DAYS 26 - 28: Eugene, Portland, and Seattle

Thursday, October 18th - Sunday, October 21st, 2012 - Eugene and Portland, OR and Seattle, WA


10/18

We woke up in Crescent City, CA and headed straight out to the woods behind our campsite to explore the redwoods.  They were unbelievable!  We were in awe.

Hugging a SMALL redwood.

The woods at our campground.

Testing out the timer function on our phone camera.  It only took 15 times to get a shot that turned out.

Stump.

Crescent City, CA - KOA campground.

Breakfast - toast with peanut butter, bananas, and 'Queen Sofia's Urban Honey'.

We started our drive into Oregon around 1pm.  He were headed to Eugene, OR which means we had to make our way from the Pacific coast to the inland through the mountains.  The drive was INCREDIBLE.  It was a very narrow and curvy two-lane road that was absolutely beautiful.

We stopped in a small town called Cave Junction, OR to get gas and immediately discovered a food truck!  It was a pizza food truck, so we were very excited because we haven't stopped at a pizza truck yet.  It was called 'Rosie's Inferno Fired Pizza' and it was in the gas station parking lot.

The chef at the 'Rosie's Inferno'.

'Rosie's Inferno' menu.

What we got:

The 'Bianca'

The 'Phoenix'

Total (with tip): $19

Our pizza's in the 1000 degree brick oven - they only took 2 minutes to cook!

The Phoenix (chile oil base, chicken, fresh jalapeños, roasted red peppers, smoked mozzarella, and cilantro) and the Bianca (garlic olive oil base, mushrooms, ricotta, mozzarella, and basil).

The pizza's were absolutely fantastic and the crust was phenomenal!  It is amazing to believe that these were made so quickly out of a food truck!  We were very impressed and they tasted delicious.

Awesome retro sign I saw.

After stuffing ourselves with pizza, we continued our drive towards Eugene, OR.  We arrived in Eugene around 6pm and hoped to find somewhere to eat for dinner, but every food truck we found (there weren't many) was closed.

Instead, we found a cool little health food market to buy some ingredients to make dinner at our campground later that night.  The campground was in Albany, OR, about halfway between Eugene and Portland.  

Sweet potato tacos with sweet potato leaves, spicy mayo, avocado, and tomato relish for dinner.

Mitch's favorite - Adoboloco Hot Sauce from Hawaii.

10/19

Yay! I've been looking forward to this day the entire trip!  Today we stopped in Portland to eat at some trucks and then we were on our way to Seattle to visit our great friends, Krista and Ryan, who live there.

We got to Portland for lunch.  I found a food truck online that sounded pretty good, so decided to seek it out.

'Hog and Hen Acadian Kitchen' google search.

Thanks to the discovery of the 'Hog and Hen' online, it lead us to a huge row of food trucks!  Unfortunately, neither of us ended up eating there, but I want to give them a huge shout-out for leading us to all the food trucks near them!  If all food trucks were as easy to find as this one, our food truck hunting would be a lot easier!

Row of food trucks in Portland.  There was every kind of food truck you could think of!

I found a vegan food truck to order from (first one I've found on this trip!) and Mitch found a modern Asian truck to eat at.

'Homegrown Smoker Vegan BBQ' menu.

What I got:

Vegan BBQ Tempeh Slider

Vegan Portobello Slider

Vegan Mac n' Cheese with vegan chili 

Total (with tip): $8

Vegan BBQ truck.

Vegan slider and mac n' cheese.

Everything was SO GOOD!  It always amazes me how 'regular' food can be converted into vegan food.  Everything was so yummy and comforting and tasted great!  Plus, I got all this food for only $8! Pretty incredible.

'Phat Cart' food truck.

'Phat Cart' menu.

What Mitch got:

Crispy Chicken Bento Box

Crispy Shrimp and Chicken Dumplings

Coconut Juice

Total (with tip): $13

Shrimp and dumplings.

Crispy chicken bento box.

Mitch said the chicken was super, super crispy and delicious and it was served with sticky rice and veggies.  It had a spicy lime aioli drizzled on top which really added to the flavor.  The chicken dumplings were braised chicken and vegetables in wonton wrappers and deep-fried served with a sweet and sour sauce, as were the shrimp.  Every was very good and made fresh to order. 

Portland was whirlwind because we were literally only there for 20 minutes before we were back on the road again.  We couldn't find parking, so we parked in a loading zone and ordered and ate our food as fast as we could.  After our meal, we started our way to Seattle!

Seattle skyline.

We arrived at Krista and Ryan's house around 5pm.  It was so great to see them and awesome to know that we were going to be staying with them all weekend!  They just bought a new house in Mukilteo, WA (about 15 mins from downtown Seattle) AND just a had a baby in August.  It is such an exciting time in their lives and we are so lucky to be able to spend time with them!

Mitch, Ryan, baby Andie, Krista, and myself.

Andie Rose!

