canada: part 1

so, we started this part of the journey by taking a ferry from anacortes, washington, to sydney, canada. the ferry ride was beautiful, but to my disappointment we did not see any whales. . . we landed in victoria the first night, after having our car searched at the border. 

who knew pepper spray was illegal to possess? 

not me. 

whoops.

 but, alas, we made it to our first spot safe and sound. 

parker and i on the ferry!

view from the boat

here are some pics from the touristy city of victoria. . .

the capital building at night

the harbor was quite impressive

we got our first batch of bills. . . HOLLA!! 

we will need this. canada is effing expensive. 

it's been a while. . .

whoa!! it has been longer than i anticipated. . . just found wi-fi at a quaint little coffee house in tofino. but hey, 

WE ARE IN CANADA!!!!

boom. 

skillet diner

best. find. ever. 

and, home of the famous bacon jam.

yes, bacon jam.

we wanted to go to the food cart version of this place, and when looking online to see where they were located, parker discovered they had opened a diner!

 we went with our friends kaylie and zack, and were ready to grub down on skillet diners famous fried chicken and amazing drinks. 

parker got the fried chicken dinner, which comes on top of a corn waffle. hello! can you say heaven in your mouth?

and i got a kale caesar salad. MY FAVORITE! how did they know?

yes. 

don't forget to check out the foods and drinks tab for more info on all of the restaurants we have been and loved!

the breakfast to cure

we went back to meat cheese bread for our last meal in portland before heading to seattle. it was amazing as expected, with breakfast burritos to cure any ailment. 

it was a great way to end this leg of the trip with a bang. 

bon appetit! 

crazy nights

good last night in portland!

in celebration of seeing tristan for a night, things got a wee bit wild...

we had a night of fun, and thats all i'll say :)

Climb Hills

     Yesterday Tessa and I went on our first ride together of the trip. Going west of Portland and blindly going up a category two hill climb with and average of a 5.1% grade ( I know that doesn't sound like much but its pretty F@#$ing steep!) and then riding a hilltop road toward the rose gardens and back down into the pearl. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into but that is what I love about cycling. About half way up the climb I turned back down the hill to go find Tessa and cheer her on only to find her panting in exhaustion. We stop to catch our breathes thinking of just turning around and cruising down the hill back into Portland, but no little Tessa wanted to carry on! We got back on our saddles and kept our legs spinning dreaming of the top.

I'm King of the world!

This is Tessa's French Alps finish face! Words can not describe the look on her face when she finally made it to the top with me.  Her face was blushed red and sweat dripping off her brow. Ironically we then turned onto a road named Skyline the oddly looked a lot like the skyline we grew up by. Tessa is now addicted to the pain and suffering of getting up a giant hill, and the relief and glory of going back down. . . I'm very proud of her :)


Parker.

sensory overload

while alex, bailey, and ian were in town, we went to the rose test gardens of portland. it was so beautiful, and the smells were out of this world! i have never been the biggest fan of roses, but this made me have a completely different view of them and how they are produced. everywhere you turned there was a new smell hitting your nose, it was quite the experience. 

there was a really sweet amphitheater that reminded me of machu picchu.

we were in heaven smelling all of the roses.

i think the group favorite was the "julia child"...

pretty perfect name for the best smelling rose, if you ask us!

here it is in all of its glory:

we also went to the pittock mansion right up the road, 

talk about being loaded and having a sweet property.

cheers!

meat cheese bread

who really needs much else? anyways, we went to a little deli called meat cheese bread two days ago, and my expectations for sandwiches increased for sure. we went with our friends alex, bailey, and ian, and the table was silent as we scarfed down the delectable delights.

i had the grilled green been sandwich, with bacon relish, soft boiled egg, parmeson, and aioli.

parker had the roasted pork loin sandwich, with pickled carrots, farmed greens, and mustard vinaigrette.

we left with no complaints, and all in awe. 

best hot chocolate of your life.

try this! go here! do it now! sterling coffee roasters, an amazing coffee spot, has the best hot chocolate of your life. i know, hot chocolate is not espresso or a cappuccino. . . 

but you have to try it. 

just a little sneek peek of a chocolate bar in a cup...

dinner at clyde common

tonight we experienced dinner at clyde common with our wonderful host of the night, philly. it was great, and it was beautiful enough to sit outside and enjoy our eats. here is a taste of what the table had. . .

july vegetables and baby radish over truffle yogurt.

 chicharrones with lemon and pimenton.

 roasted summer tomatoes, chevre, and basil on a baguette.

 pappardelle pasta with calabrian chilis, leeks, shrimp and lemon. 

 the board: with marinated beets, chevre, hazelnuts, smoked ham, and a shot of prosecco.

pork belly with zucchini puree, summer squash, and hazelnuts. 

there was also chicken fried chicken livers... but they were eaten before i could get  a picture... whoops!!

amazingly seasonal and delicious. 

nuff said. 

meandering portland...

so, we have been in portland since saturday morning. in that time we have consumed cart food, some amazing coffee, and lots of vitamin d from the sun. we are super stoked because portland served as a reunion with megan as well! we attended her sisters wedding where we all got down with some serious dance moves. here is a sneak peak of some of the things that we three stooges have gotten into these last few days...  

wedding bronco twinsies 

dapper parker (i'm a lucky girl!)

and bestie reunions (best ever.)

not to mention... we got to go to volcano cones and see melissa! 

yum yum yum

banana ice cream delights!

it actually helped with the after wedding hangover.

here is all of us loving life.

cheers to portland and naked bike riders!