Trip taken: March 1st, 2017 – March 7th, 2017
First time visiting Portland and it has left me feeling like I want to move there! Our Airbnb host was super friendly and very accommodating. We stayed in the Alberta Arts District (NE) which was a quiet and quaint neighborhood full of good places to eat and art to look at! Everyone was SO friendly that even our Uber drivers caught us off guard giving us recommendations and chatting us up. And to top it off, in Portland, pedestrians have the right of way. I was so not used to having cars stop for me just to cross a tiny street.
We spent the next day driving towards the coast to visit Astoria, Seaside, and Cannon Beach. Stopped by Beaverton first to have some breakfast at Petit Provence. That butter croissant + raspberry jam tasted so fresh!
When we arrived in Astoria, we decided to go to the Oregon Film Museum which was so much fun! Would definitely recommend. You get to film your own movies scenes too! Seeing all the Goonies memorabilia and finding out which movies were shot in Oregon or Washington was fascinating.
It started raining pretty hard when we got to Seaside and most shops weren’t really open as it was off-season. But still got a late lunch from The Crabby Oyster, which was pretty delicious. Our last stop was Cannon Beach, by this time it was gloomy, cold, and rainy. So all we did was go down to the beach to get a picture of Haystack Rock. Then back to Portland we go!
Got up nice and early to do a hike in Forest Park. Started at the MacLeay Park Entrance but saw signs that said the Lower MacLeay Trail was closed due to landslides. We trekked on anyways since we saw joggers go on through. Lower MacLeay Trail is amazing. Never seen anything like it. All the trees and the Douglas Firs were just covered with bright green moss. From the park entrance to the Stone House was an easy 1 mile walk.
After completing the rest of the hike through Wildwood Trail to Pittock Mansion (which was roughly another 2 miles) , we got rewarded with splendid views of Portland. Checked out Powell’s City of Books and was amazed at the huge selection they have. New and used books. Gifts, souvenirs, and a cafe. People could literally spend the whole day here.
This whole trip, we were just eating every hour of every day, I swear. The Hainan Chicken Rice at Nong’s food truck was surprisingly good! In downtown, they have this square of food trucks. So many options to choose from! After all the eating, needed to walk it off, so we walked towards Hawthorne Bridge and walked across to the NW side of Portland where we visit Coava Coffee Roasters.
During our last full day in Portland, we were supposed to get a rental and head out to drive along Columbia Gorge and see Multnomah Falls. But weather wasn’t great and didn’t want to get stuck anywhere. So we walked around more neighborhoods checking out people’s houses. Then headed to NW (Nob Hill) and walked up and down the street, entering whatever shops interested us.
Everyone we met in Portland has been super friendly and we can’t wait to come back again during the summer of all! I hear that the Waterfront is full of cherry blossoms during the spring time! 😉
– T.L.
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