My Last Day in Portland

Mornday morning came all too soon, and it was time to pack up all my things. I made a quick trip to the post office across the street to grab a priority mail box so I could send a few things home to myself- I got far too many things in Portland, between the swag and hard-to-find vegan items I purchased while there! Once I returned, I moved things around until I was sure that my suitcase was under 50lbs, I gathered my bags and headed to the desk for check-out.

I had stayed at Hotel Modera, a very cute boutique hotel that was on VVC’s list of recommended off-site hotels (I had thought that the room block for VVC was sold out when I was making reservations, hence staying off-site. It turns out I had been wrong, but I loved the hotel anyway).

I don’t stay in hotels very often, but it is worth noting that the bedding was all down, both the pillows and blanket. I suspect that most hotels use down, but I’m not sure. Maybe I could have requested hypo-allergenic bedding? Again, I’m not sure. This may be one of those things, like tires, where we just do the best that we can. The hotel was beautiful, had friendly staff, and incredibly helpful. Plus, they stored my luggage for the day, so I could spend my last day wandering around Portland without having to drag a suitcase and heavy backpack around all day!

After heading back to the post office to mail my package ($10.95 for a medium Priority Mail box is way cheaper than a over-limit fee for a suitcase!), I hopped on a bus to go to Hungry Tiger Too.

Tofuffalo Wrap with Tater Tots. Every restaurant should offer tater tots instead of fries! Delicious sandwich!

Next up: another trip to Voodoo Doughnuts. I wanted a T-shit. And of course, a doughnut!

Grape icing! I actually saved this doughnut for later- I ended up taking it to the airport with me. It made it through airport security. 🙂 It did not make it back to NY however, as I ate it.

I ended up walking over to Chinatown, next. I ran into a couple of other VVC-ers, who suggested I go to the Lan Su Chinese Garden.

Just a beautiful, quiet place. Worth the $8 admission and then some.

While there, I went to the Tea Room, and had a glass of hibiscus tea while reading and alternately staring out the window.

With an actual Hibiscus flower! The glass was interesting too- like a small glass, with a lid on top that you use to strain the flowers (or loose tea) as you drink. Also, they’ll come by as many times as you want to refill you with hot water.

After my time at the Garden, I wandered around a bit more, and then headed to Hip Chicks Do Wine. They are a vegan winery located in an industrial park. Walking there from the bus stop is not fun, but the wine is good. I had a few bottles shipped to myself!

My next stop was Taqueria Los Gorditos, which has a vegan menu! They have lots of little, cheap tacos.

The one on the left is with Soycurls, the one on the right is just plain ol’ beans. If you go, bring cash.

My last stop of the evening after a short walk was to the SE 12th and Hawthorne food carts. It being a Monday, only three of them were open (no Whiffies Fried Pies for me). Fortunately, one of the open carts was Perierra Creperie, which happens to serve vegan crepes.

Lemon and Sugar. Tasty and hit the sweet spot. I still would have preferred a fried pie, though. 🙂

So, I had a crepe while reading my Kindle for a bit, then hopped the bus back to the hotel to collect my belongings and grab a shuttle to the airport. My bag weighed in at 48lbs. Phew! Plus, when I got to the gate, they offered to check my backpack for free, so I pulled out my laptop and handed that over. This was awesome, because in order to make my suitcase not so heavy, I had an awful lot in that backpack.

After a brief layover in Detroit I was back home the next morning. My priority mail package with my swag and a few purchases arrived the following day, and just like that, my trip to Portland was completely over. All except the blogging, of course!

I can’t say I didn’t wish I had booked my flight for Sunday evening instead of Monday evening. All flights to NY were cancelled until Monday afternoon due to the big bad storm. Some of the NY VVC-ers got to spend a few extra days in PDX, but then again, there’s no place like home. 🙂