Don't yell at me, I've been busy! So now that it's been forever since my vacation to PDX it's finally time to blog about it. FYI, it's going to be long.
Of course you can't have a vacation without drama. Here's the long and short of our unexpected vacation happenings:
We flew out on a Saturday morning just as a huge hurricane was about to hit the east coast. Our flight wasn't impacted at all, but we were a bit uneasy about leaving our house and cats behind knowing what was coming. As we boarded our second flight and were on our way to Portland we watched the news of events unfolding back home in Jersey. Stories of evacuations, state of emergencies, and injuries were coming in by the dozens, and we were high in the sky with no way of knowing what was going on in our tiny little town. Skipping ahead in the story....our second day in Portland was upsetting to say the least. The news came in from friends and neighbors that our house was without power, our basement was flooded, and our kitties were terrified! Our youngest kitten Pluto whom we just adopted about a month before this trip hid under our sofa for the entire time we were gone. Our biggest kitten Kayla, was so freaked out by the hurricane she managed to wedge herself under our treadmill in the basement and then got stuck and wet from the flooding!! Luckily our neighbor was able to free her and all in all she was ok. A bit shaken and dirty but alive. We felt helpless and like horrible cat parents leaving them under such conditions. At one point we were ready to give up our vacation and fly home, but our friends put us at ease and assured us that the kitties would be ok. And they were! We came home to a messy house and some pissed off cats, but boy were they glad to see us.
Now that you know the kitties made it through our vacation and are happy, lets get on with the PDX!
Where we stayed:
Northwest Portland Hostel
I can't say enough about this place! Warm, welcoming, cozy, and cheap! I'm not much of a traveler and I've never stayed at a hostel before. But I'm thinking this is the way to do it. We booked one of the private guest rooms which came with a key card for entry to the room, a double bed, fresh linens and towels, and beautiful old fireplace. Which sadly didn't work, not that we would need it cause it was August but it was still pretty to look at. The guesthouse we stayed in had two shared baths downstairs and two shared baths upstairs plus a kitchenette with a shared fridge and a garden patio to hang out in. In the main house they served free breakfast daily which included bagels, muffins, cereal and various other fresh baked goods from a local bakery. There was also a full size kitchen in the main house that could be utilized by anyone to do some real cooking if you want to. This was our window, the house we stayed in was a grand old Victorian with a ton of charm.
What we saw:
Bridges! You can't go to Portland without experiencing all of the bridges. And there are a lot of them. On our first night we walked from the hostel down to the water and sat for a bit. It was peaceful and calm, there wasn't much going on in the Pearl that night. But from where we sat we had a great view of the Steel bridge.
We also walked and drove over the Burnside bridge several times. On our last night in Portland we walked onto the Burnside to take this picture.
We noticed that there was some type of photo shoot going on, which was a little strange and right in our way! How dare they. So we just kept walking figuring that we could wait for them to finish or take our picture around whatever was going on. But as we got closer we realized who's picture was being taken. None other than Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein from the hugely popular show Portlandia! We nearly shat ourselves. For realz, it was kissmet! We are huge fans of the show and how appropriate is it that we run up on a Portlandia photo shoot while we are in Portland!! I couldn't help myself from taking pictures.
That was a special moment. And for the record, Fred & Carrie if you ever read this, we are sorry for fucking up your photo shoot and acting like crazed fans. We really were trying to take the same picture as you were and it was just a weird happenstance that you were there. We aren't crazy stalkers, swear!
Nature, we saw a lot of nature and the wonderful land and environment of Oregon. Our first trip was to the coast. After renting some camping gear and stocking up on awesome vegan eats from
Food Fight we were ready to hit the road. Our first stop was Cannon Beach and then we headed down the coast and stopped at almost every scenic view possible! I got my feet wet in the Pacific ocean for the first time ever, and experienced the coldest ocean water I've ever felt in August.
After a long day of driving we got to the campground and set up our tent. We had a rough nights sleep on the cold hard ground and in the morning I woke up with a terrible cold. We packed up right away and got back in the car for our road trip back up the coast. I managed to get some sleep in the car, the hubbie drove and woke me up to see the important things. By the time we got back to our room I was defeated mentally and physically. I slept the rest of the night and most of the next day. But by that night I was coming around again and managed to go out for dinner. The next morning I was good as knew thanks to loads of Airborne, Kombucha, Nyquil, and Vitamin water. It was time to see some waterfalls & mountains! This is Mt. Hood but we also saw Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Jefferson from afar.
