Portlandia

This past weekend The Lion Man and I took a little trip up to Portland to scout out what might be our new digs. If you have never been to Portland, go. Now. Why are your still reading? Hop on the next flight to PDX and go get you some Pacific North West. It was an incredible trip, beginning with the airline. 

Neither of us had flow Virgin America before, but had pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that all airlines suck. Grumpy flight attendants, no entertainment, uncomfortable seats, low ceilings... this is what we had gotten used to, until Virgin America.

We rode in the no frills coach section, and it was still plush. After flying Virgin, I'd hate to fly anything else. This was one of the most hassle free, comfortable trips EVER!

Once in Portland, we hit the ground running. After a quick stop at the hotel, we took a drive out the Hillsboro so Lion Man could show me where he may be working. The speed limit there is 55 mph. It was like driving through molasses. Thankfully, nothing is too far away, otherwise this slow motion driving could be a real problem. As irritating as it was, the slow speed did give us a chance to take in the scenery. So lush and mossy compared to arid So Cal. The city feels like it was dropped into the middle of a forest and land managed to leave the surrounding land untouched. Gorgeous.

We made our way from Hillsboro to the northern neighborhood of St Johns. It is one of the "up and coming" neighborhoods in the area. Meaning, housing is fairly inexpensive and the vibe is a little gritter than some of the other areas. I wouldn't call it dangerous,   but there were some unsavory looking youths about.

 Many of the houses were well cared for, and you could tell the town was really beginning to show some pride of ownership. We drove past a lot that was full of activity. There was a farm stand, several tents, and some food carts so we decided to check it out. The tents were serving a mini bars for wine tastings and some locally brewed beer. There was a man playing music, a little fire chimney, and some delicious food truck Mexican fare. We spent a couple hours letting the tranquil ambiance wash over us. Portland had me, hook, line, and sinker. 

The next morning we were up early for a trip to Voodoo Doughnuts, coffee, and the Saturday Market. We rode the MAX downtown for fun. I was shocked at how clean it was. I always though public transportation was synonymous with a sticky, pee smell. Portland turned that assumption on it's head!

Lion Man with a chocolate, coco puff covered, doughnut
I had a chocolate topped, cream filled creation

The Saturday Market takes place right next to the river. Rows and rows of stalls feature locally made, hand crafted items. Anything from clothes, to cosmetics, to beautiful jewelry, to any other kind of art you can imagine. We fell in love with the block printing creations at one booth and are in the process of commissioning a piece to use as a guest book at our wedding!

We took a walk up to Pioneer Square and explored some of the shops. There is no lack of unique, vintage boutiques in that area.  One shop featured dresses that were modern designs, but crafted from antique fabric and lace. Had I not already purchased a wedding dress, I think I could have found on there!

After a quick stop at Powell's , a bookstore the size of an entire city block, we went to the Rogue Brewery for some beer tasting. 

We have always been fans of their beer, and it was neat to experience it in the brewery. I fell in love with a Ginger Beer brewed at a Rogue offshoot called The Buckman Brewery. I could have consumed that, and nothing but that, for the duration of the trip. It was light with a crispy ginger bite. A prefect late summer beer. We grabbed a cuban sandwich as a quick snack at one of the bajillion food carts before taking the MAX back to the hotel.

Cart, after cart, after cart....

Later that afternoon we went back out to St John's to look at a rental house, then back downtown for some music. We found the perfect spot:

The Thirsty Lion!

The next Day we had a delicious breakfast out in Multnomah at O'Connors, then spent the rest of the day touring open houses to get an idea of what would be in our price range and what neighborhood we would like to live in. This was the first time we had been house hunting together and it was such fun! We discovered what the other liked and didn't like, common preferences and things we will have to compromise on. It was exhausting but enlightening. 

Then suddenly it was Monday! Our flight was in the early afternoon, so we took a quick trip to see the Pittock Mansion. It was once owned by a wealthy newspaper owner, but has since been turned into a museum.

Unfortunately the museum was closed when we arrived, so we could not tour the house. We did, however,  get a wonderful view of the city. Monday was clear and sunny and we could see all the way to Mt Hood and Mt St Helens. 

Mt St Helens

We are still waiting for one more bit of information before we make our decision, but it is safe to say that I would not have a problem calling this eclectic little town home.  

We had a meeting with our Wedding Coordinator last week, so I have a lot to share tomorrow for my second installment of Wedding Wednesday!

Until then...

Keep it Fancy,

Jett