Portland, OR

We recently vacationed for about a week in Oregon. We went to visit our dear friends who up and moved from Elbowoods Dr in Hazen back to their home state. How rude!! They asked us to come visit and we were more than happy to oblige. I get pretty wordy on my recaps so I’ll try to stick to the basics and why we traveled – beer, food, adventures and our friends. We landed in Portland mid-afternoon.

This was my first visit to Portland, also known as Bridgetown. The Willamette River runs through this large city. Portland is known for being environmentally forward, is very walkable, has a LOT of bicyclists, public transportation, parks and a lot of fresh foods/sustainability. My husband says it has a lot of hippies.

Our first order of business was brews to celebrate our arrival and being reunited. Our friends took us to Fire on the Mountain – a Portland fave for chicken wings.

Above photo from TripAdvisor. They have a LARGE selection of sauces and tap beers. The food was super fast and tasty. The location was downtown, close to our hotel where we’d stay our first night – the AC Marriott.

The hotel is pretty new and quite shwanky for us. Since it was new, we were able to lock in a decent rate and the selling point was its walkability and proximity to downtown. We enjoyed some lobby appetizers and cocktails, including some complimentary shots out of this large cocktail shaker. We loved it!

That evening we went to a few downtown bars and had fun. The next morning I got up early to run the river. We were only 1.5 blocks from the river and it is lined with miles of biking and running paths. We had absolutely stunning weather the whole time we were there. I enjoyed a long run along the river on both side and it was fun to cross some of the bridges and see the views. I really loved seeing the homes along the river, I can’t imagine the cost.

Being the small town folks we are, we were shocked by the traffic and homelessness. The city itself where we were was very well kept. On my run, I passed many people in the tourist area sleeping in sleeping bags and it is sad to see. Whether down on luck, fighting addiction, mental problems or whatever, it is just sad and something I definitely don’t encounter on a daily basis and it gave me a shot of reality.

BUT….to transition. We got cleaned up and headed out to a cute little coffee shop for a morning jolt and food. I wasn’t feeling breakfast, but we saw a lot of food carts down the street, including an Egyptian one with HUMMUS and FALAFEL. I LOVE hummus and eat it pretty much daily. Our friend had to return to the hotel to do some remote work so us three went back to get some hummus and walk along the river. The sweet lady in that food truck delivered to me the smoothest, best and just slightly spicy hummus of my life for $5. One warm pita and I devoured most of it. Hit. The. Spot.

After walking around a bit, we got our friend, packed up the car and headed to Multnomah Falls on our way to Hood River.

The drive itself it gorgeous, but we didn’t know this was on the agenda. It is an easy, quick stop on the way and entry is free. It was obviously a bit cooler by the falls and we had to chuckle as many people were quite covered up and we were like – it is so nice outside! This waterfall is 620 feet tall! Absolutely gorgeous and so green the photos don’t do it justice.

We then got back in the car to head to Hood River where we’d be spending the next two nights. Not only is vacationing with friends fun, but they also know the way everywhere and drove us. How lucky!