philadelphia

our last u.s. stop was philadelphia.  we went to attend the wedding of our friends hugo and jenn. we had a great time seeing a wide collection of old friends.  the ceremony was a beautiful indoor recreation of the paris park where hugo and jenn got engaged.  it was so fun to see everyone in their blacktie optional attire.  congratulations to hugo and jenn!

philadelphia pics

the second city

after three 12-hour days in the car plowing eastward, we were road-weary and antsy to stretch our legs. as we pulled into chicago at rush hour, steve and i had lots to look forward to on our visit. my brother, jordan, and his wife, hope, were putting us up for three days in their andersonville apartment, and steve's sister, caroline, was in town for one night for work. we had three full days where all we had to rely on was our feet, not a car!

chicago never disappoints. our appreciation for the city sneaks up on us a bit and sinks in a little deeper each time we visit. obviously, we always have great company in jordan and hope, who give us a taste of the chicago comedy scene they are immersed in, a life which is so different from our D.C. routine. the food is abundant and always good (if not good for you!). the city architecture and museums are marvel-worthy, and the mix of people and industries is interesting. typically, the only wild card is the weather. this time we got super lucky with a sample of the best chicago has to offer with unseasonably beautiful, warm sunny days and a few early summer thundershowers low over the rooftops to sing us to sleep.

we started our stay with a boozy, celebratory bang at hopleaf, one of j and hope's favorite neighborhood spots we frequent each time we visit. monday night was caroline's only night in town, and hope just got a big promotion and raise at second city, so we made a party out of it on back patio sampling pretty much everything on the belgian-heavy menu - mussels, frites, wine on tap, and a monstrous ham sandwich that may be better characterized as dessert. a full house that night in more ways than one, but we slept well indeed!

with j and hope at work during the day, steve and i spent our days attempting to do the same, taking care of "road business" and other general maintenance - hair cuts, oil change and tune-up, and catching up on email, bills, and mail that had piled up while we were away (thanks to carol for being our mail lady!). we feel at home among andersonville's many coffee spots, boutiques, and grocery stores, having gotten "stuck" there for a few extra days on a previous visit during hurricane sandy. by now, we've sampled just about every swedish breakfast the neighborhood has to offer. we spent one afternoon getting sun and exercise in lincoln park on the ocean-blue water of Lake Michigan. it's amazing how much being on the lake in the summer feels like you're on the coast, not in the heart of the mid-west. 

our favorite part of the visit was tagging along to jordan's comedy gigs. we admire how both j and hope are strategically and fearlessly building a career in chicago's competitive improv comedy and theater scene. hope is learning the ropes of producing at second city, and j is building a name for himself getting new auditions, new roles, and more exposure all the time. on wednesday night, we saw j in a preview of a second city director's sketch comedy show. after that wrapped up, we piled into his van and barreled across town, so j could make his debut performance of a five-minute solo routine at another venue. both shows were so fun and so funny. home by midnight after a full day of work and two shows, j had to get up and do it all again the next day. 

thanks again, j and hope, for giving us another great taste of chicago! you guys are killing it. 

eastward!

we left portland saturday morning and began our long drive back east.  our plan was to largely drive through, with very few daytime stops. it was a long drive, portland to chicago is 2100 miles.

that said, getting out of oregon we had one planned stop - in bend, oregon.  we wanted to go to bend because we had heard great things about the high desert town, but our real purpose was the beer.  we drove through the quaint town and straight to deschutes downtown bend location.  deschutes has a special cache, at least to me, in the craft beer world.  they were one of the first craft breweries in the country and are known for their high quality product.  whit and i were struck at first by the size and professionalism of the brewery and restaurant.  it's a large two-story building that seems outsized to serve the small bend community.  we got a sampler of all their beers and some decent food.  the beer was truly great.  i liked every option in the sampler.  i don't think i've ever felt that way at any other brewery.  each beer was so well balanced and clean.  really great stuff.

