Three years later I return to Portland. Turns out I still love it just as much.
Mike's friend was getting married there so he asked if I wanted to make a weekend of it.
We hit up the expected stops: Portland Saturday Market, coffee for me, VooDoo doughnuts, breweries, Washington Park and the Rose Garden, Powell's, a concert, Salt & Straw, food trucks....all lovely. We also threw in some hiking and a little time in Vancouver, WA.
We had a really good time! Feel free to check out some photos and tips below!
The Portland Saturday Market was either less than I imagined or I was just really hungry. Either way we ended up exploring a nearby bridge, grabbing lunch at one of the stands and watching kids play in the fountain while we ate.
Washington Park & the Rose Garden still amaze me. I think I could spend an entire day there.
I continue to be amazed by their biking scene. I've never seen a family of bikers on Chicago streets. It doesn't feel safe enough. Portland...of course.
Salt & Straw is the hot ice cream place in Portland and I think one just opened in LA .. (i know...hot ice cream...haha). When we met up with my friend she advised to avoid it since the lines are always huge. I'm generally not a fan of places I have to wait in a huge line that has a bunch of hoopla involved. Best tactic go at the end of the day. We finished a concert and Mike felt like something sweet. It was 10:30, they close at 11 so we headed to the 23rd street location. There were definitely people there, but no line and the girl who helped us was super nice! (Then again...it is Portland. The nice factor is at a different level.)
I had Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache (I think...I'm honestly having a hard time remembering), Mike had Chocolate Gooey Brownie.
I think I would say I enjoyed it more than Jeni's... just my humble opinion.
We went hiking for a day in the columbia river gorge. This was definitely Mike's favorite part of the trip (he looked forward to it the whole time) and if it wasn't my favorite, it was definitely up there. It was hard for me to choose.
At the beginning of our hiking adventure I definitely wasn't understanding one of the most important parts of hiking, slowing down and experiencing it. Mike gently reminded me a couple times "Are you in a hurry? Do you want to get somewhere?" I think I was so focused on how many trails we could visit, rather than having a full experience at them. Turns out the full experience won.
We started at a couple overlooks, like Crown Point, and our first (and I think my favorite) hiking spot was Latourell Falls. It wasn't super crowded, allowed for some exploration and there was another waterfall hidden at the top! We stopped at a dell and Bridal Veil and made our way to the main attraction Multnomah Falls. (here's a good photo) Yes, it was most definitely beautiful. It was also very crowded. We hiked up the mile hill to the top of the water fall. At the beginning I saw a Switchback 3 of 11 sign and wondered, 'what's a switchback?' I quickly figured out as we kept climbing.
After Multnomah Falls we were ready to check out Hood River and the breweries there. We went to Full Sail where we could watch the kite boarders outside the window. Apparently professional kite boarders come there to train.
On the way back to Portland, we drove along the Washington side of the river and we got to see Mount Hood :)
We ended each day tired. Which I think is a good sign. This night we got VooDoo doughnuts and sat in the lobby by the fire with our feet up.
We got back late Tuesday and it was too soon. Until next time, Portland!
Mike's friend was getting married there so he asked if I wanted to make a weekend of it.
We hit up the expected stops: Portland Saturday Market, coffee for me, VooDoo doughnuts, breweries, Washington Park and the Rose Garden, Powell's, a concert, Salt & Straw, food trucks....all lovely. We also threw in some hiking and a little time in Vancouver, WA.
We had a really good time! Feel free to check out some photos and tips below!
The Portland Saturday Market was either less than I imagined or I was just really hungry. Either way we ended up exploring a nearby bridge, grabbing lunch at one of the stands and watching kids play in the fountain while we ate.
Washington Park & the Rose Garden still amaze me. I think I could spend an entire day there.
 |
| the roof in the wedding - basically the only photo i took at the wedding...whoops |
I continue to be amazed by their biking scene. I've never seen a family of bikers on Chicago streets. It doesn't feel safe enough. Portland...of course.
Salt & Straw is the hot ice cream place in Portland and I think one just opened in LA .. (i know...hot ice cream...haha). When we met up with my friend she advised to avoid it since the lines are always huge. I'm generally not a fan of places I have to wait in a huge line that has a bunch of hoopla involved. Best tactic go at the end of the day. We finished a concert and Mike felt like something sweet. It was 10:30, they close at 11 so we headed to the 23rd street location. There were definitely people there, but no line and the girl who helped us was super nice! (Then again...it is Portland. The nice factor is at a different level.)
I had Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache (I think...I'm honestly having a hard time remembering), Mike had Chocolate Gooey Brownie.
I think I would say I enjoyed it more than Jeni's... just my humble opinion.
We went hiking for a day in the columbia river gorge. This was definitely Mike's favorite part of the trip (he looked forward to it the whole time) and if it wasn't my favorite, it was definitely up there. It was hard for me to choose.
At the beginning of our hiking adventure I definitely wasn't understanding one of the most important parts of hiking, slowing down and experiencing it. Mike gently reminded me a couple times "Are you in a hurry? Do you want to get somewhere?" I think I was so focused on how many trails we could visit, rather than having a full experience at them. Turns out the full experience won.
We started at a couple overlooks, like Crown Point, and our first (and I think my favorite) hiking spot was Latourell Falls. It wasn't super crowded, allowed for some exploration and there was another waterfall hidden at the top! We stopped at a dell and Bridal Veil and made our way to the main attraction Multnomah Falls. (here's a good photo) Yes, it was most definitely beautiful. It was also very crowded. We hiked up the mile hill to the top of the water fall. At the beginning I saw a Switchback 3 of 11 sign and wondered, 'what's a switchback?' I quickly figured out as we kept climbing.
After Multnomah Falls we were ready to check out Hood River and the breweries there. We went to Full Sail where we could watch the kite boarders outside the window. Apparently professional kite boarders come there to train.
 |
| no, this was not planned. pretty sure mike didn't even know i took the photo. |
"I've never seen a family of bikers on Chicago streets." How is that possible? they are everywhere on the weekends!
ReplyDeletehmmm not in my hood :)
DeleteAlso thanks for not disappointing me with baseball when I looked for vacation pics! That hike looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteanytime!
Deletewell...sort-of