Driving around the Columbia river gorge was a blast. I've never seen such outdoor beauty before.
We also spent some time in city itself doing some sight seeing. Our hostel was down the block from Couch park, which we spent many hours just "parking".
The Rose Test garden was awesome!
And the
Japanese Garden was beyond real. We could have spent the whole day here.
The
Saturday Market was a blast too. I picked up great gifts for my friends and talked to some amazing people selling handmade crafts, soaps, clothes, food, and tons more stuff. Philly has a craft fair like this once a year, Portland gets one every weekend! No Fair!
And we drove up to the
Pittock mansion, but sadly it was closed. We were still able to get onto the grounds and walk around. The view of the city is to die for. See Mt. Hood in the background!
Now lets get down to the super exciting stuff. A vegan person can't go to Portland without eating their way through the entire city!
Where we ate:
Laughing Planet
Big ass burritos that can easily be made vegan. Kind of a fast food take out place, but they had a cute little side patio that made it perfect for a quick meal without feeling like eating crappy.
Hungry Tiger Too
Oh man, by far the best vegan breakfast I have ever had. Scrambles that will knock your socks off, with biscuits and gravy too. We also tried the rueban, mac and cheese, vegan ranch dressing on a salad, and the corn dogs. All were super yummy.
World Cup Coffee
This was our local coffee joint since it was right across the street from our hostel. They had great bagels, vegan scones, and strong ass coffee. So strong that my weak Jersey ass couldn't handle it, and sadly it put me off coffee ever since. But, my hubbie fell in love and now says nothing we can get at home is acceptable. The people here were extra nice and made a point to remember us and what we liked. We were very sad to leave them. Even though their fresh bean deliveries did wake me up every morning!
Blossoming Lotus
Fancy ass perfection! This was our one nice meal of the trip. The one where I said to hell with how much it cost, I want to eat like a queen! The raw nachos were exciting and unique and not what I was expecting. We also got wraps and parfaits made by Blossoming Lotus, but bought at Food Fight. Locals helping locals, I like it!
VooDoo Donut
If you haven't heard by now this is the most amazing and famous place in the world to get donuts and day or night. As long as you are willing to wait in line, sometimes for over an hour. Trust me, you will want to wait in line! And if you punk out and leave you will get heckled. So I ate like 5 donuts on my vacation, what?
Vegetarian House
This was my mid-sick dinner that I crawled out of bed for. I needed comfort food and I found it here. Vegan wonton soup hit the spot.
Backspace
Dare I call this the CBGB's of Portland? Maybe if we are comparing bathrooms, but seriously if I lived in Portland I would be at this place all the time. We accidentally walked into a poetry slam just wanting some coffee. The door man kindly let us in to order without paying and what I got to hear had me wanting to stay, but the place was packed by that point and there was no where to sit or stand. We went back a second time on a chilly night and had the wonderful tomato soup and fresh baked bread from a local bakery.
Back to Eden Bakery
Massive bagels, quiche, savory croissants, muffins, and so much more! Back to Eden was adorable and friendly. They take care of all of your vegan coffee and baked good needs. This was our last meal in Portland and it was great!
The Zig Zag Inn
On our way home from the mountains we were so hungry and exhausted that we couldn't wait to get back to the city to eat. My handy dandy smart phone led me to the one close place that had anything remotely close to being vegan. The Zig Zag Inn is a blast from the past! It was awesome and an experience like no other. We even scored a kick ass t-shirt.
Sizzle Pie
Now, when I heard about a pizza place on the west coast selling vegan pizza I had to try it. I'm from the east coast, and we do pizza like no other place on earth. And Philly has it's own vegan pizza joint that makes crazy delicious pizza vegan or not. Let me just say that pizza styles vary widely depending on which side of the country you are on. And while I still love my hometown Black Bird pizza, I have to give props to Sizzle Pie for going the extra mile and making sure that Portland residents get a chance to eat vegan pizza if they want. They have great toppings and interesting combinations with one of a kind names for all of their pies.
Ground Kontrol
I don't think we actually ate here, but we could have if we wanted to. There were plenty of vegan options on their simple menu. But the real treat is being in an all adult arcade with vintage games from your childhood.
All in all our vacation was perfect! We would have stayed if we could. And one day we will be back! Our soundtrack for Portland was of course The Decemberist, The Head & The Heart, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.And these are my two favorite pictures from the trip. Almost all photo credits go to my husband, but I did take a few. The crappier ones, obviously! To see the rest of the glorious pictures visit my
Facebook album.
