This was initially posted on my previous blog on October 12, 2016.
So Portland was the driver of this trip. My two good friends were getting married on 9 October. I was struggling through life and had just read a book about two friends driving to all 48 states (obviously not Hawaii or Alaska). The book was interesting and she didn’t solve all of her problems, but she had wonderful adventures and it sounded fun. I started to think about the possibiity of a road trip to Portland for the wedding. I became obsessed with the idea and started looking at routes, places to visit, and campers. I finally set the itinerary I gave earlier in the blog and asked for the time off from work. I thought 5 weeks away from my life would be helpful to let me start fresh and approach life with a different attitude. Currently, I am not sure how much my attitude has changed, but I do think I have more respect for nature and I love the time I have had with my mom. I am much more relaxed though and have a deep appreciation for life right now. I also have learned that RV living sounds amazing for retirement, but that is a long way down the road. I will keep reflecting and figuring things out, but here is a readout of my time in Portland.
October 6: We left Silverdale around 8 am to get down to Portland and get the trailer set up before meeting my friends who were flying in at 11:30am. The Cascades Lock KOA was nice but surrounded by trees which wasn’t great news since it was going to rain a lot over the next few days. Also the trailer was on a mud spot, again bad for the rain coming. We drove to Multnomah Falls to meet my friends and enjoy the waterfall and a hike. Mom took Callie back to the trailer for a relaxing few days and I went back to Portland with my friends to enjoy our Home Away apartment (which was a very nice place). Multnomah Falls was beautiful. It is the largest waterfall in Oregon. The hike to the top has 11 switchbacks and it was relatively steep. Beautiful views all the way up. The trail continued back into the hills and we took it for a bit longer before having to turn around to meet a friend at the bottom and to try to avoid the rain heading our way. This was a beautiful hike with the leaves changing, trees surrounding the trail, streams running through, and multiple waterfalls. I would have loved to finish the loop if we had more time, but maybe next time.
We were exhausted by the time we made it back to the apartment in Portland. Jenny and Corey we’re dealing with jet lag and I was still fighting my cold. We ordered pizza in and enjoyed watching the Cleveland Indians win their playoff game (Jenny is a diehard fan). We wanted to have energy for the next day so it was pretty early to bed.
October 7: The 4 just in from DC woke up nice and early and I enjoyed staying in bed until 8am. When I got up, everyone was gone and I really hoped someone was bringing me breakfast. Just as I was preparing to go find food, Jenny and Corey delivered with breakfast goods. We enjoyed a lazy morning and motivated to walk down to Voodoo Doughnuts (a must in Portland). We were surprised by the amount of homeless people on the streets and continued to notice it all weekend. We were thrilled when we got to Voodoo and after much debate, I got a delicious doughnut called Old Dirty Bastard, which was a yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreos, and PB drizzle. Check out the website if you haven’t heard of it, they have some interesting flavors.
This was the drinking day to enjoy the breweries and wineries that are popular in Portland. We found one semi close to the apartment and went to do a tasting. I am not a huge fan of beer but it seemed like the thing to do in Portland. I got the sampler with 8 different beers and finished it! This is a huge accomplishment for me, especially since most of the beers were IPAs.
Jessamyn and I decided it was time for some wine so we looked up wineries and found one called Hip Chicks Do Wine and knew we had to go. As the Uber pulled up to an industrial area on the other side of the river, we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into, but a winery is always a good thing. The winery owner was wonderful and walked us through the tasting and the wines of the area. It was a quiet day so we enjoyed the winery to ourselves and had plenty of time to chat with her. The wines were very good (two of my friends even signed up for the wine club). I highly recommend this winery if you are a hip chick (or just someone that enjoys good red wines).
And then it was off to Widmer Brewing for the final stop. They had a brewery tour that started at 3, but sadly we missed it since we got caught up in drinking wine. So we grabbed another drink (I switched to cider) and ordered some food. This mac n cheese might be some of the best I have ever had. It was a little spicy but delicious. Corey finished the tour and Jo, Jesse, and Katie were able to join to us. We even eventually convinced the bar to turn on the Indians game, which they won.
