We arrived in Eugene around 5 PM and stayed with our new friend Melanie. She had an adorable dog that was a cross between a Pomeranian and a Husky. Stephanie fell in love.
We chatted a bit and then both took a long shower since we spent the last 2 days camping. After we got ready, we went out to a local brewery called Falling Sky Brewery where we had wine, beer, and dinner. After drinking our fair share, we headed home. We both were exhausted from the drive and the beverages. The next morning we drove to downtown Eugene and walked to a local donut shop called VooDoo Donuts. I saw there was a local board game shop within walking distance. We walked over to Funagain Games. They had a giant wall of board games that you can play in the store to try out before you bought them. We decided to get a new card game called Aboretum. I love trees!
All the board games!
We stopped by a consignment shop on the walk back to the car and Stephanie got a pretty blue skirt, but she wanted a new dress so we drove to another consignment shop in town. She searched through all the clothes and found what looked to be a handmade dress that was reversible. But she still wanted another dress, go figure! Stephanie had found a thrift store that was also a cat adoption center, so of course we had to stop there. All their clothes were for old people so we didn’t get anything, but Stephanie did stop to play with the cats for a bit. Happy wife, happy life! She excitedly found a Nordstrom Rack and we drove over. She found a few dresses she liked and tried them on, but she only liked one. We bought it and decided to head to a winery called Kings Estate just outside of Eugene.
Lavender fields
Steph’s new dress
Little did we know, this winery was beautiful. It was located on 1,000 acres and had about 300 acres of organic grapes and farmland. We had a wine tasting of all their delicious wines and then picked out a bottle to drink there along with a few cheese and meats. It was a little windy out and we had trouble controlling our umbrella, but the wine and cheese board was one of the best we ever had and ate every last morsel.
Delicious
We then drove to a local coffee bar that served alcohol for board game night that we heard about when we were at the board game store earlier in the day. We got there a little early, but no one was there so we had a cocktail. After about 30 minutes, a bunch of people showed up, but no one wanted to play with us and Stephanie was too happy to learn any new games, so we walked to another bar down the street that was supposed to be a dive bar. The bar was called Jackalope Lounge and Stephanie and I both loved it. We ordered a round of sliders and some drinks. After we finished our sliders, we went upstairs to play pool and pinball. They had a Sopranos pinball machine that Stephanie loved. After a slow game of pool and a few games of pinball, we decided to call it an evening and head home.
We woke up the next day around 9 and packed up and headed for Portland, OR. We didn’t have a place to stay in Portland, so as we were driving north, Stephanie checked out Airbnb. She found a lovely farm house with goats and chickens in the middle of Portland for $50 a night, so we booked it.
We arrived there around 1, dropped off our bags, got the keys and headed to the Pearl District on the recommendation of one of Stephanie’s friends. We walked around for a bit, checking out the sights and sounds of downtown Portland. After an hour or so, we bought a few bottles of wine and headed back to our Airbnb. Our hosts recommended a dive bar not too far from the house that was supposed to have some really good fried chicken. We arrived and were told the chicken would be a 45 minute wait because they only had one fryer. But that was okay, we weren’t in a hurry, so we ordered some drinks and watched the semi-final of the women’s world cup. Apparently they love soccer in Portland and anytime a soccer game was on, it was played in every bar. The fried chicken was in fact amazing and after eating our fill, we walked to a whiskey bar down the street. After one round of drinks, we decided to call it a night and went home.
The next morning, we went and had brunch at the recommendation of our hosts again. After our delicious breakfast, we toured Portland for a bit and then headed back for an afternoon respite and to update our blog. Around 3, when we had motivation again, we searched for a place that had a decent happy hour. We found a place called Tasty n Sons that had a great happy hour menu. After filling ourselves with delicious food once again, we went home for another respite. Around dinner time, we drove to the nearby Whole Foods for dinner and then walked to a nearby bar. We found it because it was a dive bar, but apparently we were in hipster central. Everyone in this bar was even too cool to be called a hipster. At one point, as Stephanie and I were trying to find a new bar to go to next, a guy with glasses from the 80s and a lawnmower-accident haircut, leaned over and told us we look like computers. Oh great! I bet this conversation is going places! After a 20 minute ramble of him talking about EMPs and computers and other things we didn’t listen to, we closed our tab and promptly left. We found a beer garden nearby, but after finding out they didn’t serve wine or cocktails, we head across the street for a nightcap. Stephanie woke up way before I did and went to Trader Joe’s to get lunch and snacks for our beach day. I finally woke up and we stopped at a unique donut place called Pip’s Originals and got half a dozen donuts before we left Portland. We drove about an hour north of Portland to a quaint little beach on the Columbia river and spent the day there before heading to Seattle. Stephanie and I’s first visit to Oregon was a success and we can’t wait to visit again, it is a beautiful state with lots to offer. The hipsters of Portland can go away, but other than that, it was a great time.
Garrett & Stephanie 