Whoville to Cascade Locks

We made it. Cascade Locks looks like it's really beautiful, but because we arrived at night it's difficult to tell how beautiful.

The drive down was a little busy. The border crossing was a two hour wait. I thought it might be an hour, but alas no, we waited two hours. After that long wait, it seemed like no time at all to reach Seattle. Of course the approach to Seattle and leaving Seattle was crazy busy with traffic. It was bumper to bumper for a few hours of travel. Our expected time on the GPS kept getting longer and longer as the day went on. Oh well.

Instead of driving straight to our hotel to drop our stuff and then head to Portland for dinner, we had to change our plans because the running store where I was to pick up my race kit was closing at 7 pm.  db reset the GPS, and our route said our arrival time would be 6:40 pm (this was quite different from where we had started in the day -- 4 pm arrival time). We were close, so close to reaching our destination, but I desperately needed a bathroom break. I always try to keep well hydrated before a run and had been drinking water all day so I needed to stop. We took the next exit to a gas station, and pulled over. It took us no time at all to get back on the freeway, and we were moving closer to the running store. There were a few wrong turns, but we finally found our way into this cute, happening neighbourhood in the northwest. The street was narrow and tree-lined with beautiful old buildings that have been turned into businesses. There were lots of restaurants, and cafes, and the street was humming with activity. I parked and we hopped out of the car and then...db couldn't find his wallet. Ahhhh! We decided that I would run into the the running store to pick up my race kit and then we'd drive back to the gas station where we made our pit stop.

The running store looked amazing, but I only had time to grab my kit and go. I ran back to the car to find db searching every corner of the car. My mind was racing. We'd have to cancel credit cards, take out cash to pay for everything, and get all of db's ID replaced. Ahhhh! I got back into the drivers side and sought around. I found it! I was so relieved to feel that George Costanza sized wallet wedged between the door and the seat. db was so relieved.  We caught our breath.

db found a new route for us to take us to dinner at HUB (Hopworks Urban Brewery). We found it online at the Veg Portland website. It's so nice to let the server know that you're vegan and they totally get it. We didn't have to define vegan. A regular pub menu, and veganizing items is listed as an option. Welcome to Portland. I love it so far. HUB's beer is organic and delicious. We ordered a couple of beer while we waited for a table in the brew pub that was much, much larger than I expected, and it was packed.  Sorry there are no photos, but I was so tired that by the time I remembered photos we were heading back to the car.

We drove out of Portland, and here we are in Cascade Locks on the Columbia River. I can't wait to actually see it all tomorrow! I didn't bring my plug to add photos to the computer, so I'll have to post photos once I get home.