Portland Day 3: Sept 29th 2009

Pittock Mansion is a big tourist attraction in Portland. It's like a mini-Casa Loma if you will. We picked a good day to go and see it as it was raining really heavily that morning.



Pittock sits over 1000 feet above Portland, so there are amazing views from the surrounding gardens & from the majority of the home. We couldn't see that far our due to the overcast, but you can just imagine what it looks like on a good day.



Except for all of the old timey appliances and furniture, I can definitely see myself living here.



After Pittock Masion we did some shopping before meeting up with Shamara and Derek. My mom had tried on a few pairs of boots at Nordstrom's and accidentally left the store stocking on all day. She pulled it out of her boot at the end of the night. GOOD ONE SHEILS!

Portland Day 2: Sept 28th 2009

Day One in Portland began with a jaunt by the waterfront.

We went on a quick walk of the city. Sheila passed by this newspaper, stopped immediately and grabbed a copy. Little did she know it’s Portland local Gay paper. She’s here and queer, apparently.

Not pictured: Lunch at Pazzo’s Restaurant, Shopping (again) and late night drinks/snacks at Kell’s Irish Pub, rated very highly in the city guides but pretty “meh” in our opinion.

Seattle Day 1: Sept 24th 2009

To Seattle we go! Our flight left from Buffalo at 842am, so we had to leave Whitby at 430am. Ugh! Too early. Christopher was nice enough to drive us to Browntown. Sheila was able to catch a few winks in the car, lucky duck. I ran on about 2 hours of sleep.



We had a brand new plane, which is great and all, but you had to pay to watch the on flight films. Sure we had personalized access to DirecTV, but $6 to use that system? Screw that noise! We mainly slept and worked on crossword puzzles. I pulled an "Amber on the train" and whacked my head on the window when my head was bobbing. Owie.



View of the mountains as we make our decent into Seattle.



View from our hotel room at the Sheraton Seattle. Visit us in Room 3022! Close to the top of the hotel, we're ballers.



It's that time. Brand new hotel, new city, what else is there to do other than JUMP ON THE BEDS! This is a Sheila tradition and I'm happy to be apart of it.



I'm trying my very best not to break the bed.



We dined at Branzino's Restaurant. Oh my, talk about gourmet food. This is the home restaurant of current "Top Chef" contestant Ashley Merriman and it was damn good. We both had Mixed Green Salads, with Pears, Pine Nuts & Cheese as an appetizer. Sheila had the trout entree while I enjoyed the freshly made Tagliatelle pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes & Crisp Garlic. TO DIE FOR. Our waiter, Dennis was awesome. We ordered some wine and he was cool enough to leave the bottle in case we wanted to "sneak more." For dessert, Poached Pear Sorbet with Creme Fraiche... Oh my. Go to this restaurant if you're ever in Seattle.



We had to get to bed early tonight as we have a busy day ahead tomorrow, but there is always time for a night cap, right? My French Martini was delicious. Grey Goose + Pineapple... You can't go wrong.