US of A Road Trip: Day 2

Mom snores.

I get a whiff of the morning and voila – I’m up. Mom isn’t even contemplating waking up and I’m jumping on the bed “get up get up get up get up!!!!”. Mom is officially up.

We hit up the 35-item continental breakfast and take a seat with a room of republicans. McCain is on TV and he’s only one-state over from where I am. I sat there, at the table, eating my English muffin and drinking OJ mumbling “this guy is a nut, he’s lying... who does he think he is?” We very soon leave and are back on the road heading to Portland.

After driving through many little towns, we finally hit the Washington/Oregon border. We are a mere 5 hours from our final destination. Mom decides to bust out her camera and suddenly I’m driving with the paparazzi.

The drive to Portland is something else. Hours and hours of driving along the Columbia River, through terrain similar to the Coquihalla Valley. Mom has to pee again and we are looking for a place to stop. Hood River seems like the winner and we pull into a Starbucks for a coffee and an Earl Grey Tea. Mom asks the barista if there is anything of interest in Hood River and we are soon convinced that yes, we need to explore. Am I ever glad we did.

We park the car and tool around the little town. It was gorgeous. It was hip. It was awesome. We shop, we eat and drink and then are back on the road - but not before driving a little through the residential neighbourhood. All of a sudden, out of nowhere a little house appears with a fantastic sign out front:

Of course, we park and we header into the campaign office. I am like a kid in a candy store. Oh and who decides to pose for a picture?

After making a small contribution to the democratic party and walking away with numerous buttons, pins and stickers, we hit the road and continue on to Portland.

We finally arrive in Portland, find our schwanky hotel and opt for the valet service. The worlds tallest man and concierge, Nick, helps us with our bags to our room and recommends a fantastic restaurant for dinner and directs us to the shopping. Alas, we are within sights of Kate Spade, Coach, J.Crew, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. We have hit the motherland.

Shopping is fantastic, dinner at South Park Seafood Grill is delicious and thank God the hotel is within stumbling distance; the wine was to die for.

Day 2 is over... but not before checking out CNN for all the daily news.

tbc...