Our Favorite Breakfast Place in Portland

 Portland, OR

Donna in her happy place at Broder

Broder's Cafe

This morning we took the bus to our favorite breakfast place in Portland, Broder's Café.  We come here every time we are in the area and we will probably go there a few times this trip.  The food is Scandinavian and they tout the largest Aquavit selection on The West Coast.  We decided to each get a flight of Aquavit so we could taste a wide (6) selection.  

There isn't a line on a Wednesday morning

One of our flights

We got the Traditional and the Brennevin flights.

I got a "hot dog" off of the lunch side of the menu.  It had warm shrimp salad in it as well as a hot dog / sausage.

Donna and her Broder Plate.  She had a lot of goodies to try.

We also ordered a side Potato Pancake.  It was delicious!

I had to hold the tiny mug up to my head.  

After breakfast we walked the SE Division area and then cut up to one of our favorite pubs, Horse Brass Pub on Belmont.  The walk was about a mile and a half.

We stopped by Salt and Straw for some more food fun

We split a cone

Car Moss is surprisingly common in the PNW.

Horse Brass Pub!

To my surprise, they had Pliney the Younger on tap.  This used to be a very rare beer and I have never had it.  People used to line up for hours just to get a pour of it.  It's still only available this time of year but production seems to have increased to try to meet demand.  It was very good.

Yeeee!

More Pinball

After HBP we took another bus across the city to My Father's Place.  It's a bar with pinball.  There is a tournament that happens here that I might go to so we thought we would check it out.

This pole is pretty on brand for Portland.

There is a new Jaws pinball machine so I thought this neon was funny.  I don't know what it is.

Donna plays pinball and thinks about Pabst.

My Father's Place is pretty cool.

When we got home Francis was happy to see us and then he burrowed into his bed and went to sleep while we watched TV.

That's it for today.  If you missed, We Made it to Portland, check it out.

 

We Made It To Portland

 Portland, OR

One of the bridges right outside our Airbnb

2 Nights in Alameda, CA

After leaving SoCal we headed to a 2 night stay in an Airbnb on Alameda Island.  We were going to camp up the coast but both days expected multiple inches of rain so Donna found us a cost effective Airbnb in an area we like.  It wouldn't do for a month long stay but it worked for 2 nights.

We had a great breakfast at a diner in Alameda

Then we went to Almanac Beer Co for a pint and pinball

Then we took a bus to Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge

We had been here before but it was a long time ago.  

Three Nights Camping

The weather let up long enough for us to camp for three nights.  We did get rain on our drives but things were dry for our time at the campsites.

Our first night was in Mt. Diablo State Park, just inland from our stay in Alameda.  I didn't end up taking any photos for whatever reason. 

Our second night was supposed to be at MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, CA but we got a call from the ranger saying it was sloppy and flooded and we could move to Westport-Union Landing State Beach. 

It's not a place we would have chosen but it was very pretty.

Our third night was at Sue-Meg State Park.  We saw some mushrooms.

We had a visitor at the campsite.

Morning Coffee

Our breakfast table at Sue-Meg.

2 More Hotels Until Portland

For the last 2 nights we stayed in hotels in Grants Pass, OR and Salem, OR.  It was nice to have a large bed and a shower after 3 nights camping.  

Once we were checked into our hotel in Grants Pass we walked to Weekend Beer Co. for dinner and a pint.

The next day we drove to Salem, OR and stopped in Eugene to visit Alesong Fermentation and Blending.

The beers were amazing and the food was fantastic.

They had bocce ball out back

The brewery was set on a farm and it really was one of the most beautiful breweries we have ever been to.

We could see The Golden Woodsman on top of the capitol building from our room.

I took a top down shot of our van from our room while it was waiting to be parked by the valet.

We stayed at a Tapestry Collection Hilton property.  I always love these.

Francis enjoyed the room.

The next day we did the short drive to Portland.  We are now all settled and ready to explore one of our favorite cities.

That's it for today.  If you missed, Rolling Through SoCal, check it out.