Monday, March 21, 2011

portland(ia)

Michael and I (and little Gemma too) are headed to Portland, OR soon. Neither of us have never been anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. We are really excited to see what it is like and visit our friends there. Are any of you from the Portland area? Do you have any must-see suggestions? I already have a few things on my list; the tulip festival ,the japanese garden and a cute vintage shop.

To familiarize myself with Portland culture I have been re-watching my favorite Portlandia clips. :)





17 comments:

chris said...

I was not familiar with Portlandia...very funny. Have a great trip! May I suggest a moby for ease of traveling with Gemma? The best!

Nicole said...

ha! Funny videos! I flew into Portland when I visited my cousin who lived in Astoria. All of Oregon is just beautiful!!! You will love it!

ChịBaĐậu said...

Hi,

I followed your blog but this is the first time I left a comment. I loved your doll house. I moved to NC from Portland, OR 7 years ago. You will love it there. You want to check out the rose garden (it's free), the Multnomah Falls, Cannon Beach if you have time (about 2 hours drive from Portland.) or even mountain hood. Oregon is a beautiful place to visit. You'll have fun there.

Marisa said...

I'm from Portland! (Or the area, at least.) There are so many unique Portland things. Voodoo Doughnut, the OHSU tram, the waterfront, Multnomah Falls (30 mins east of Portland and so worth the drive), Fabric Depot (you would LOVE it!), Burgerville. I'm forgetting a million things. I just love Portland. :)

{ erin } said...

I agree, you are going to fall in love with Portland!! If you are a book lover you must take a bit of time to visit Powell Books. And Multnomah Falls is definitely worth the short drive. If you haven't heard of it before, google it. It is absolutely gorgeous! You will have no problem finding lots to do there! Oh!!! Saturday Market. Google that, too. And ride the Max to get there. and Pioneer Square and Finnegans toy store (just a few blocks walk from Pioneer Square). Iconic Portland. P.S. Portlandia is hilarious. And sadly, a pretty darn good (even though at times a bit exaggerated for humor) representation of the city and people. My favorite? The mural that says "Keep Portland Weird". Ha!

Rebecca said...

Portland is so wonderful! I live about 4 hours west of Portland and visit 3-4x a year. I second everything Marisa and Erin said. Multnomah Falls is simply breathtaking! There is a trail you hike to the top also. Enjoy your visit!

The Marlatt's said...

I was born and raised in Portland. We live in Nevada now and really miss the NW.
I love it and I hope you will. All the places people above have mentioned I second those. Exploring downtown and the Waterfront are fun too! If you are there on a Saturday they have a Saturday Market downtown with all kinds of homemade, crafty and eclectic booths..and food! The Oregon Zoo is really good and the Children's Museum which is next to the zoo is fantastic. The Rose Garden/Washington Park are in that same area. Oh, and OMSI is super cool. They have some really neat child friendly exhibits!! I hope those ideas help. Have fun!! I wish I was going too.

jt said...

Of course I have no idea what Portlandia is. My cousin Charlotte lives in Portland and lives for Powell's books.

jt said...

In fact, she was proposed to in Powell's books, her husband knowing what a bibliophile she is.

WOM-MOMS said...

Oregon is an absolutely beautiful state! You will love it and love the weather. I visited Portland as a child, but haven't been there since (I have been to Seattle). ENJOY! ENJOY! ENJOY! You deserve it!

www.wom-mom.com

Adrienne said...

Wow, so fun to see so many Portlanders read your blog along with me. I am also a native Oregonian and grew up in Portland. My family still lives there, so I keep up-to-date on things to do. My dad works at OHSU and so when we visit my kids and I always request to ride the tram. I believe it costs if you go round trip, so it is best just to have someone park at the bottom of the hill (or top, whichever way it you can go for free--can't remember) and be picked up at the end of one way so you don't have to pay. Let's see, all of the above suggestions are must sees/dos. Voodoo Donuts, as one of the other commenters mentioned, is really crazy but delicious. You can get such donuts as Maple Bacon. Riding Max (the transit system) is free in the downtown area, it's called Fareless Square. OMSI is a great science museum. If you are going to the coast, definitely check out Tillamook Dairy Farm. You can see the cheese being made and packaged. Great free samples and the best ice-cream in the planet, IMHO. (Another good ice-cream, which is similar is Umpqua--just in case you see some place selling that.) On the way to Multnomah Falls there is a place called Crowne Point which has incredible views of the Columbia Gorge (when we were little we called it the Windy House because it is very windy). The Gorge has beautiful hikes and waterfalls and it is all free. Ok, since I could go on and on, I'd better sign off. (And I agree that Portlandia is hilarious, but a spot-on representation of Portlanders.)

Kelly said...

I agree, Voodoo Donut! It's kind of a wild little place but the donuts are awesome. Have fun!

Cara in Dallas said...

Hi Erin,

Sounds like so much fun. Here's a website that I refer to when I travel, it has off-beat tourist attractions. You may want to see if Portland has anything weird and wacky worth checking out.

www.roadsideamerica.com

Have a safe and fun trip!!

Cara

Unknown said...

In high school, I lived in Oregon and loved visiting the Portland area. Now, I'm in Texas and miss it dearly. So enjoy! Since, I know you are Mormon, I would definitely suggested stopping by the temple. It is gorgeous and one of my favorites. :)

WOM-MOMS said...

Erin - I made your homemade laundry detergent (off the subject of your vacay) - check out my blog, and thanks to you, with my results. :) ~Ethne

www.wom-mom.com

Sierra said...

Living in Portland, and it seems everyone has covered what's here! You'll have a great time!

Page said...

BUMMER that I missed your post- I live in Portland and will totally give you tips for your next trip- feel free to email me!

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