Home again, home again

Hey there all of you blog followers! We have been doing a terrible job of updates. Why? Because we were too busy out experiencing everything! And now we have landed safely back on the east coast and are re-charging at casa Paulson in Falls Church. Don't fret, we are going to continue to upload all sorts of good stories and such for you guys and gals, but in the meantime, check out our trip photos over on the Picasa page. We have a few hundred photos documenting our trip there, and a few more that have not been posted because we ran out of room on the account! So, enjoy the photos and look forward to more stories!

The Gwanderson Adventure

Portlandia, day 2

We started day two of our Portlandia adventure off with a bit of a slow start and a nice saunter through Beaverton. While checking out downtown, the library, and a park, we found Ananda, a yoga and meditation temple/community that advertises a Sunday service. We decided that might be a nice way to wind things down and get re-centered before leaving town and made ourselves a personal date to check it out on Sunday. Our next leg of the adventure was to scope things out in Hillsboro, which resulted in a rambling car journey through Hillsboro. All in all, Hillsoboro did not have too much to offer. It was kind of a mash up between weird funky neighborhoods from the 1950s and more modern planned communities that were totally cookie cutter and lifeless. By the time we were ready to leave Hillsboro, we were also hungry, so we checked out the Winco . . . Okay so we almost did not stop here because Anderson thought it just looked like some kind of Costco type place, and it is a good thing that Gwen talked us into it. Winco = great circus of a grocery store full of bulk items. This was crucial because while we wanted some bread and good cheese to accompany our apple for lunch, we also found a way to satiate our growing need for candy and sweets! Gummi bears, sour gummi worms, and some of sort of mix called a "Mt. Hood mix" got us good and sugared up for the next little while! With our stomached aching from carbohydrates, dairy, and sugary goodness, we headed back to Beaverton to kill time and prepare for our evening of culinary heavenliness. We paused for a quick look into how the Max works and for Gwen to call Work Source (an intercept point for job seekers and Oregon employers to make sure that applicants meet the application requirements for posted positions). This was a little defeating because if you don't have an Oregon drivers license, which duh, we don't, then you don't even get to have the chance to apply, regardless of your intentions to relocate to the state. So moving on from this bummer, we parked the car . . . Kind of illegally, hopped on the Max, and took it to the easy side of town, where we then hopped on a bus headed to the south east, Division St to be exact. Why all of the public transit fun, you might ask? Our journey was all in the name of locating and experiencing Pok Pok, one of the premier Thai restaurants in the nation, according to food critics. That's right, we were about to experience exquisite food that we could not even anticipate, and we were about to do it for a fraction of the cost. What!? Who does that?! We do, all courtesy of Jim Gould and Emily Karr, affectionately known as "Jimily." Their gracious gift of a gift card to the restaurant set us up or this total highlight of our trip. Our good fortune continued as what we expected to be a three hour wait turned out to be less than 10 minutes. We were pumped!

Pok Pok was insanely special and we were unprepared for the sheer amazingness of the food. Already surprised at how quickly we were seated, we were also impressed with the level of service. Our waiter was on point and very polite, and the smells of the restaurant . . Oh the SMELLS! Spices, fishiness, freshness - it was to die for. We wish we could capture the memory of the smells here for you via scratch and sniff, but our descriptions will have to do. To sum up the scents, let us just say that it was very authentic.

Never before had either of us been completely stumped looking over a menu. The chef at this world winning restaurant lived in different areas of Thailand, mostly Chiang Mai, and each dish also included some descriptions of Thai authenticity which we enjoyed, such as common foods found in markets, Northern Thai specialties, typical Thai drinking food-the spicy boar dish, which we ordered, which was orgasmic. And other such personal menu touches that really completed the experience. With the spicy boar dish we also ordered a catfish laab, which is minced catfish meat with greens and yummy spices as well. We ordered some sticky rice to complement the spiciness of our dishes. We wanted to top off our meals with some authentic brews as well and Pok Pok just happens to have specially delivered beers from Thailand. We ordered beer Lao and beer Lao dark, from Laos of course. Anderson's choice of beer Lao dark won the beer battle. It was unlike anything we had ever tasted. Deliciousness. Who woulda thunk that our favorite beer of the trip thus far would come from Laos?! We savored our dinners and sipped our beers, contemplating all the while about ordering a third dish because, yes, it's that good. We opted out of the third dish in favor of a walk around the area since it also seemed pretty excellent. Before leaving, we ordered the signature dish to take home to our hosts, Dan and Amanda, feeling it was unfair to experience such a great meal all for ourselves. We left the restaurant knowing that, until we go to Thailand, we will never again be able to eat Thai food with any true satisfaction . . . Anyone willing to get us to Thailand (or to get us - Gwen - Thai cooking lessons) feel free to speak up now.

We took a stroll through the neighborhood, enjoying the general vibe and style of the homes. We even stopped into a corner store and chatted with the clerk so we could learn more about the area. It's called Brooklyn, for all you curious types out there, and it was really mellow, eclectic, and hip. We decided to hit a bar in Goose Hollow on the way home, so hopped on a bus to get back to the Max. However, we then realized we had failed to get a photo in front of Pok Pok! Knowing this was unacceptable, we got off the bus and went back in for the photo . . . and dessert . . . and a few more Beer Lao Darks! That's right, we decided that it was too good to leave, so we went for round two. We ended our night of culinary extravagance with an ice cream sandwich of sorts - jack fruit ice cream with coconut and chocolate syrup on a folded piece of honey sweet cake-like bread topped with peanuts. Mmmm mmmm mmmm. Is your mouth watering? It should be - ours are . . . just had to clean off the iPad screen! With a few more Beer Lao darks, we were all set for an easy ride back to Beaverton, though Anderson's bladder was less patient! Our car didn't even get a ticket or towed, making day 2 of Portlandia a total success!