Portland! — What We Saw, What We Read

Our first night in Portland meant a swing dance night!

After a few days of camping near Crater Lake it was time to visit a new city! We had never been to Portland but were excited to see it for ourselves. And thanks to the hospitality of our friend Alec we had a great place to stay while we were there. The drive up to Portland from Crater Lake took nearly five hours but the evening rewarded us with swing dancing at Norse Hall, where the music was great and the people were friendly. We danced for a few hours then decided to call it a day and get some sleep.

The following morning we set out from Alec's apartment with a goal to walk around as much of Portland as we could. Over the following 16 miles we walked through Ladd's Addition, crossed Hawthorne Bridge, passed through "Portlands Livingroom", stopped in and read at Powell's Books, hiked up to Pittock Mansion through winding streets, hiked some trails in Washington Park, and sampled the fare at Blue Star Donuts and Voodoo Doughnuts! Despite a brief rain shower in the afternoon, the weather was exceptional and we walked under mostly sunny skies the entire day. Our first full day in Portland was so much fun and both of us were smitten with its charm and atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, we loved our years living among San Diego desert succulents but something about the abundance of trees, flowers and gardens enveloping the city felt magical and inviting. We arrived just in time to see the leaves changing color.

Our second day in Portland we blended together productivity, sight seeing, and a big of climbing. We stopped in at one of Alec's favorite coffee shops Oui Presse for a baguette with butter and jam, something so simple and yet so delicious. Then we made our way through the neighborhoods to Portland Rock Gym. We arrived in the morning before noon and purchased day passes ($13 per person before 12pm). After taking a tour of the gym which has a huge bouldering area, top-roping and lead climbing area, yoga studio, and a cafe on the second floor, we walked into the yoga studio for an hour of stretching out our sore and tired legs. We emerged from the class feeling much better and more relaxed. Sitting in the upstairs cafe, we worked on the blog, mapped out free campsites for the next leg of our journey, and prepared a meal plan and grocery list. If you're curious about how we are budgeting and what types of meals we are preparing for our journey, we'll be breaking that down in a post coming soon! We took breaks every hour or so to do some bouldering and eventually Alec joined us and we all attempted some of the many routes the gym had to offer. After our climb we stopped in at Sheridan Fruit Company to pick up produce and prepared a delicious meal at Alec's home while watching, you guessed it, Portlandia. If you think our day couldn't have gotten any better, you are mistaken. Alec lives right above a Salt & Straw, home to Portland's favorite ice cream. We ended our day with fresh waffle cones of gooey chocolate brownie and coffee ice cream. Perfect.

Day three in Portland brought us sunny and clear skies so we decided to visit Forest Park, one of the largest city parks in the United States. At over 5,000 acres and just a few minutes from downtown Portland, Forest Park offers a multitude of wooded trails and great views of the city. We walked for an hour on a few of the trails then headed over to the Audubon Society where we learned about birds native to the area. We met Ruby, the local turkey vulture, as she was sunning her wings and Julio the Great Horned Owl. Only minutes from a bustling neighborhood, the Audobon Society is nestled in the trees of Forest Park. Just another incredible activityPortland has to offer. After Forest Park we stopped at Laurelhurst Park, making our way through just as the children's ballet class was finishing up in the Park's community center. We ended our day with delicious Cuban food and pie at the picturesque Lauretta Jean's bakery for incredible pie, all just a few blocks from Alec's home. We were enamored with Portland, with its tasty food, its walkability, all its communities, and the sense that the entire city was painted over in green. We can't wait to come back!

The view of Portland as we made our way up to Pittock Mansion.