Mitch made dinner for us that night (someone had to break in the new kitchen!) and we hung out at the house for the night.  Everything was homemade with ingredients that Krista had in the pantry and it was all incredible!

What he made:

Pan-seared halibut with lemon garlic butter.

Pacific Northwest crab cakes with Adoboloco jalapeño aioli.

New York strip with roasted garlic and whiskey pesto.

Peach and apple crumble pie with sour honey whipped cream and poppy seeds.

10/21

Today we drove into Seattle to go to Pike Pier and walk around.  We decided that eating at the pier was considered eating at a food market, so we ate there instead of hunting for food trucks.

Space needle.

Pike Pier/Public Market.

Beef tongue.

Produce.

Krista suggested we eat a place called 'Beecher's Homemade Cheese'.  The line was out the door, so we knew it would good!

Lunch at the Public Market.

We met a guy who could solve a Rubix Cube in under 25 seconds!

What we got:

Ham and Cheese sandwich

Mac n' Cheese

Herb Cheese Curds

2 Local Beers

2 Coffees

Total (with tip): $36

Ham and cheese sandwich, curds, and mac.

Everything was so good!  We walked around the market for a while, then made plans to visit our friend, Dave, who lived about 5 minutes from downtown.  Dave is the lead singer of Mitch's favorite band, Aqueduct, who Mitch has become friends with over the past year.  He is one of the nicest and most talented guys you will ever meet! 

Dave and Mitch (and the dogs) at Dave's amazing house overlooking the water.

Check out Dave's band, Aqueduct, at:

www.aqueductisgoodmusic.com

After visiting Dave, we drove out to the Puget Sound to admire the views.  Even though it was raining a little, it was still beautiful.  

Formal family pic.

Drift wood.

Mitch made dinner again that night....

Cucumber and radish lettuce wraps with Cyprus Grove Humboldt Fog cheese and 

candied sesame seeds.

Whiskey chicken marsala and eggplant with roasted white sweet potatoes and local mushrooms.

Thank you so much to Krista and Ryan for letting us stay with them all weekend!  It was great to sleep in a real bed and not in our camper for a few days!

Tomorrow, we are on our way east through Washington and into Idaho and Utah.  After that, we will be driving into Wyoming and then down into Colorado to visit Mitch's brother, Collin, and cousin, Matt, who live in Silverthorne, CO.

Total Food Truck/Market Spending for 3 days: $76 (under budget)

Spending for 3 days in Oregon and Washington:

Gas: $294

Food truck/markets: $76

Coffee: $6

Groceries: $25

Campsite in Albany, OR: $28

TOTAL: $429 (Under budget!)

Leftover from our $6000 budget: $1091 - SIX DAYS LEFT! Do you think we can do it?

New posts to come:

Idaho

Utah

Wyoming

Silverthorne, CO

Denver

XO

Mitch and Laurel

DAYS 24 - 25: San Francisco, Cloverdale, Willets, and Crescent City, CA

Tuesday, October 16th - Wednesday, October 17th, 2012: San Francisco, Cloverdale, Willets, and Crescent City, CA


10/16

We woke up in Santa Margarita on Tuesday and explored the beautiful campground.  We started our way towards San Francisco around noon and got there around 4:30pm.  I found a place online called the 'SOMA Street Food Court' and we decided to check it out.  It was very easy to find and parking, surprisingly, was not a problem at all.

View from the Santa Margarita campground.

San Francisco skyline.

SOMA Street Food Park website.

The SOMA Street Food Park was amazing.  It was a paved lot with numbered spots for the different food trucks to come and park.  There was a covered and heated pavilion with picnic tables, flat screen TVs, free wifi, very nice bathrooms, an office, and beautiful landscaping.  

The owner must have a liquor license for the property because there was a permanent truck parked in the back corner that is always there selling beer and wine.  Food trucks are typically not allowed to sell alcohol, so the owner of this food court park did it up right with the stationary booze truck!  

Booze truck at SOMA.

Covered pavilion at SOMA.

We got some beers from the booze truck and walked around to explore all the trucks parked there.  Trucks come and go during the day - lunch is from 11-3 and dinner is 5-10.  We got there around 4:45, so all the trucks were just arriving for dinner.

What we got:

Corona

Local brew - I can't remember the name, boo :(

Total (with tip): $9

All the trucks looked very good, so we had a hard time trying to decide which one to go to.  We went to 'Gyro's on Wheels' first to get an hummus and pita appetizer.

What we got:

Hummus and pita bread

Total (with tip): $5

'Gyro's on Wheels' truck.

Hummus and pita bread appetizer.

Next, we went to a truck called the 'Southern Sandwich Co.'  They had a very southern comfort-type menu.  The chef was super nice and we told him all about our trip.  

'Southern Sandwich Co' menu.

Mitch and the chef, Juan.

After we ordered and paid, the chef told us that he included an order of brisket and pork for us to try as well!  

What we got:

Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese

Cornbread

Brisket and pork

Cole slaw

Total (with tip): $5 

(The mac n cheese and cornbread were only $3 total, so I tipped him $2 and he included the brisket and cole slaw for free!)

