Let’s start at the beginning with this one – we weren’t supposed to be anywhere near Oregon on the weekend we ended up in Portland. In fact, we were supposed to be over 3,000 miles away in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We decided we were going to Portland less than 12 hours before our plane landed at PDX, but it turned out to be one of our favorite trips to this day.
Ray and I got engaged shortly before I finished graduate school. We decided to take a Memorial Day celebratory trip to the beach, which would be after graduation and would give us a bonus day off work. We reserved a convertible, booked an oceanfront suite, and planned to celebrate the beginning of the next phase of our life in the most relaxing way possible: beach time.
Just over a week before the trip, we checked the weather. Something was off – heavy storms in the forcast every day. It turned out that the first named storm of the season was going to hit Fort Lauderdale the weekend we were there. Uh oh. There was a moment where we feared our plans were ruined, but luckily, the way we booked everything allowed us to call an audible with no extra charge. We headed to the airport as planned, with bags packed for Florida, and got on a plane to Portland, Oregon.
Why Portland?
Besides the fact that it was one of the few cities that had an open flight leaving at a similar time as our original flight, I had been to Portland before. One of my dear friends lives there, and I really did love the city. Ray trusted me (and didn’t really have many other options), so we decided to make the most of it. This wasn’t going to be the beach vacation we had planned, but we ended up having great food, great beer, and an overall great time. Plus, the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny – I guess we made the right decision!
5 Things To Do
If you find yourself unexpectedly in Portland, or if you are planning a trip and have no idea what to do, try these 5 things! There is so much more than what is on this list, but it’s a great place to start. We stayed at the Portland Marriott City Center, a conveniently located boutique hotel that was walking distance from many of the downtown attractions. If you plan to spend all of your time in the city, you won’t need to rent a car.
Spend an afternoon at the International Rose Test Garden
The International Rose Test Garden in located in Washington Park, and is a must-see if you’re in Portland during spring or summer. There are beautiful roses everywhere, and plenty of trails to get a little bit of exercise before indulging in all the food and beer. We spent quite a bit of time here, just admiring the beauty of the thousands of roses and walking through the forests of Washington Park. The garden is located above town, so you will find some awesome views of the city, as well as views of nearby Mt. Hood.
Visit at least one of Portland’s many breweries
“At least” is the operative phrase here. Portland has some great breweries, so you can’t leave the city without trying at least one of them. The first time I was in Portland, it was my 21st birthday. My friend took me to the Holiday Ale Festival, where I simultaneously had my introduction to legal drinking and good beer. Lucky for me, I married someone with a similar affinity for good beer, and so we tend to find a brewery on every trip. This time, it was easy.
We had dinner at Breakside Brewing on the first night we were in Portland. I’m not sure how popular this brewery is to tourists, but we went here with our local friends. The food was great and the beer was even better, so I definitely recommend checking out one of the Breakside locations in town. A national name that is absolutely worth the hype is Deschutes. Go to Deschutes and get a flight (or two)! You won’t regret it.
We are barely scratching the surface on Portland breweries, so be sure to ask a local and do your own research if you want to try more than just these two! If you have a favorite brewery in Portland, we want to hear from you!
Eat lunch at a food Cart
No trip to Portland is complete without a meal at a food cart! There is something about the variety, convenience, tastiness, and price that is irresistible. We ate a few meals at food carts while we were in town. Food carts are organized in pods, and there are a few different pods throughout Portland.
Our favorite food cart experience cannot go without mentioning but will be a little different for you now. The Thai chicken and rice at Nong’s Khao Man Gai was outstanding! Nong, the owner, moved to Portland from Thailand with $70 and two suitcases. She now serves one of the most popular dishes in the city! Unfortunately, the location of this food cart was overtaken to build a hotel. Fortunately, Nong’s was so successful as a food cart that the owner now operates two brick and mortar locations. Eat here. Trust us. And before you leave, buy a bottle of the sauce to take home.
Wander through Powell’s
We really enjoyed our trip to Powell’s! It is so easy to spend hours in this bookstore. It is laid out in a way that all but forces you to traverse every section before leaving the store. We really enjoyed stopping in the travel section and finding even more places to go. You can find almost any book you can think of here. It is quite unlike me to put a bookstore on a list of places to visit, but I really think this one is something special.
Enjoy a Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwich
Ray will be the first to tell you that I am ice cream’s biggest fan. I would eat it for every meal if I could. So, we usually end up having ice cream a few times on every trip. We had ice cream every day in Portland, but one experience stuck out: Ruby Jewel. I had the BEST ice cream sandwich on the planet. No, seriously, it was that good. It had butterscotch ice cream between two soft oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. If anyone knows how to send us some of these in Michigan, please for the love of ice cream help a sister out!
We will be back!
Portland was such an unexpectedly wonderful trip for us. We had tons of good food and drinks, and overall, we felt the city was interesting and easy to get around. There are plenty of things to do even when the weather isn’t as nice as it was for us. Portland is also in close proximity to some natural beauties like Mount Hood or Multnomah Falls. There really is something for everyone. It’s our favorite city in the Pacific Northwest (and yes, we’ve been to Seattle)!