Road Trip Day 10 - Portland - Put A Bunny On It

Portland Oregon Day 1

Road trip Day 10

Miles Driven so far: 3800

Driving all night from San Francisco to Portland sounded like a great idea as the sun was setting. Fueled on what was left of the coffee I made this morning that was astonishingly still hot (My new thermos is a champion) I drove along highway 101 through Northern California. Portland is 9-10 hours away and I decided I would just drive until I got tired. Since it was dark, I choose the fastest route over the more scenic.  But the traffic jam around the exit to Sonoma was enough to add back any time I saved.  On the side of the road was a Billboard “10 minutes to the perfect moment” next to a car size glass of wine. I stared at the billboard for 45 minutes as I sat in traffic.
10 minutes my ass.

The Oregon landscape is out of a fairytale. My high beams shined on the tall trees of the forest that I longed to run through.  In the late night hours, the temperature dropped and the fog rolled in. I could no longer see the pines or the road, just fog and fog’s relatives and friends. After nearly hitting a very large bird of some sort…either an owl or a pterodactyl…who flew across the road then back into the mysterious fog from which it came, I pulled over at the next rest stop. I wrapped myself and Patrick in the sleeping bag in the backseat. We hibernated for about an hour before the brisk cold woke us up. At the next rest stop we pulled over again and I slept another hour until I woke up to see my breath. Its plausible an hour is how long my car keeps the heat in.

COFFEE!!!!!!! My coffee monster emerged in the wee hours of the morning. It wanted coffee so bad it almost persuaded me to buy some at the convenience store. I convinced it to wait until Portland. We would spend my money on the precious brew that only a Barista could provide.

I arrived in Portland after the sun came up. I called my sister and she gave me directions to where she was house sitting. I quickly changed into some fresh clothes. We had plans for Sunday Brunch at Helsers on Alberta. All I could think about was a latte. There was a long wait but it was so good the last time I was in town we decided to wait. We stood outside in the crowd, going back in on occasion to count how may people were ahead of us and make sad hungry eyes at the hostess. 

I thought about the Portlandia episode “Brunch Village.  

“How Long is the wait?”

 “I don’t know maybe 35, 45 minutes…maybe an hour 15. We got that great write up so maybe an hour 45.”

It was gorgeous outside, a little overcast but the sun peaked through on occasion as I deliriously caught up with my sister on the bench outside. 

When our table was ready, latte was the first word out of my mouth after woohoo.

Nothing tastes better than a latte you’ve waited 10 hours for.

My sister ordered an earl gray with milk and slightly less enthusiasm.

We both had the smoked salmon hash which consists of a ginormous bowl of Yukon gold hash grilled with smoked salmon, and sautéed spinach then topped with two poached eggs, and fresh hollandaise sauce.  It’s the perfect option when you feel like you could order one of everything on the menu. Its also gluten free. http://helsersonalberta.com/

Later we drove over to the beach at Kelley Point Park in St. Johns and walked the trails.