Ok, so I'm not going anywhere exotic, but believe you me, if I had the opportunity to plant myself in a scene like the above shot, I'd be there in a heartbeat! No, no jet-setting or international travel for me this time.

Instead, I'm "only" going to Portland, hello, the vegan mecca of the universe as we know it -- or at least of the Pacific Northwest. And it's not exactly a vacation either, although I'm trying to put myself in "vacation mode" anyway. We're going down this evening to help a long-time close friend & new Portland resident celebrate her birthday (today) and also have a little early celebration of a monumental birthday of my own, which lands on Superbowl Sunday this year. I think there might even be cake!

So, I'm giving the blog a bit of a kiss off for a few days, taking it easy, relaxing with good friends, and I promise to come back early next week with some spectacular new eats and tales to tell from PDX.