After not having been to a wedding for literally years, we went to
our second wedding in a few months – this one in Salem, OR, with the happy couple being Robert Mosher (son of our long-time friends Tom and Diane Mosher) and Kaila Studebaker. We went up a few days in advance to do the sightseeing in Portland that we’ve never managed to get around to.

We had perfect fall weather (if a bit on the warm side) while there, which was lovely as we visited the Columbia Gorge, going out to Multnomah Falls and getting as far as the Bonneville Dam. (The views of the salmon running the fish ladders to get past the dam were great!)

In Portland itself we visited the International Rose Test Garden and Japanese Garden, both lovely, as well as the Audubon Society of Portland Nature Sanctuary. There was a wedding (not the one we were going to) taking place in the Rose Garden while we were there – that must have cost someone a pretty penny. We stayed in the Jantzen Beach area, which was pretty nice except for that whole interstate/trying to get over the bridge in traffic thing…ugh. We wandered through the Portland Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning and just wanted to cry over the beautiful produce and other food available there…plus were momentarily distracted by an a cappella group named Portland Timbre who said they’d be auditioning for the Sing Off! tv show soon. (Good luck!)

For food/drink, Portland has a lot to offer, but we wound up focusing on brew pubs, visiting the McMenamin’s in Edgefield (built in 1911 as a county poor home!) and the McMenamin’s Market St Pub in Portland. We’d have gone to a third McMenamin’s (Crystal Ballroom, or the Kennedy School) but decided to give Deschutes Brewery a shot, visiting their pub in Portland. What can we say … we like pubs and pub food (which really was pretty upscale, anyway). We also wound up downtown again on Sunday morning – despite nearly being thwarted by roads blocked for a running event – so we could visit Stumptown Coffee Roasters (for a true Portland coffee experience) and Voodoo Doughnuts (we had the signature Portland Cream Doughnut, but worth a visit just to see the crazy (and sometimes risque) variety).

So we went for a wedding! Yes, we did eventually get there. The nuptials took place on Sunday late afternoon in Independence, a short drive from Salem. Quite a nice affair and a good time was had by all.

Some photos follow – click each to see full version.