I forgot to put in which I will latah.
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Just judging from da buildings, didn't seem like much changed. I tink dat's such a trippy thing to have in da mall but I guess in Hawaii it would wave pools huh?
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I'm glad Da Wife doesn't drink... mo' for me!
Ahem..... mo' on dat latahz.
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Stay tuned.
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Da closest thing I can compare it to is our swap meet yeah? Only thing get waaay bettah food places in Portland and different kine crafts.
Rogah dat!
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Perfect weather for me... except for da rain... and da ice... and da freezing hands...
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But da torch thing kinda lose money cause no can warm up da hands.... but if you have a long stick you can roast marshmellows!
Da sign was funny huh? 
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It's really scary how much of your travels have matched ours!
Yup - flying in today/tonight but right now flight is delayed.
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Does dat mean you're bringing beea?
December 19th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Howzit BL and Mrs BL
My computor been down fo ova a week
now its all good 
Looks like you folks havin a good time
NKHEA..... thinkin they stay back already
December 19th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Darn... and I wanted to try beea's we nevah have
I'm telling you, try the Fat Tire. You won't be sorry. I brought home a case in October.
December 19th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
eh BL, sorry for not meeting up with you when you were here. I don't know what the heck is going on, but I was (and still am) a little sick, been coughing, gasping, and wheezing for a couple of weeks now. Since that was the case, I figured it would be best not to meet up with you, to minimize the chance of you or Mrs. BL getting sick. There's nothing like bringing the flu home as omiyage, eh? If you ever head out this way again, let me know.
December 20th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Best thing I ate when I was in Portland in August was at the Saturday Market—a slice of New York cheesecake topped with fudge and dipped in chocolate.
I'm wishing I had gone to Typhoon when I was there, that food looks awesome!
December 21st, 2009 at 5:29 am
The Portland locals must have thought you were pupule for wearing shorts in freezing weather. And who says folks from Hawai’i can’t take the cold. Way to show off those Korean calves.
Great photos of your trip. I never asked if you are a Nikon or Canon guy?
BTW - You didn’t happen to see Jerry Glanville holding an unemployed sign?
December 21st, 2009 at 4:14 pm
To all the Kwonics, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'm on vacation and will not be seen for a while. Woot!
December 22nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
No wondah
Wen am I nevah?
Now I am.
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Well Da Wife acutally said it was "ok" to bring home a case but it would have blown our baggage weight and heck's no am I paying an EXTRA $15 to da airline for anoddah bag/box!
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No worries! Maybe next time cause we kinda liked Portland.
Take kea of your cold/flu.
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Hmmm, remembah who did dat one? I didn't see anybody wit dat except for a guy who deep fries EVERYTHING!
If you like Thai, you'll like Typhoon without a doubt.
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Neither. Sony.
Although, now dat Nikon came out with their HD vid feature built in.......
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Hope you still get a chance to drop in but if not, Happy Christmas and New Years to ya back!
December 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Sorry Lance, I don't remember. I took plenty photos, but I lost my camera on one of the TriMet trains when I left on Sunday; I got off by Finnegan's, and I thought I had my camera in my pocket, but I had taken it out to take pictures of PGE Park. I realized that as soon as I left the train, but by then the doors had closed and I had to watch it run off.
But I promise you, this stuff was ʻONO. I couldn't even eat the whole thing, it was so rich.
Another place I really liked up there was Portland City Grill, I had lunch there and it was awesome. I got a salad/half sandwich combo, and I tacked on a soup since I thought they were going to give manini portions. Nope, they gave a nice big bowl of cream of asparagus soup, the most awesome apple-hazelnut-gorgonzola salad with champagne vinaigrette, and a pastrami sandwich on toasted rye loaded with meat. Plus, instead of fries or cole slaw, they subbed in a small bowl of berries that I counted as dessert. If I ever go to Portland again, I'm definitely going there.
December 23rd, 2009 at 8:11 am
I did dat once.... wit my HD video camera.
We were in Vegas and my friends wanted to try a slot machine and I placed in da space in between da machines and wen we were pau I just left. I swear - my friends will attest to it - dat we were gone no more than a minute or two and realized I forgot it and headed back.... and GONE. Someone snatched it and da casino was empty too! Da security didn't even want to check da security tapes to see who took it if it was an employee or not. 
I've nevah gone back into Paris again.
Sounds like I would have had trouble picking out wat I'd like to try.
Try "The Original" about a couple blocks from da Saturday Market, their chili fries are HUGEMANGEOUS and ono too.
January 1st, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Ho brah, glad u wen make it to Portland. I oni wen read dis first post cuz I like go in ordah; now on to da next ones, hoping u wen make it out to da waterfalls!