Geo: 37.6775, -77.5881After scoring some more tea, J and I took the train downtown to walk along the canal where we spent an hour or so checking out the cool and interesting vendors at the Saturday Market (http://portlandsaturdaymarket.com). It was a great place to pick up gifts to bring home. My daughter got a hand carved wooden rack for her jewelry and I considered some whimsical boxer shorts before settling on handmade caramels. Really good! The lady who makes and sells them was partnering with a local chef to create a special evening of caramel-inspired/infused dishes. I wish I'd be around for that.During the afternoon I had some alone time that I spent looking around some of the gardens and shops in the Mississippi Ave area. I thought hard about buying a slab/block of salt for ... read more

Geo: 45.5593, -122.642After enjoying the free breakfast at the Best Western, during which we scanned our guides for activity options, we set out for the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum at The Dalles (pronounced with a long A and silent E). The drive to the east took us to a section of the mountains that are considerably drier and browner than the lush, green landscape we had gotten used to seeing. The museum was filled with frontier and exploration memorabilia. The architecture of the place did a nice job of uniting the inside of the museum with the outside gardens and displays. There are a few live raptors in site as well. We had a good chuckle at the repeated mentions of how far over budget Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery ran. ... read more

Geo: 37.5406, -77.4334Just a quick note to say that my flights with Jet Blue from Richmond to Boston and from Boston to Portland were the closest thing to pleasant I've experience in air travel for some time. The flights were on time, the crew and gate staff were pleasant. I had a free bag in the cargo hold an I wasn't crammed like a sardine into my seat. Really, most of us don't ask for much. The snacks and drinks were freely and generously offered to boot.Also, the Boston airport has plenty of good walking area, free wifi and decent food options. Thank you, BOS!... read more

Geo: 9.92, -84.15Our last day began with some slightly squished muffins from the Auto Mercado in San Jose that we bought yesterday. Actually, the 3 chocolate chip muffins were in good shape, but they seemed to have given the one blueberry muffin quite a beat down in the pastry bag.Mom did a little reading about the area of San Jose that we are in. Apparently it is known as the Beverly Hills of Costa Rica. Well, I don't think Beverly Hills needs to be too worried about losing its status to Escazu. It's a bit cleaner, has a few nicer shops and restaurants and is home to the Country Club of Costa Rica, but it's not exactly dressed to impress. Still, it's our last day and we wanted to get out and see what luck would ... read more

Geo: 9.92, -84.15Mainor arrived about 10am to take us to San Jose for the last few days of our trip. As we drove back over the mountains to get to the Central Valley Mainor pointed out places where Ticos like to buy cheese and they place where he and his family went for New Year's Eve. He says there are many places up above the Central Valley where you can look down and see the fireworks ov many different small towns on one night. As a bonus, it's not cold in Costa Rica on New Year's. We stopped at a roadside stand and had cheese empanadas for lunch. They were a little salty, but they hit the spot.It doesn't look like too many people spend time in San Jose when they visit. I wasn't able to ... read more