after bend we continued east and stuck to our plan - no other daytime stops. however, our dinner stop along the route included another surprise. landlocked boise, idaho, has some amazing sushi. i must admit, i was quite skeptical when whit navigated us to a run-of-the-mill shopping center in the boise suburbs, but when our plates of fresh, tender, melt-in-your-mouth rolls arrived, we were thoroughly impressed. yelp usually doesn't lead us astray, and this time was no different. we assume the quality sushi may be a result of the japanese that settled in this region during and after WWII internment.

the drive west to east is interesting.  in my mind, structured as it is in an east coast mold, this drive was the opposite of how the u.s. has evolved and developed.  we drove through the high desert, and then green, mesa-like eastern oregon and idaho.  further east we got into the rolling hills of wyoming and the flat prairie of nebraska.  it's all very beautiful, if vast and largely uninhabited.  driving into chicago, especially from the west, it becomes very clear why chicago has such sway in the midwest - it's the big city.  and it really is.

PDX

wednesday was a day in the car driving from napa through the redwoods en route to portland.  i have visited the redwoods before, but it was whitney's first time seeing the huge trees.  as we were already a bit behind schedule, we didn't hike through the forest, but we did get out and stare up at these giant trees.  the redwoods are awesome.

we spent thursday and friday in portland after a short drive up US-5 from wednesday night's terminus, roseburg, or. after exploring downtown and the legendary powell's books we headed east of the river to our guesthouse off division in the richmond neighborhood. we were happy to stay in a neighborhood where we could a go for a run through the residential streets, observe the locals, and fall into a more normal pace of life.  portland, like SF, is a city of neighborhoods, and we spent a fair bit of time exploring.  we walked through hawthorne, brooklyn, buckman, and roseway.

there's plenty to do and see in portland but it seemed like all we did was eat and drink.  we had two great meals in portland, which, even among the big time cities we passed through, has a great food scene.  the first night we ate at pok pok.  it's a trendy thai/vietnamese place with the best wings we've ever had - just an amazing blend of spices and sweetness with the perfect crunch. we also had a more elegant, classy experience with amazing pasta at ava genes down the street.

portland is known as the "city of roses" and was on the verge of being in full bloom on our visit.  everywhere roses.  we did a quick tour of the international rose test garden up in the hills of portland's west side.  the roses there were just about to come out.  each bush had 10-15 buds just waiting to burst.  those that had come out were beautiful and really fragrant!

as we were walking back to our apartment on thursday, whitney observed that portland is where 20 somethings go to retire.  it's the truth.  the young in portland seem so content in their place.  we watched the first episode of portlandia on our second night in the city and the creators make a similar joking assertion in the first five minutes of the series. hilarious.

our pics from portland

napa

we love napa.  before our good friends scott and kara's wedding last year in point reyes, whitney and i spent a couple days in the carneros area and have since been hooked.

this time we stayed in sonoma at a great little cabin on a farm a couple miles outside of town.  the rustic cabin, pictured below, was a really fun experience.  it was dark and quiet at night, bright and airy during the day. we really enjoyed the town of sonoma.  our first night in town we ate at a cute little place called the girl and the fig.  the very rich meal of local cheeses, meats and, of course, wine was delicious.  our second night we were lucky enough to meet up with our good friends from dc, aaron and megan, at Meritage Cafe after sampling more local fare at the sonoma farmer's market and cocktails from the excellent bartender at El Dorado Hotel - a really fortuitous, fun night.

during our three days we spent our time exploring vineyards in napa. we went to a number that were known for their zinfandels including biale and storybook. we had a particularly special experience at storybook, where we took a tour of the estate which ended with a tasting in their 100-year old wine cellar - a cave built into the side of a zinfandel-covered hill.  the zinfandel produced by the vintner received the highest rating ever given to a zin, 97. of course, we had to take their last bottle of that vintage off their hands. outside of our zin experience, we had some great cabs at hall vineyards and discovered there are some good merlots out there after all at peju.

we were having such a great time in napa that on our last night, in a bit of a wine haze, we considered staying for the rest of the week.  when we woke up the next morning though, we returned to our plan and hit the road.  we will be back!

more pictures from napa and sonoma