The first day of our trip was a bit of a disaster. We missed our flight due to a combination of our airport parking lot shuttle driver deciding to go on break after we boarded the shuttle, and the TSA forcing all passengers to get xrayed or patted down (it’s no longer random), causing the security checkpoint to take an hour… On a weekday morning! We were put on standby for another Portland flight (for a nominal fee of an extra $100), which was delayed by 45 minutes. That flight was full, but we somehow both got on the flight… in business class! We finally made it to Portland, picked up our rental car, checked into Park Lane Suites hotel, and walked to a delicious dinner down the street at Bastas. Coming from Colorado, we immediately noticed two things about Oregon: lush, green plant life everywhere and no sales tax. These things are a sharp contrast to Colorado’s high sales tax and barren, brown landscape.