Washington, Oregon, and Us - Day Five

The day was very productive, more so than any other day so far on our trip.

The first stop for us was the Lan Su Chinese Gardens in Chinatown in Portland. The place was small and intimate, with waterfalls and separate rooms across the garden. The environment was nice and peaceful and a perfect example of how to create a garden. There were some ping pong tables by the lake, and before we left, we played a few games for fun. There was a bird that flew into the lake and grabbed a fish right before us, which was really amazing to witness.

We were feeling a little hungry and found that we were near Voodoo Doughnut, a really popular stop in Portland. The line was full and took nearly two hours, but it's just one of those spots that you have to visit because it's so famous. The variety of donuts they carry is amazing and they have some really absurd choices, including their famous Voodoo doll (which squirts blood, or jelly, when bit into), maple bacon (which, as you would imagine, has bacon on top), and donuts with cereal on them, such as Fruit Loops or Cap'n Crunch. The donuts were tasty and interesting to eat, which is always a good combination when it comes to food.

The Portland Japanese Garden was next for us, which is located near the International Rose Test Garden. The garden was much larger in comparison to the Lan Su Chinese Garden. There were some amazing spots with bridges, waterfalls, sand spots, and trees, of course. The Old Church, which is Portland's oldest church, was our next stop. The church is closed on Sundays (how ironic) so we'll be going back to step inside.

I had heard The Bite of Oregon was taking place this weekend, which is a festival offering music, food and drinks. We decided to stop by there to grab something to eat, which turned out to be real fun. We had some gyros followed by some authentic cannolis. The Bite of Oregon was taking place right beside the Columbia River Gorge, which is on the exact opposite side of our hotel in Vancouver. We made a quick stop to Mill Ends Park, which is the smallest park in the world. This was fun to see, because it's literally two feet in size. It's officially recognized as a park though, which makes it the world's smallest park.

We ended up visiting the Pioneer Courthouse Square afterward, which is known as Portland's living room. This is an amazing place with such beautiful space, where people come in and hang. It's a terrific place to hang out and have coffee and just relax in the city of Portland. We also took a trip down to their mall and went to Made in Oregon, a store dedicated to Oregon memorabilia. We came to our hotel afterward and only went back outside to get some quick food from Burgerville, a chain of burger joints only available in Washington and Oregon.

It's official. We're extending our trip by two more days!