Craig and I spend six days in Portland for my sister’s 30th birthday. She actually turned 30 a couple days after we left, but it was still fun to celebrate.
We left Anchorage Thursday night–just 3 days after I got back from my trip to Minnesota. It was just enough time to unpack, do laundry, clean the house, run some errands, and repack before we were off again. I didn’t mind because I knew it would be the last trip for a while with baby #2 coming this fall.
I have been to Portland a handful of times as Craig was going to college there when we were dating. We always enjoy our trips to Portland, but the first time I visited I felt a little out of place. Now I know to expect the weird-ness, and it doesn’t bother me as much.
We flew all night, and arrived at 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning. I was exhausted from staying up all night and not getting much sleep the previous week, so what’s the best way to wake up–go for a run!
It was too gorgeous not to go for a run through Laurelhurst Park and the surrounding neighborhood. Craig and I ran 3 easy miles before calling it good and then going to breakfast at Cup and Saucer. The restaurant moved locations since we last went to the restaurant, and while the food was good, it wasn’t as good as I remember it being. (To be honest, I also didn’t order the best option.)
After breakfast Craig and I walked all over–through the neighborhoods, around IKEA, to an outdoor mall–and just talked and caught up on life since we hardly see each other these days. It was also so gorgeous outside (80s and sunny), so it was too nice to be inside.
Right after we got checked into our Airbnb that afternoon, my sister texted and said they had arrived, so we drove to the airport to pick her and her husband up.
Our Airbnb was right off Mississippi Avenue with several good dining options, so we just walked to get dinner and had a bit of a progressive dinner since there were so many good options. We started out at Prost! as it was on Craig’s list–a German brewery with beers and brats. We ordered a few plates to share, but I wasn’t overly impressed with the food options. Next we went to Por Que No because I had three different people recommend this place, and boy were they spot on! The Mexican-street style tacos, quesadillas, and beverages were so good! Craig and I shared several tacos, and I also had a glass of horchata, which was delicious. I’d definitely go back to this place. Our last stop was another brewery for the guys: StormBreaker Brewery.
Saturday morning my sister, Kristy, and I went for a run before we drove out to the coast for the day. We went to the Tilamook Cheese Factory, and then drove north to the beach at Oswald West, watched the surfers, and hiked the Cape Falcon Trail. It was a great hike that was just shy of 5 miles–beautiful old-growth forest scenery, gentle rolling terrain, and an outlook of the ocean at the top.
That evening we had dinner at Fultano’s Pizza in Cannon Beach. This was a nostalgic pizza place for Craig and his friends in college, but either they didn’t realize how bad the pizza was in their juvenile days or the recipes have changed because the pizzas were not good at all, so I wouldn’t recommend going there.
That night we drove back into Portland and played a game where the guys would play a song on their phone, and Kristy and I had to guess the artist. Let’s just say we really struggled with this game, but it resulted in a lot of laughs and good times.
Sunday morning was low-key, and that afternoon we parked downtown and walked all over ending up at the Rose Gardens where we were meeting some college friends of Craig’s. We walked so much on this trip–averaging between 7 and 10 miles each day of just walking, plus the running that we did most mornings.
Sunday night we ate at Deschutes Brewery downtown. We all had really good food. I had a beet salad that was really good because I hadn’t had many greens on the trip so far.
Monday I ended up running 11 miles with my sister, which I was glad to get a long run in on the trip. We had planned to go hiking in the Gorge only to discover all of the trails were closed due to landslides from the fires during the summer of 2017. It was kind of a bummer, but we did get to see the iconic Upper Ponytail Falls waterfall. (It’s the waterfall you can walk behind.) We did that short hike, and then also drove to Multnomah Falls, which is super touristy and crowded. We snapped a few pictures and then were on our way again.
Monday night we found a hole-in-the-wall gem off Alberta Street called Darsalam where they serve Iraqi food. If Craig could eat one type of cuisine the rest of his life, this would be it. Craig ordered the leg of lamb, and it was literally a leg of lamb. He picked the bone up and the meat just fell right off. I had a vegan coconut curry that was also really good.
Tuesday was our last full day, and it was forecasted to rain most of the day, but that didn’t stop us. We went for a run in Forest Park in the morning, which was still fun despite the drizzly Pacific Northwest rain. After getting lunch and showering, we parked downtown again and went shopping to a bunch of different places: Lululemon, Madewell, Fjall Raven, and REI. After we were done shopping, we did our baby gender reveal.
I had a couple people ask how I had the cupcakes made without spoiling the surprise for us. Here’s what I did: I had the doctor’s office put the gender results in a sealed envelop. I held onto it until our trip to Portland, and once we were in Portland, I called a local bakery to see if they were up for making a couple of cupcakes with the appropriate-colored frosting on the inside. Whoever I spoke to a Miss Zumstein Bakery was so sweet and said she could do that for me. So I dropped the envelop off, she made the cupcakes, and then I picked up the cupcakes the next day.
Even though Craig wasn’t as jazzed about the gender-reveal idea as I was, I’m glad we caught everything on video and camera. My sister recorded the event, and my brother-in-law took pictures, so it worked out perfectly. If you missed the video, click HERE.
After this, we stopped in at Sister’s Coffee Shop. (Funny story, the owner’s son is a friend of Craig’s from college, and he was also the photographer for our wedding.) We hung out here for a bit, and then we were trying to decide where we wanted to eat dinner. I had gotten a recommendation for the “best brewery in the area” from a beer connoisseur, and I knew the guys wanted to go to as many brewerys as they could, so I convinced them to go to Great Notion Brewing. And boy, were we not disappointed one bit. The restaurant and brewery were tucked away in an industrial area, but as soon as we pulled up, we felt like we had found a hidden gem. Three of us had the fish sandwich, and Craig had the Philly Cheesesteak, and everything was amazing. The guys raved about every beer they had, so I think we found a winner.
Early Wednesday morning we had to take my brother-in-law and sister back to the airport. Craig and I didn’t leave until that night, so we went to Trader Joe’s and met up with a couple more of Craig’s friends from college.
All-in-all it was a fabulous trip, and I’m so glad we got to travel kid-free one last time before the baby comes this fall!
Things to do in Portland:
Rose Gardens
Chinese Gardens
Japanese Gardens
Shopping downtown
Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge
Picnic at Laurelhurst Park
Places to Eat in Portland:
Descutes Brewery (large area, lounder, but great food)
Salt & Straw (ice cream)
Por Que No (lighter Mexican street food)
The People’s Pig (a hole-in-the-wall with the best smoked pork I’ve ever had)
Darsalam (Iraqi cuisine)
Moberi (oatmeal and smoothies)
this post makes me excited for our trip to portland this summer! thanks for the recommendations. 🙂