Crazily enough, Doug and I found ourselves in Portland, Oregon just 52 weeks after our 2014 visit. Again, for the wedding of a close friend from college days in Kansas. Life is funny sometimes, isn’t it?
We had the privilege of being invited to three weddings in May and June, and vacation days were quickly being eaten away. For this reason, we made a trip to Portland and back, Saturday/Sunday, in about 36 hours! Alaska Airlines, the company I have my rewards credit card through, offers an annual free/discounted “Companion Fare” to members so we only had to buy one flight (plus fees). Not bad! There were like five different events in Portland that weekend and hotel prices were skyrocketing so instead of staying at the Portland Ace like last time, we ended up at an AirBnB which we loved. (It will get its own post.)
The first thing we did after getting off the plane (other than getting our rental car; we haven’t braved Portland public transit yet) was to get food. Our flight left San Diego around 6 and landed in Portland around 8 or 8:30… and we were hungry! Luckily our AirBnB hosts had already e-mailed us a fun list of places to eat in their neighborhood so we chose one and were not disappointed. We ate at Helser’s on Alberta. If you watch Portlandia, you’ll remember an episode where the line for brunch stretches on for several miles. We were lucky enough to beat the 9am rush; but a line did form as we had our meal.
June was the month I decided to go 30 days gluten-free, and I thought that Portland would be a gluten-free utopia. Not so! Most restaurants had a few things marked with an asterisk on the menu, but not as many as I’d assumed. I was still able to enjoy delicious meals, though. Above, a yummy chorizo-potato hash with Tillamook cheddar cheese.
We stayed a little bit north of the up-and-coming Alberta Arts District. Last year, we stumbled across this area and so this time we were happy to explore it (as opposed to The Pearl District where we stayed/explored last time).
The wedding itself was in the nearby town of Woodburn. I changed into my “wedding clothes” and put my makeup on at the Woodburn outlet mall. #improvising! The wedding venue was at a really pretty historic house, The Settlemier House. It was awesome! It reminded me of something from Gilmore Girls, which my friend (who got married) and I bonded over in college. So, all in all it was very appropriate. ;)
The following morning we had breakfast at a gluten-free bakery called Tula, and drove all over the city window-shopping. I like how Portland seems big and small at the same time. Each neighborhood is totally walk-able, but to get from one side of town to the other in a car is also a breeze! (This conflicts with some reports I recently saw about Portland having terrible traffic. We must have missed rush hours!)
I have a number of friends up in the area and considering how our trip was so short, I just made a facebook event and suggested that we all meet at lunch at the same place at the same time. Some friends weren’t able to make it, but some were, and we had a great lunch together. I think it went really well considering the fact that Doug and I just dragged a bunch of strangers together to share a meal. I enjoyed it so much I just might pull the stunt again sometime!
We all had lunch at McMenamins’ Kennedy School, which is an actual elementary school turned hotel, restaurant, bar, and art cinema. What a great idea–turning a decommissioned building into something so creative! It was a good place for a somewhat large group. The food was super reasonably priced and the large location was so fascinating to explore while waiting for others to arrive. The bathrooms are simply the old school bathrooms! It was like being in a time warp…
This summer certainly was the year of quick weekend trips. I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to see so many of our loved ones, but it did leave me feeling pretty exhausted! I think that next year I am definitely going to take a week-long trip (take all my vacation days at once) instead of taking a Friday here, a Monday there. I think it will help recharge my batteries better. However, I sure did love feeling like a jet-setter all summer! Now I’m ready for fall!
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My Friend Staci 