Day 21: Sunday, July 22, 2012

We started our exploring a little later this morning so we could secure hotels and activity plans and have some extra quiet time with JC.  Around 10:30am we headed a little town nearby named Beaverton.  You may or may not have heard of it but this tiny town is home to the headquarters of Nike, Inc.  We drove to the Nike campus and of course our timing was unfortunate because it was Sunday so it was closed and didn't offer tours that day.  We did however get to drive around a bit on the campus and take pics.  It's massive, complete with it's own various sports fields and each building is named after a legendary sports stars such as Nolan Ryan and Bo Jackson.

Nike Entrance

From there we went into downtown Portland to the official Nike Museum and store to do a little follow up to our campus tour and then stumbled upon a little festival in a park called Sand in the City.  Live music, giant sand castles intricately constructed and displayed, food vendors and people everywhere...it was great!

Nike Museum 

Touch screen Nike wall collage

Metal figure of Michael Jordan that is suspended from the ceiling mid-store

Very first pair of Air Jordan's
(debuted in 1985 to the public; Jordan actually wore them himself during his rookie year in 1984)

Nike/Oregon tribute wall made of bleachers from a local high school

Sand in the City

Then we drove back to the area known as the Pearl District to check out local stores and boutiques, and of course, eat!  We grabbed lunch at a place called Elephant's.  It reminder me of a Jason's Deli mixed with a Fresh Market, and it was packed!  I think the greater population of Portland was there, but now we know why.  It was delicious.

Next came our trek to Seattle.  Before checking into our hotel in the northern part of the city, we went straight to the waterfront to eat at local landmark, Ivar's Acres of Clams.  It was here that we discovered the existence of purple potatoes.  Yes, I said purple.  Apparently they are native to Peru and I don't know why the fad hasn't picked up in the US because they were delicious. (See pic below)

Downtown Seattle!

That's a Peruvian Purple Potato on that fork...

Another delicious meal and Ivar's had a gorgeous view of the water.  This restaurant was on a pier and surrounded by shops and locals playing instruments.  Seagulls were flying.  The sun was setting.  It was almost weird like we were in a movie, but alas, it was real life and I enjoyed every minute.

After the sunset, he headed back through downtown to see the one and only Space Needle!  The Space Needle not only completed our trifecta of tallest towers in the US but is AMAZING lit up at night.  Fun fact:  the Space Needle was originally constructed in honor of the World's Fair held in Seattle in 1962.

The Space Needle - postcard worthy!

Downtown Seattle

Then it was to the hotel finally for some sightseeing research and beauty rest.

Day 20: Saturday, July 21, 2012

So today wasn't that terribly exciting as far as sights seen and activities completed, but I still loved it.  I keep thinking over and over again about how we are really doing this.  Its happening and we will remember it for the rest of our lives.  I'm so thankful that the Lord made a way for this opportunity - He's already blessed me so much on this trip, taught me so much, and reminded me of so  many important things, and we're not even done yet!

We started the day by heading off on the six-hour drive to Portland, OR.  On the way we stopped in Eugene, OR (Home of the Oregon Ducks) for lunch.  Well, when we learned that the first ever pancake chain in the US had a restaurant in Eugene, of course we had to go there!  (Plus I love breakfast food anytime of the day...everyday.)

When we finally got there...things got real. haha  If you had driven through the Lamb's Thrift Market parking lot of Portland, OR this afternoon, you would have seen two crazy girls stuffing flat-rate shipping boxes full of souvenirs and clothing items.  That's right...we were scared that our suitcases will be over the weight limit when we have to fly Tuesday and Thursday, so we each sent a load of clothes home through the US Postal service.  In total, we sent home four large boxes and I sure hope they make it! ( If they are intercepted by someone along the way, they'll either get some really cool gifts from around the country or they will get my dirty clothes.  Let's all just hope for the best...)

This box times four!

