So Portland

This past Saturday, Megan and I explored our amazing city of Portland on foot.  All too often we take the simple pleasures of our city for granted and don’t get out and enjoy the local (and sometimes “touristy”) things in our own backyard.

We started at the Imago Dei DIY Fair (in conjunction with Advent Conspiracy) where we picked up great ideas for crafty projects such as homemade burlap wreaths, vanilla extract, wine cork boards, and compost bins (so Portland!).

Then we walked across the Burnside Bridge and wandered around the Portland Saturday Market where you can find Portland craziness in all its fullness: people on stilts, henna tattoo artists, Bible-beating evangelists standing on soapboxes (literally), bearded guys banging on plastic buckets (so Portland!).

We walked on over to the US Outdoor Store to find some warm running pants and rain gear so that we can stay active and hopefully avoid SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) over the next 7 months of dreary Portland late fall/winter/spring/early “summer” (Portland… why?!).

Next we hit up Powells where I picked up books on American slavery, the life of James Franco, and a teen fiction series on the post-apocalyptic world.  I hunkered down in a corner of the connected coffee shop and flipped through the books while often getting distracted by the eclectic group filling up on their daily soy latte and vegan tart (so Portland!).

We strolled along in a drizzly rain (ugh, Portland!) to the Stumptown Coffee in the Ace Hotel.  We ordered $4 8-oz lattes (really, Portland?!) and sat in the cozy hotel lobby and read an article about Occupy Portland in the Portland Mercury. It was entertaining and completely annoying at the same time.

After that we headed over to the Central Library, which I’ve never been to but wanted to visit for quite some time.  It is a gorgeous historic building in the heart of downtown.  We walked up the marble stairs to the third floor which has a room dedicated to sheet music (so Portland) and another where you can browse through CDs.  I filled my bag up with Coldplay and John Mayer piano books and Lifehouse and Matt Maher CDs. (Public libraries are an amazing resource, and totally not dorky. If you don’t already have a library card, you should get one.)

All this walking made us hungry, so we stopped in Henry’s Tavern for an early happy hour burger and Rogue beer (so Portland – or rather Newport).  And then continued on to REI to continue our search for running gear (gear is the epitome of Portland).

After a long, yet very relaxing and enjoyable day in downtown Portland, we crossed over the bridge back into Southeast, our true stomping ground.  Thanks, Megan, for such a fun day gallivanting around Portland with me. To all of my friends out there, I hope you take every opportunity you have to “tour” your own city and enjoy all that it has to offer.

Portlanders Love…

- being crafty
- bridges
- going against the grain
- coffee, the stronger the better
- anything organic, vegan, and gluten-free
- camping out in city parks in the name of economic equality
- checking out free music (bc we're all "musicians" and in bands)
- beer, the hoppier the better
- gear, and lots of it
- everything local