I finally made it to VooDoo Doughnut! In fact – I made it to VooDoo Doughnut (original) and VooDoo Doughnut, Too! A few times over.

Long story.

We accidentally went to VooDoo Doughnut, Too! instead of the Original. Because I wanted to deliver an authentic Portland experience, I insisted that we go to the Original, not Too! So we set off. And ended up getting a bit turned around and headed back across the Burnside Bridge accidentally. We passed Too! again. Gavin – “Mom, can I just like, have a doughnut?” Not yet, sweetie. Mom’s slightly neurotic and is trying to make the VooDoo Doughnut experience perfect for Gram and Pop.

In effect, over the next hour or so, I got my Chevy Chase on and turned the Burnside Bridge and the pretty view of Portland into our version of Big Ben and Parliament. “Look, Dad! It’s the White Stag sign!” This quickly turned into “Ugh. It’s the White. Stag. Sign. Again. Where are the doughnuts?!” Somehow, I don’t think my mom got a decent picture of this iconic sign (the one in my header) despite all this. We finally did make it past the Original, saw the crowds (like insanely huge, gigantic crowds waiting in line to get a lil powdered-sugar delight) and headed BACK over the Burnside Bridge to Too!. I drove around so much that my kids eventually fell asleep and abandoned all hope of actually getting to eat a doughnut.

Cool fact about the Burnside Bridge: there’s a skatepark under the east end of the bridge that’s featured in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Free Willy.

Luckily, I delivered. Eventually. We arrived at Too!  and ordered up a few Apple Fritters, a few Arnold Palmers, vanilla frosted (Grace), chocolate frosted (Gavin) and quite possibly the world’s biggest glazed doughnut to take home as a treat for Kenny. Our trip was totally PG, so we didn’t try any of the naughty ones, nor did we try the maple bacon bar. Hey – we have to save something for next time!

The verdict? A fun place to visit. +Bonus points for properly spelling doughnut and playing cool music.