From there we checked into our hotel and then went downtown to the Pearl District area of Portland to grab dinner We settled for a restaurant called "Oba!" which was great of course, and then we walked down 12 blocks to Papa Haydn's for dessert at the recommendation of our waitress.  Also a great decision!

From there we went just retired to the hotel.  Driving will really take it out of you!

Day 19: Friday, July 20, 2012

We started this day off with more Doubletree cookies and then a stop off for coffee.  Then we headed out to tour Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga, CA (still in Napa Valley).  I actually do not drink, but you don't have to to appreciate the beauty and process of owning a vineyard and the time that must be put in  to produce their products.  Most are owned by families and in Napa, it's seems like the Vegas strip along Hwy 29, only with vineyards....just one after another.  The views were gorgeous.

Sterling Vineyards was unique because guests have to take an AirTram (kind of like an enclosed ski lift cart) up the mountain in order to tour the winery and view the vineyard itself.  That was fun!

View from the Air Tram

The bells at their winery were actually salvaged from a 16th century London church

AirTram!

After our tour we headed a few minutes back into town to eat at Gott's Roadside - a little burger joint off the highway that was recommended to us by several people and with good reason...it was de-lish!  It was packed too with locals and tourists so it's easy to believe the hype.

From there we set off on a bit of a longer drive to Medford, Oregon just to stop through for the night on our way to Portland, OR.  First things first - we ate as soon as we arrived at Kaleidoscope Pizzeria in town.  Lots of local families there and it was delicious (reminded me of the Mellow Mushroom)

Lake Shasta

Mountain Sunset

Then it was off to the Rogue Regency Inn for the night... 

Day 18: Thursday, July 19, 2012

Finally time to leave our “luxurious” (insert sarcastic tone) hotel.  For breakfast, we went to Washington Square in San Francisco to get the Mama’s Café experience.  Multiple people had recommeneded it to us and every travel Web site we went to ranked it as a “must” in SF.  So we went…and waited outside in line for an hour.  The hostess said it’s like that everyday and usually an even longer wait, especially on the weekends.  The café is small but is family owned and looks super homey.  It reminds me of a smaller version of one of my favorite restaurants in Raleigh, Barry’s Café.  The wait was totally worth it (as you can see in the picture below).

San Francisco

Next we walked around the corner to check out Washington Square and a beautiful church right next door named St. Peter & Paul.  Interestingly enough, this is the church where Joe Dimaggio was married to his first wife, Dorothy Arnold, and also had wedding pictures taken here with his second wife, Marilyn Monroe.  The church also hosted his funeral in 1999.  Also, the church was featured in several movies – Clint Eastwood films “Dirty Harry” and “The Dead Pool” and also in parts of Sister Act 2.  I can definitely see why...it was incredibly ornate and gorgeous.

Then it was on to Pier 39 at Fisherman’s Wharf, the northeastern area of San Fran near the bay.  There were shops everywhere and restaurants and lots of great views of the water and even Alcatraz Island (we tried to take a ferry tour of Alcatraz but they were all booked out for over a week.  Who knew prison was so popular?).  Also, Pier 39 is home to the famous Bay Area sea lions!  There were only a few at the docks when we were arrived but they were hilarious.

We passed by the Giants Stadium on the way...Brian Wilson and Cy Young were no where to be found :(

View of Alcatraz Island from Pier 39

Sea Lions!

Last but not least for San Francisco, we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge!  It was breathtaking. 

The fog was rolling in right when we started crossing so we were scared that we wouldn’t get good photos but when we reached the other side we stopped off at a vista point where I got the picture below.  It’s my favorite picture so far from the trip because it is truly that gorgeous in real life and we got to see it in person, with our own eyes.  This pic was taken with my iPhone, no filter, no Instagram, no anything. The light and the fog must have hit just right. Just God’s creation and man’s creation combined to make one awesome photo and one great memory.

From there, we went on to Napa Valley for the evening and checked into the Doubletree – we had to stay in one at least once, just for those heavenly cookies.  We ate at a little Italian restaurant there and then just chilled for the rest of the night – so great!