The Adventures of Tin-Tin

I Love Portland Part 2-- Tillamook and the Oregon Coast

2009-12-15T12:17:56-08:00

So the drive from San Jose to Portland was 10 hours and we did it in one shot. The drive from Portland to Tillamook and the Oregon coast was not bad at all either. It only took about two hours, but I wasn't driving anyway. (Thanks, John!) It was raining on the way to the coast so I was afraid we wouldn't see anything, but it cleared up just when we got to Cape Meares. We even got to see this rainbow...

and the creepy Octopus Tree...

The Oregon coast is beautiful, albeit cold and wet.

Spending the majority of a trip in a car was kind of a pain, and the rain made the roads slippery, but it was all worth it for free cheese samples at the Tillamook Cheese Factory!

This is from the viewing room during the self-guided tour.

Our little car did us proud. So much driving and it didn't complain once.

I Love Portland Part 1-- Food Stands Aplenty

2009-11-16T17:30:57-08:00

I don't think I can say anything new about Portland that recent visitors and locals don't already know. If you've never been, you will be amazed at the number of gourmet food stands parked throughout the city. I've heard we had them in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I've never actually seen one. During our three days in Portland, our tummies were so full from eating at the great restaurants in the area. Whenever we happened to drive by a food stand, there was no room left in my bloated belly for thai food, fried pies or other treats. The morning of our departure, we paid a visit to a colony of food trucks we saw parked at an intersection. Just our luck, most of the vendors were closed. It seemed all were closed but El Brasero. Had all the food stands in that corner been open, El Brasero would have been the last place we would try since we live near San Jose and good Mexican food is always around the corner. But good food can sneak up on you in the unlikeliest of places. Good burritos in Portland? Yes! I had one of the best breakfast burritos I've ever had. It had real chunks of potato, egg, chorizo and cheese all for about $4.50!

Food stands galore! We didn't get to try any fried pies or belgian fries, but maybe next time.

El Brasero on 12th Ave and SE Hawthorne in Portland, OR 97214

I found myself at Bloomies

2009-08-26T00:41:16-07:00

Tin-Tin

SFMOMA

2009-08-26T00:39:45-07:00

J and I went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art last Monday. It was a visit I was looking forward to since I went for the first time with my photography class a few weeks ago. My first time, like so many other first times, was wasted fumbling through quickly with little attention given to proper subjects. In hindsight, I think I could have spent less time in the giftshop and more time looking at the Robert Frank exhibit. I wanted to show J some of his photos but the entire floor was closed. Bummer. We still got to see Richard Avedon's exhibit. We also spent some time on the rooftop garden where I tasted an almost inedible affogato (blue bottle's espresso and so-called secret breakfast ice cream) and stared at the funny shapes in the glass sculpture no doubt made funnier due to the strange bits of mysterious breakfast ice crystals I was discreetly trying to pick out of my teeth.

Baker Beach, San Francisco, July 2009

2009-08-18T22:00:14-07:00

Tin-Tin