Mac n Cheese, cole slaw, and cornbread from 'Southern Sandwich Co.'

Brisket, bread and pickles.

The brisket and pork was perfectly smoked that morning and it was delicious and flavorful.  Mitch was so excited to eat them that he completely forgot to add the homemade hot sauce that the truck offered.  He was so disappointed, but the meat was amazing by itself, so he couldn't be too mad.  The mac and cheese was creamy and spicy and so good.  The cornbread was made to perfection and even had jalapeños in it.  Even the cole was spicy and delicious.  All in all, a great meal made by an awesome chef. 

Lady and the Trampin' some brisket.

Our final stop at SOMA was a truck called 'The Chairman.'  Mitch thought he recognized it from some cooking show he had watched.  It was a steam bun truck and there was a long line of people waiting to order, so we knew it would be good.

'The Chairman' food truck.

'The Chairman' menu.

We decided to order one of each of the steam buns offered from the menu.  

What we got:

Tender Pork Belly steam bun

Coca-Cola Braised Pork steam bun

Spicy Chicken steam bun

Crispy Miso Cured Tofu steam bun

Total (with tip): $17

All of the steam buns.

Crispy miso cured tofu with garlic-tofu mayo and baby choy sum.

Tender pork belly with turmeric pickled daikon and green shiso.

Coca-cola braised pork with savoy cabbage and preserved yellow mustard seeds.

Spicy chicken with toasted sesame puree, pickled carrots, cucumber and cilantro.

All of the steam buns were very good and all had their own unique flavor.  Mitch's favorite was surprisingly not the pork belly, but the spicy chicken one because the pickled carrots and cucumbers had a 'kimchi' flavor going on which he loves.  I ate the tofu steam bun and it was warm, comforting, full of flavor, and delicious.  

Driving towards the Golden Gate Bridge.

Bye bye San Fran!

After stuffing ourselves silly, we started our drive towards our campground in Cloverdale, CA, about a 2 hour drive.  The campground was at the top of a large mountain, so the drive to top on the crazy winding roads in the dark with the camper was pretty thrilling.

Posted on the door to the office at the campground.  Don't forget it!

10/17

We woke up and hiked around the gorgeous campground overlooking hills and mountains and vineyards.  It was pretty magnificent.  

Cloverdale campground view.  This picture doesn't do it justice!

Vineyards everywhere.

Mitch has a friend from Wisconsin, Matt, who moved to northern California a few years ago, so, since it was right on route, we decided to stop and see him.  The town he lives in, Willets, CA, was so cute and quaint.  Surprisingly, we found a lone food truck parked in a lot by itself, so we had to stop at it.

Willets, CA - Gateway to the Redwoods.

'Becky's Taco's' food truck - Willets, CA.

What we got:

Chicken Torta

Total (with tip): $6

I wasn't hungry, so that's all we got.  It was a smashed torta with a white bean puree, lettuce, tomato, onion, and salsa.  Mitch said it was very good, nothing extravagant, but still tasty.

Chicken torta.

After the food truck, we picked up a few things at the grocery store and waited for Matt to come meet us.  He lives in the mountains and knew we'd never find his house unless we followed him there.

Mitch and Matt.

Matt's beautiful home in the mountains.  The view was incredible!

Matt showed us around the property and then we sat on his porch, enjoyed the weather and the view, and drank a few beers.  We were seriously considering staying with him for a few days - it was just so beautiful! - but we knew we had to stay on track and be on our way. Thank you again to Matt for the amazing hospitality he showed us - he is, by far, one of the nicest guys you will ever meet!

The view!

We said our good-bye's and started our way towards Crescent City, CA, about a 4 hour drive.  Crescent City is right near the California/Oregon border and the drive up the coast was gorgeous!  Curvy roads and redwoods every where!  We stopped at a cool road side store in the middle of no-where that had redwood gifts and legend of Bigfoot items.

The Legend of Bigfoot store.

Redwoods everywhere.

The drive was awesome.

It was dark when we got to our campsite in Crescent City, but it was supposedly in the middle of a redwood forest, so we were excited to explore it the next morning.  Mitch made a delicious dinner and we called it a night.

Crispy eggplant and roasted garlic with angel hair pasta and sweet potato leaves.

Honestly, the best meals I eat are the ones Mitch makes at the campground!

Total spent on Food Trucks in 2 days: $41 (under budget)

Spending for 2 days:

Food truck food: $41

Gas: $262

Cloverdale campsite: $60 (By far the most expensive campsite we stayed at - I wonder why it was so much more?)

Bigfoot store: $9

Groceries: $7

Ice: $5

Crescent City campsite: $31.50

Total spent in 2 days: $415.50

Posts to come:

Eugene, OR

Portland

Mukilteo, WA

Seattle

Idaho

Utah

Wyoming

Silverthorne, CO

Denver, CO

XOXO

Mitch and Laurel