Portland, State of Oregon

We actually managed to get up pretty early, considering Amanda and Jay had bombed us up to Anchorage airport from Cooper's Landing starting at 3AM. Smoke on the water with the steam rising. Beautiful morning. 

Quick sleep at the Jupiter Hotel, and we were off for a walking adventure. We weren't in the best of moods, but a good walk always steers us straight.

We walked and walked and walked. Tyler was hungry. I kept suggesting places and he wasnt that interested, but still hungry. So then I saw a place. I didnt even ask. I just headed towards it.

Triple Nickel Pub:

Good. Cheap. Beer.
In fact, this whole city was cheap.
Added a LOT to it's already oozing charm.

Ohh yeah. I have like radar for this stuff.

Tyler was much better 

at squirrel hunting than me.

This. This. Is. The. Future.
Complete with PBR tallboy.

We drank inside, we played pinball, we drank outside, we met Andy, a merchant marine who was nursing the flexibility in his hand back together with a rubber band. We drank and chatted, and met people, of course.

Ok, so then... We were sitting outside on the picnic tables minding our own business, just ordered food when...This bus pulled up. School bus pulled up, and I don't know, 40 people tumbled off. How many people does a schoolbus hold, anyway? Two guys sit down and start talking to us and eyeing our food, which we offered, of course. Turns out it's this speedo wearing guy from Portlandia! 

We were sooo official

They had just met some celebrities that morning and were waxing about it. So Tyler asks, uh, what is this bust thing you just got off of? It's the Bar Fly tour! Um, Tyler says, so, do you have any more seats, and how much? They had 3 seats, which was perfect, and they had like 4 more stops. And they charged us $5 off each ticket because they had already started. So me, Tyler, and Andy got on the bus!

Jed's jacket

 We went from the Triple Nickle to some karaoke bar...hold on...this one! Chopsticks II. 

Very appropriate attire, Tyler!

Our awesome Bar Fly hosts!

Tyler had sooo sooo soo much fun!

Skull

Ok, next place! 

Biker bar awesomeness. 

Where we met Mike and Alta. They are the coolest. Grandbabies dont slow them down! They go biking for miles and miles.

Andy, the Merchant Marine

 A while back I had gone with my sister to hear a talk from Draplin Design. His shop was in Portland, OR, and he talked in his presentation about living and working in Alaska, so I had to ask him for some divey drinking tips. He told me about the Sandy Hut. Which I thought was the Clam Hut. I figured it out. Was trying to make it there. Look at that! It's divey enough to end up on our bus tour without us even having to look ourselves!

We went from the Sandy Hut downtown to some bar where I played internet poker and Tyler got way too drunk. Fireball whiskey - they should not make whiskey taste like Cinnimon. This will be Tyler's mantra for a long long time.

Downtown Portland was not our forever place. I'm surprised we made it out of there alive.

The Buckman neighborhood, on the otherhand, well, we could stay there a long long time.

A bit too natural for a place we've been in only 36 hours? The farmstand we found was amazing. The hotdogs we had at this place were "the best I've ever had" says Tyler, who works at a world famous butcher shop in his real life. That must be saying a lot.Food trucks are a new wonderful way of life for us.

creepy, right???

This is the coolest thing in the world!

Little Dad and Momma Cann signals nearby.
Are they saying it's OK for us to move here???

We ended our night napping at our hotel for a few hours then checking out (at a discounted rate, thanks!) at like 8:00 PM, and heading to our  red-eye flight home.

We'll be back, Portland! Oh yes, we will be back.