My Husband and I planned on a very spontaneous getaway to Portland, Oregon the day after Christmas. We rented a gas-friendly car and hustled our fannies out that door as soon as Christmas was over. We booked a hotel right in the heart of downtown Portland so everything was within walking distance although we rarely found ourselves walking anywhere. It was a mission to cover much ground of Portland as possible! We also did crazy research on the places we just had to dine at because who doesn't love great food? I probably came back home with 5-10 lbs of extra weight but it was oh-so-worth-it.
We departed our home at approximately 8:30 AM. We had packed a few things for Trina to snack on so it was a straight shot all the way to Portland. The first place we went to was this great hole-in-the-wall biscuit place called Pine State Biscuits. It was featured on some television show that my Husband saw and he just had to try the place out for himself! Now I'm not much of a biscuit person and really couldn't care much for them but this was incredibly delicious.
After having our delightful biscuit breakfast we headed over to the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden. I was too busy taking the view of it all in that I forgot to take photos but no worries, it was too cold for the roses.
After the Garden we headed over to the Aerial tram to get a view of Portland from the sky! Little did we know that the connecting destination was to a hospital so we ended up looking a little silly. It would have been better to have worn a sign screaming "TOURIST" because that's exactly what we looked like as soon as we got off.
Check out the stickers on this sign! We were on our way to dine at this one place when I caught sight of this sign.
And this straw! One of the many things I loved about Portland was how GREEN they are! I always felt Seattle was the most wonderful city in the world (it's my home city y'all, can't hate!) but I felt like Seattle was lacking a few awesome points compared to Portland.
Oh and the hamburger from this go-green straw was delicious! It can't really compare to the burger from Dick's in Seattle but~ it was delicious in its own way.
Day 2-
This was one of the main reasons why we wanted to visit Portland! Their bus food truck center! I don't know if you would call it a "center" but it's exactly what it's like! There's tons of buses that fills one whole block and the varieties of dishes are freaking heavenly!
And of course, you really can't go wrong with a grilled cheese sandwich. ;)
Being the antique lover that I am, my Husband has squeezed a visit to a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge antique store in Portland. I wasn't aware of this visit so it was such a lovely surprise!
We ended the trip with a box of awesome donuts from Voodoo Doughnuts. Actually.., we went to a nickel arcade that I don't have any photos of...
Do I want to visit again? Hell yes. Would I recommend a trip there? To my Washingtonians, yes. The tax-free shopping is a bonus on top of everything else I've listed on here. But would I have someone from the east coast fly all the way to the west for Portland? Sure, why not? On one condition, you'll have to take me with you.