This year for Christmas and New Year’s Tyler and I visited my Aunt Rachel in Portland, Oregon. She needed help during her recovery from knee replacement surgery, but we still managed to get in some fun the two weeks we were there. This trip consisted of a few firsts for Tyler:
- Longest Flight (This was only his 3rd flight ever)
- Going To The West Coast/Oregon
- Seeing the Pacific Ocean
- Entering a dispensary shop
- Meeting My Aunt
Before Aunt Rachel’s surgery, we drove out to Seaside, Oregon to stay at this Airbnb rental for a couple of days. I really enjoyed how close the beach was to the property and lounging in the hot tub after dark. We even saw a deer in the backyard one night. The property was pet-friendly, so we were able to bring Aunt Rachel’s dog, Daisy, along for her first trip to the beach too.
The ride up to the property was beautiful with views of mountains and forests along the way. It was also terrifying because it started raining hard and there were areas with “high water” signs which I had never experienced before. Tyler and Daisy slept the entire ride. We ordered Angelina’s Pizzeria & Café for dinner the first night. Tyler and I enjoyed their pizza and Caesar salad but Aunt Rachel was not a fan of the sandwich she ordered.
The second day on the coast we spent time walking down the beach and playing board games by the fireplace. We played “Stupid Deaths” and “The Big Movie Quiz.”
Stupid Deaths
Rating: 3/5
We played two rounds of this game and we did laugh while playing it albeit is morbid. However, this game is a one & done game for me as all you do is read a card and guess if it’s a true/false statement about someone’s death. Most names are hard to pronounce and it’s pretty repetitive, so I wouldn’t flock to play this one again.
The Big Movie Quiz
Rating:1/5
Buy The Big Movie Quiz On Amazon
This game gets a low rating because it did not come with instructions on how to win the game nor could I find anything online for it. We ended up making our own rules which made it more like scattegories/charades. If you know the real rules, please let me know and I’ll give this game another try.
Once back in Portland, I tried the following restaurants/places.
- Canton Grill http://www.canton-grill.com/
Meh. 5/10 ( It’s Aunt Rachel’s favorite Chinese restaurant though)
Yummy pad thai. It’s no Bangkok Thai like from home so 7/10
- Portland Mercado https://www.portlandmercado.org/
Several food trucks are located here, so we sampled a bunch of stuff which was awesome. I really liked the lights in the outdoor area. 8/10
- Pizzicato https://www.pizzicatopizza.com/
Delicious pizza and funny staff 10/10
- TJ’s on Powell https://visittjs.com/tjs-on-powell/
This place is a coffee shop and a dispensary with a very friendly & efficient staff plus a decent selection. 10/10
- Fred Meyer https://www.fredmeyer.com/
This place was fascinating, and I will not shop at any other grocery store while in Oregon again after visiting this place. 10/10
Visit the YouTube channel or watch the video at the top of the page for a tour of the Airbnb and other clips from this trip. https://youtu.be/sGX2tuRdSDA
P.S. I am still working with the travel insurance company on getting the reimbursement for the delay during the Paris trip. Continue to stay tuned for once that comes through on where my best friend and I will visit next.