Booking at the last minute netted us a simple motel for 3 nights near the Convention Center, very easy to get around with Portland's good transit system. Gee, Portland, we have not been there since 1996 Quilt Market with Pavelka Design sewing patterns, a long time ago. We've all grown up in so many ways since then, especially our kids!

Greek-male-nude-sculpture

Portland Art Museum, some very nice works, very well presented, something for everyone from old to new. Something old from Paris....

RickBartow

Something new from Rick Bartow...
We even ran into neighbors from our street here, another artist Coralie Swaney and her hubby, it's a small world...

Gregory-Grenon

Gregory Grenon at Portland Art Museum. Gregory is one of my very exciting figurative artists who works in paintings on glass mainly. I had hoped to visit him and his artist wife here but they did not get back to me in time to set up a meeting. Maybe next time....

Jakes-crawfish

Loved the sign but didn't eat there...

stroller-strides

Stroller Strides, an energetic gang of mothers with strollers having an exercise class right there on the boardwalk! What a great idea!

James-Lavadour

Gorgeous paintings by James Lavadour at PDX Contemporary Art Gallery. Juicy layers of paint invoking his native Oregon landscape.

Portland-ribbonry

ribbon

With a name like Button Emporium & Ribbonry, I had to stop in and check it out. I picked up a few yards of these fine specimens to make flowers for my hair and have in my stash. Very nice ribbons shop. I've seen better buttons shops (we have some exceptional ones in Vancouver) but the ribbons were exquisite and buttons plentiful too. Stop in and check them out.

Beer-bike-tour

Don't fret, it's not all ribbons and art on our travels! Dennis gets his share of interests and one of them is tasting craft brews. Here comes a traveling bike-mobile with about 12 cycling guys powering it and their beer guide in the middle directing the beer tour. Breweries by Bike. What a hilarious idea! The guys provide the muscle power and all have a nice tasting time and get home safe. Good one!

McMenamins-whiskey

McMenamins Chrystal Hotel, whiskey bar. Very cute! McMenamins run a very funky line of hotels around Oregon but this is the first time we ever stepped inside one. Would be a fun place to stay if we booked ahead and not at the very last minute.

Alberta-district

blue-hair

We packed up and drove north, stopping in the funky Alberta District for breakfast and one last wander before hitting the highway north for Canada. The Alberta Street area was super cute, very nice and homey with just the right mix of color, spunk and style.

Amelia-sewing

Amelia-sewing-patterns

Amelia-sewing-Portland

This cute sewing boutique above has the perfect set up. Amelia can sit and sew and watch her store from her open work loft above. helloamelia.com

pink-wedding-dress

Amelia does great ready to wear clothes but keeps her funk up with special commissions like this wedding dress project she's working on. The vintage white wedding dress was dyed pink, adjusted to fit the new bride and now is in the bedazzling and embellishment stages. What fun Amelia and the bride are having! HelloAmelia.com

Popped into a very small but jam-packed independent sewing store Bolt. What a treat but I did manage to come out empty handed but only because I tried to!!! Very smart, very nice website too. They had some very cute modern hip sewing pattern lines, all of which came into being after I left the industry to focus on Kidzsmart in 2000.

Cute independent sewing pattern lines were:
Sew Liberated
Amy Butler
Make It Perfect
Valori Wells
April Rhodes

There were some art classes going on in a public garden by Collagepdx.com, a very good art supply store nearby.

monuments3

At 2 pm, we jumped into the car, bid Oregon farewell till next time and headed north. We stopped on the highway and followed a small side road which lead to these odd and HUGE monuments standing beside the highway.  Gospodors Monument Park with three copper monuments to Mother Teresa, American Indians (all tribes) and all victims of the Holocaust. Check out their page on WeirdUS.com.

camping

forest4

Our summer road trip was topped off with 2 nights and 3 days of camping in beautiful Golden Ears Provincial Park near Maple Ridge with my brother and family. It was our first time sleeping in a tent for YEARS! Happily we were a)able to sleep comfortably on Thermarest foamies and b)crawl out and stand up in the morning!

smores-on-campfire

We survived, had a lot of fun and would go back and do it again with the same team, always a testament to a good time had by all. Thanks for the cribbage, smores, the walk to the waterfall, lake swimming and spending time with ya'll!

Shasta-trailer-watercolor

The nice watercolor sketch above is by budding artist, Dennis O'Brien and commissioned by my brother for his cute little vintage Shasta trailer. Good job Dennis!

big-tree

rock-pools

picnic-bag

We went for a long hike up to some falls, stopping for a photo inside this very old tree. I took off my shoulder bag to squeeze into the tree and FORGOT to pick it back up. We got to the falls and I reached for my bag with half the day's picnic lunch of 3 lovely ham and cheese sandwiches!!! Gone! I walked back to the tree, quite a long way back but no bag. Boohoo, we consoled ourselves with the other half of the picnic, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and enjoyed the lovely water pools and rocks before heading back down. Sure enough, there was my bag and all the sandwiches safe inside hanging at the beginning of the trail on the signpost. Thank you! Kind of gives you hope for the world...

This summer road trip was a blast but lessons learned:

  • Stay home and enjoy the glorious Sunshine Coast in the summer
  • Do Oregon Coast OR Portland, not both
  • Book ahead or else!

Cheers all, hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride.
XXX Paula

Published
2014/09/04

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