And the last stop of the night was a happy hour with the bride and groom at Rogue (another brewery). I was exhausted from all of the day drinking so I tried a cider, which I didn’t finish, and enjoyed a brownie for dinner (the joys of being an adult). We hung out for awhile and got to meet some new people that were attending the wedding. Another positive was that my friends saved me a spot in front of the tv so I could cheer on the Cubs and watch them win!
October 8: On Saturday, we wanted to grab breakfast and head to the Saturday market. We drove into town and found Jake’s for breakfast, which was very good, and then ventured to the market. The easiest way to describe the Saturday market is it is a bigger Eastern Market. There are many booths with crafts and food of all kinds. If I had room in my house for more stuff, I would have been in trouble. Good thing my house is only 910 sq ft. We spent awhile taking it all in and enjoyed the nice morning. Jenny and Corey had to run errands with the car, so I went back to the apartment for a quick nap (again…I was fighting a cold). When I woke up, I was hungry and ready to explore. I found the closest Salt and Straw (a popular local ice cream place) and started walking. I grabbed some tacos for lunch at a local place and hit a wine bar. I enjoyed the small talk at the wine bar and learning more about Portland and its past. It was finally time to head back to the ice cream place, but the line was crazy long so I went home instead.
I was so excited to meet up with my friend Kendra to catch up and grab dinner. We had been roommates in Arlington for almost 2 years and she recently moved out to Portland. We met on the other side of the river on Alberta Street, which was very “Portland” and I loved it. We enjoyed walking and seeing the different stores and restaurants. We found a great place for dinner and then proceeded to Salt and Straw for ice cream. It isn’t bad waiting in line when you have a good friend to catch up with. I couldn’t decide on one flavor so I got the sampler which included 4 different flavors of which I picked: pear and blue cheese, chocolate brownie, cinnamon snicker doodle, and another chocolate one. It was delicious and I finished all four. We then explored her area of town and another fun Portland Street. It was nice seeing this side of Portland and not just the downtown portion. We had so much fun catching up. I admire Kendra for her ability to change her life by moving for the east coast to the west coast and how she looks at life. She finds the good in life and isn’t afraid to chase it.
October 9: Finally wedding day! I debated getting up for a run in the morning, but the weather wasn’t great and my throat was killing me. I am pretty sure I won’t get a workout in during this whole trip. I have been super busy, just not running, but that isn’t the point of this trip. Karen, the bride, had recommended going to Cheryl’s for brunch so we went down there for a nice filling meal. I got an Apple Fritwich that is exactly what you think. It used an apple fritter for the bread and then had eggs, bacon, and cheese, and it was incredible. After way too many calories, we walked to Powells bookstore. I love reading and could get lost in there for hours. Instead we spent 30 minutes and I found several books that I am excited to look up at the library when I return. Then we drove across the river hoping to find shorter lines at the Voodoo doughnuts over there, but sadly it was still a long line. I had promised to bring some back to my mom since she did me a huge favor of watching Callie so I grabbed a few to bring back to the trailer.
After a quick nap and time to get ready, it was wedding time! Without too many details, it was a perfect wedding. Karen and Hiram looked so happy. It is always nice to celebrate, drink, and dance with so many good friends. We danced the night away and enjoyed the s’more bar they had. The perfect night ended with them leaving under a tunnel of sparklers. We all went back to the apartment to enjoy a short night of sleep before we all took off for home (or the trailer) the next morning.
Portland was a lot of fun. I am so happy for Karen and Hiram and I loved celebrating with friends and catching up with old friends. Now hopefully I keep some better wifi so I can get caught up on the rest of my stops. I have already hit Crater Lake, Redwoods, Napa, and am now currently enjoying Yosemite. Posts on all of these to come soon, but this trip has been incredible. I am so happy I was able to make it happen