Whenever I travel north I check the weather and try and pack accordingly. Somehow I always end up with sandals and sundresses and have to borrow clothes from everyone I know. Lucky for me, I know a lot of people in Oregon that can both lend me clothes and somehow put up with all my whining. The same people drive me around the city and the countryside, build forts for me to relax in, and lounge around spas with me. It’s no wonder why it’s hard to come home. I planned my trip to Oregon by way of New York thinking that surely ten days would be enough time. It never is. My first food stop, as usual, was the flavor spot for a dutch taco, for those uninitiated that breakfast sausage and maple cream folded into a perfect waffle.

Also as usual we finished the waffle and immediately wanted another one because they are so damn delicious but instead we headed over to pick up another friend for our trip to the Oregon Coast. Leesha wasn’t quite ready yet so Hannah and I waited for a nearby bar to open and came in with the other Tuesday morning regulars.

After the beautiful drive and seeing the sights of the coast in the laziest way possible we made it to the Ft. George Brewery in Astoria for some much needed drinking. It was, after all, really cold out.

The best part about drinking at a brewery is you can just say, “one of each please” and you can try it all. “One of each” actually became a theme later in the week with food as well. After drinking we wandered around Astoria a little more.

The shops all closed at 5 so we really had no choice but to head to another bar, this time on the docks where I could keep my eyes peeled on the water searching for whales. When a sea creature finally did breach I yelled “a walrus” but later learned that Oregon is not in the actual arctic and it was indeed a sea lion.

Since I was sharing pics on Instagram I kept getting tips on other places to go and we got to see the goonies house.
And while we were up there we could hear the barking of more sea lions below and I soon found myself breaking onto private property with two random little girls to come and take this shot.

It was amazing.

The next day, I spent a long time laying in bed looking at the weather outside, too scared to get out of bed. Watching Joanna’s Instagramming made me want to check out Junior’s cafe and my friend Claire picked me up and we went..

We had an awesome sassy waitress and I definitely enjoyed the Vegan potatoes with vegetables and tofu sauce. And toast with marionberry jam. I love that every single place in Portland has homemade jam and secret aardvark sauce. Also, I learned that all servers in the state of Oregon are happy to tell you what is vegan and gluten free. Even if you don’t ask, they intuit that you are omitting dairy products and suddenly say, “hey that bread has milk products in it”. Here you can’t even ask about bread at places like Whole Foods without getting the ole “girl you be crazy” eyes.

After filling up on an excessive amount of food and coffee Claire and I headed to the Loyly spa for some much needed heat and lounging about. It was here that I decided I needed to open an inexpensive lounging spa in Austin, but what would be the hot weather equivalent of a good steam? A fancy walk in freezer? Super cold cucumber misters? I have to figure the details out, I can promise there will be hammocks and a swim-up bar. Loyly was lovely, vegan friendly and, I think 15 dollars to hang out in the steam room, the dry sauna, the showers, and the lounging area. Masks and massages were extra. I was able to raise my core temperature enough to make it through the day.

Later that night my Vida Vegan week unofficially started when I met Jojo, Randi, and Mandi at Portobello where we ate pretty much everything on the entire menu.

Everything was amazing, I love their gnocchi

But the potato pizza might have been my favorite. Or the beet tartare. Or the salted caramel sundae with homemade coconut whip and toasted pine nuts. It’s hard to say.

So that’s my pre-con fun, stay tuned and be amazed by all the things I ate in the following days. I still can’t believe it.