Yeah I know I just had vacation back in February but I am so long for another one. Partly because the last trip to Hong Kong isn't a relex holiday but rather, a tight-scheduled trip filled with non-stop hopping from one place to another.
Finally, holiday is around the corner!
April 5
We both took half day off Thursday and start taking off at 2:30pm, with a bit worried about the wait at the border. Surprisingly, there's almost NO line up that we didn't even need to go through Duty-free shore to get ahead in the lineup!
With a few washroom stops, we arrived at our hotel in Oregon at 8:30pm, shortly after the sunset.
The room is cozy and large, with a small kitchen corner with microwave and sink. There's a sitting area with sofa as well.
We then started looking for our dining place. Since we haven't done too much research about restaurants in Oregon, we decided to go to the chain restaurants that we know, and we like: the Cheesecake Factory.
Luckily, my hubby got the laptop (with the free internet in the hotel room), we found out the address online. Punch in the GPS navigation system, and, there we go! Although...I am a bit concerned driving in some unknown vicinity in the dark without a map but only the GPS navigation...
OK...the navi system tells us to turn left and we arrive at a shopping mall seems bigger than metrotown. But where is the restaurant?
We then drove around the parking lot and almost lost the sense of direction. At this time, navi system is no use since it doesn't help much in the parking lot.
It's 9:30 already and we are hungry...
Finally, we deicided to enter the shopping mall (luckily the entrance is not locked yet) and looked for the shopping directory.
And Bingo! We found it!
Then we drove again and park closer to the restaurant.
The server seems see "through" our hungry face that she right away brought bread to us!
With cheesecake factory, portion is always big (or anywaywhere in US, food portion is big). Eventhough I am hungry but still can't finish half of my dishes. (but yeah..I save some room for the cheesecake dessert).
With the filled stomach and my craving for cheesecake satisfied, we drove another 20 minutes back to the hotel.
April 6
My hubby got up early at 6, to get ready for the track day event. In fact, that's the main purpose of this trip. Together with Nic and a few others, he's going to spend the day on the track.
Before he took off, he let me know that the "wives" are getting together and go shopping in the downtown Oregon. And of coures I"m more than happy to join. :)
After getting up at 8:30 and had breakfast...I'm at the lobby and start waiting for someone I have never met before.
In the lobby, I saw a Chinese lady chatting with an Indian lady. But I'm afraid to say hi since I assume all of us in the shopping group are Chinese.
Finally, the "leader" in our group showed up. And yeah, we are all part of the "group" (4 ladies and 1 guy) and yeah...I gotta speak English...
We walk to the nearby plaza, took the bus, then transfer to the "tram" that take us to downtown.
We arrived at the Pioneer Square...And right away, we went up the top floor.
Our first stop: Forver 21.
In total, we spent 1.5 hour in the same clothing store that is about half the size of Zara. Can you imagine??
Everyone of us went back and forth the changing room.
One of us got 10 items, but only for $200!
I got 3, around $75.
Finally, it's lunch time. It's a nice Japanese buffet restaurant and price is not bad either. Quite a lot of food selections.
After lunch, we shop for another 1.5 hour and took the tram to the race track.
But too bad we missed a tram and wait for extra 10 minutes. By the time we got there they are all done and we missed their final lap, oh well.
Me and my hubby then started go shopping in BB and Costco on our own.
Dinner in Red Lobster.
Seriously, I would say I enjoy the cheese scones more than the entree. The lobster is not "fresh" and doesn't taste too well.
April 7
Although we don't have lots of time, we still manage to go to the factory outlet that took us 40 mins drive. We can only shop for an hour (but we spent quite a lot though). I guess we got too excited in shopping just because everything is TAX FREE!
It's amazing that it's sunny and warm (like August) yesterday but so rainny and cold today. I felt so blessed that we had such a nice day yesterday that both of us enjoy our activities.
On the way back, I visited my UBC classmates who lived in Seattle. The 4 hour drive to Seattle seems so long as it's such a rainny and we are a bit exhaused (not enough sleep).
They took us to Microsoft campus and we took a few pictures.
After dinner, we drove back to Vancouver.
Since the tax free allowence has increased from $250 to $400 recently, we decieded that we can declare everything we bought as there should be no where close to $800 for both of us...and yet... after counting the receipts...we did spend $660US and that is almost $720Cdn... Those are just the goods we brought back..not counting hotel, gas, meal...
Happiness comes with a price...
By the time we got home, it's already 12am.
That concluded the Oregon trip...
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| Oregon Trip |
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