Fitbloggin 2013: Expectations, Travel, and Doughnuts

I wrote today’s blog post while I was in the Portland airport trying to wrap my head around all that is Fitbloggin.

Just when I was worried that this year wasn’t going to be as good as the last, just when I thought that maybe I should have stayed home… Fitbloggin caught me by surprise and reminded me of why I was there.  It was about these people.

Official Conference Photo (Source)

This year was a lot different for me.  I didn’t have that fresh “I just lost 80 lbs” story to share… and I already knew a lot more about blogging.  A lot of the ladies who I’d met last year and followed over the year weren’t able to make it, and I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into.

Despite my (dare-I-say) hesitation, I packed up my workout gear, a pair of kicks, and some nighttime clothes… and I was off.

I arrived in Portland early on Thursday and was quickly whisked away to The Nines via taxi.  The Nines was… well, GORGEOUS.  Everything about the event hotel was PERFECTION.  I loved the rooms, I loved the lobby, I adored the rooftop bar, and I even really liked the room keys. Seriously.

Being that I was early, I had a chance to settle into my little room  And lounge a little on that gorgeous fainting chaise.  Yeah… that’s what we’ll call it.  I didn’t faint on it, but BOY did I lounge there!

Thursday, I had planned to meet up with Marlene from Nosh My Way to explore Portland.  Neither one of us had specific plans for Thursday, so we connected through the power of Facebook.  After meeting up in the gorgeous lobby of the Nines, we headed out to explore and get some grub!

We ended up dining at the Oldest Restaurant in Portland Huber’s Cafe, and I had a grilled turkey salad that I really liked and a lovely glass of Pinot Gris on a patio… add a new friend, and I was certainly happy.

After lunch, Marlene and I decided to head to the notorious Voodoo Doughnuts.  We’d both heard of them, but hadn’t ever tried them and what better time to enjoy donuts than when you are not hungry.

The line was pretty long, despite it being a 24 hour location, and the list of donut flavors was enormous to say the least.

I went with a maple crueller and one of their most popular doughnuts:  The Old Dirty Bastard.  The name alone made me want to buy it, but it also was drizzled with peanut butter and had oreos on it.  Done and done.

We sat outside and broke into the bag… the crueller wasn’t even close to being my favorite and sadly I only ate about a bite or two of it.  And, I die for Maple Donuts… so you know it was just ok.

Now, the Dirty Old Bastard?  You know that was good.  Thank goodness I was able to only eat a small portion of it… but wow.  It was a little hard trashing the rest, but it had to be done!

Tiffany also shared with me that Voodoo is coming to Denver, so I’ll have another chance to try more…

After Voodoo, Marlene and I enjoyed the walk back to the hotel and I headed immediately to the room to shower for the opening night reception. Portland was HUMID and HOT all weekend, and I definitely felt the heat.

To be continued….