[I know...take a moment to catch your breath.]
So let me first provide the justification for this trip: we had free miles on Spirit Airlines. Hence, it was either Oakland or Portland. Portland won the penny toss. It was a pleasant surprise...Portland, Oregon is quite a lovely place! And Oakland doesn't have anything on this: Mt. Hood.
Portland has a weirdness factor that nobody else can claim (except maybe Austin, but to a lesser degree). Yes, Portland prides itself on it's weirdness. It doesn't take long to witness it first hand. During our first day in downtown, we saw a man walking down the street in full clown attire, right after we saw a decked out van where the driver had a monkey puppet "driving". We embraced the weirdness and headed to Voodoo Donut. We of course tried their signature voodoo doughnut, complete with pretzel "needle" and red jelly filling -- I cursed all smokers that litter and Jeff cursed his new agile coach. We saved a little room for a couple other delicacies (bacon on a maple doughnut = DELICIOUS!). Can anyone guess what the other crazy looking one is topped with??
What better way to experience a weird little town than to drive around in a tiny weird car! (It made our Honda Fit seem spacious!)
Ok, so there are a few normal sites to see and tour...like the Pittock Mansion, owned by Oregon pioneers who made they fortune from the Oregonian newspaper. We've decided to model our next house after their design!
Also, 30 minutes outside of Portland (where the weirdness fades) is Multnomah Falls.
It was a beautiful area for hiking and the weather was absolutely ideal, so we headed out on a 2-mile loop to see Fairy Falls. While this was a much smaller falls, it was more about the scenery and conquering the hill. (Naomi and Danielle, who stayed at home with the Grands, were disappointed that they missed out on an opportunity to see the fairies...)
But alas, for more weirdness, we ended our time in Portland at none other than a women's roller derby bout! We learned all about the rules of roller derby (yes, there is strategy and points) and the teams in the Rose City Rollers. It was pretty fun and nobody crashed into us in our front row seats!
After this, we headed to the Oregon coast...pictures coming soon!
Portland IS a nifty town. I didn't know about the weird part, though - that adds to the charm.
ReplyDeleteWe went and saw Multinomah Falls when we were there, too!