Cupcakes & Crobots, Cha Cha Cha!

On our second full day in Portland, the boys and I headed downtown to Knit/Purl.  Steven needed a couple of items for his Thursday class.  Here we are outside the shop.  They have a beautiful window display of socks in honor of the Summit – can you see it here?  We pulled my sock out for the photo, too:

Steven found the yarn he needed – here he is watching it being wound into a ball by an electric ballwinder.  Neat!Somehow I managed only to buy an issue of Handknit Heroes, the knitting comic book – no yarn.  Yet.

Next we headed to Cha Cha Cha! for burritos – yum.  I met someone in line who asked me what was good to eat.  I confessed that I was visiting town and did not know.  He asked what brought me to Portland, and I told him about the Summit.  He didn’t miss a beat and told me that the last time he was in Portland, he was here with a crochet-er friend who published a book.  I asked if it was anyone I knew.  He hesitated, and I said “the only big crochet name I know is Kim Werker.”  Well, that was his friend!  Small world.  Here is Steven about to enjoy his fish burrito:

After Cha Cha Cha!, we popped into Cupcake Jones for a delightful confection.  Steven left his yarn there but we were sitting just outside so the cupcake lady reunited us with the yarn with no problem.

Next we hit Powell’s for a couple of hours.  I only spent time in two sections: Graphic Novels and Crafts.  I was pleased to see a Sock Summit display in the bookstore:

I saw a book I had never heard of before: Crobots.  I don’t know how to crochet very much, but I’ve been meaning to learn more.  A whole book of crochet robots?  Sure, I’m game!  Here’s Jeff gamely showing my new book:

Tourists Boost Portland Economy

On our first full day in Portland, we did … everything.  Well, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but seriously, we did a LOT of stuff.  Here is an overview:

1. Scenic overlook over the Columbia River Gorge
2. Vista House – another beautiful scenic overlook that was an early 20th century rest stop of sorts
3. Waterfall #1
4. Waterfall #2
5. Waterfall #3
6. Waterfall #4
7. Waterfall #5
8. Lunch at Multnomah Falls Lodge
9. Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center in Stevenson, WA
10. Coffee break at Starbuck’s
11. Winetasting at Phelp’s Creek Vineyards (my first winetasting ever, believe it or not)
12. Visit to Lavender Valley Lavender Farm
13. Quick stop at home to put the wine indoors
14. Visit to Edgefield for winetasting and dinner – Edgefield is a McMenamins property that defies description.  It’s an art-y trip with great booze and food and gardens and music and …  just go next time you’re in Portland.  I may return during this trip!

It was a great day, but a really full one.  Here is one of the many beautiful waterfalls we saw tumbling down into the gorge:

Here we are after the first winetasting, loaded up with local wines.  This winery produces a pair of wines called “Hellfire” and “Brimstone” – one is white, one is red.  They refer to preacher Billy Sunday – he settled here after he left Chicago.

A couple shots of the Lavender Farm: