Dual Domestication on Holiday: Portland, Oregon

A few weeks back LJ mentioned that she had the Tuesday after President’s Day off, which would make it a four day weekend.  I felt like I could use a bit of a vacation myself after only taking two personal days since I started working ten months ago so I began constructing a plan.  We wouldn't be able to go far, and since it is still the middle of February the weather would be uncertain no matter where we decided on.  It soon became obvious that we should jump on the train and head down to Portland.

When I mentioned taking the train to someone at work he pointed out the statistics about train travel being one of the most dangerous ways to travel and obviously chalked it up to my general granola ways that I am known for in the office.  However I think making the case for traveling by train in this case is actually quite easy.

It does take slightly longer by train than car to make the trip but on the train LJ worked on a school project on her iPad and I read a few long articles on the laptop.  This reminds me of a study I recently read that said members of Generation Y would rather have a 40 minute commute where they could use their internet device versus having a 20 minute driving commute.  Though I consider myself a member of Generation X I still couldn't agree with these results more.

When we arrived in Portland we did have to walk 1 mile to our hotel.  We easily could have hailed a cab or jumped on the Portland TRI-MAX light rail but since we were traveling light, with only a backpack each, we hoofed it.

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We stayed downtown at Hotel Fifty, which my youngest brother found us a great deal on using Expedia.  My brother is the Picasso of travel deals using the internet and was able to tell what hotel we would get even before Expedia revealed it.   I’d recommend Hotel Fifty, at least at the price we got.  Since it is on the edge of downtown it is within easy walking distance of a ton of places and just a block away from a stop on the MAX line.  Also another huge advantage of taking the train instead of driving meant we didn't have to pay for overnight parking at the hotel, which was something like 24 dollars a night.  That cost savings nearly paid for the train tickets, without even considering the cost of gas for driving.

After we got in on Saturday we spent most of the afternoon and evening with my parents who had come down to celebrate my middle brother’s 30^th birthday.  His girlfriend did an excellent job organizing a surprise party for him and he had no idea we would be showing up at his front door.  We wouldn't have been able to make it without our car since he lives in Vancouver so their willingness to shuttle us was greatly appreciated.

Sunday morning we rolled out of bed and walked just a few blocks to meet friends at Mother’s Bistro, which is known for their excellent brunch (I have a feeling the Portlandia brunch episode may have been based on this place ).  Our friend called for reservations, which are recommended, a few days prior but was told all the reservations were already full.  However, they only reserve half the tables so if we arrived within the first hour of opening we should be fine.  They open at 8 so we didn't take any chances and arrived at 7:45, and there was already a line to get in.  We were seated right after 8, and by the time we left at 9 every table was full and a line was starting to form.  The food was good, though if I would have waited in line for an hour I may have been disappointed in the experience, and LJ may have passed out from hunger, or at the very least become very agitated.

After breakfast our friends walked us around downtown a bit and helped us get our bearings a little better.  They then got us on the MAX red line that would take use out to the Oregon Zoo.  LJ had never been to a zoo before in her life so one of my main goals with this trip was to get her there.  Also as someone who really enjoys public transportation I wanted to see if the MAX was all it is cracked up to be.

The MAX experience surpassed all my expectations.  The onboard automated instructions and the displayed train map made it very easy for someone unfamiliar with the system to navigate it.  As an added bonus, the stop for the zoo is the subway station that is most underground in the US, according to Wikipedia anyway.

The zoo was packed, partially because it was a rare semi-sunny day in Portland and because a baby elephant had just been born in late November.  (I kept saying “It’s a zoo in here” which LJ found less and less amusing each time.) 

We got a glimpse of the baby elephant which was adorable as it ran out of view and watching the sea lions swim from under water was incredible (they seemed so much more massive and graceful from below). 

The highlight of the zoo trip by far was the giraffes.  Their gangly awkwardness was made even more entertaining because the female giraffe seemed to be in heat and the male was convinced carnal relations were in order.  He followed her closely as she made laps around the enclosure.  She occasionally kicked a leg out to the side like a tripod and braced herself against the wall of the enclosure while the male attempted to mount her.  The first time this happened Laura and I had just arrived at the viewing area and she let out a very loud giggle.  Luckily there was also a group of immature teenagers there who were laughing even harder which drowned out her giggles.  I’m sure all the parents with their small children didn’t appreciate having to explain why we were laughing.

After the return trip downtown on the MAX we jumped on one of the new Portland Streetcars (our all day MAX ticket was also good for use on all the street cars or buses) that took us up to the Pearl District and Bridgeport Brewery where we had lunch.  I’m not usually much for drinking during the middle of the day, but since we were on vacation I threw caution to the wind and had a beer.  LJ said it was one of the best burgers she has ever had which I imagine had something to do with the grass feed beef they used.

After lunch we wandered through the Pearl District which is what I imagine every urban planner dreams of when they use the phrase “mixed use development.”  Our feet eventually got tired out and I was becoming worn out from the beer so we hopped back on the street car and headed back to the hotel for a nap.

We made plans to meet my brother and his girlfriend for dinner that night at Montage, which was recommended by a number of people when we asked for suggestions of where to eat on our trip.  They feature Cajun style comfort food, and though it was delicious I think it may have been overhyped by the recommendations and having to wait nearly an hour for a table.  Definitely worth trying, but I’d suggest getting your name on the list early and having a plan on how to kill time in the neighborhood until they call you.

Monday morning we woke up without any real plans for the entire day.  LJ did some Googling and suggested we try The Original for breakfast.  LJ had a massive breakfast burrito that may have been bigger than her head and I had a cornmeal and bacon waffle which was delicious.  After that we truly had nothing on the agenda so we began to wander some more.  We ended up at Powell’s books, mostly because it is a great place to kill time.  I ended buying a book about Dutch soccer that I had been looking for over the last year.  We ended up going back to the hotel to look for a lunch recommendation from the interwebs that would be close to the hotel.  We settled on a Vietnamese place that was just a few blocks away which was solid, and also had a very curious system for eating and service.  They didn't seat you until you place your order at the counter and all the water, napkins, and utensils were self-service.  Your food was brought to you and your table cleared when you were done eating but it was the only time you were waited on.  Now that I think about it the system was very similar to a fast food restaurant and worked well in the small restaurant to get folks in and out quickly.  It was a little confusing for a sit down restaurant but luckily they had instructions written all over the restaurant for how their system worked.  Similarly to the MAX, assuming everyone who is using your service has never used it before is a great way to make people feel welcome.

At this point we were feeling a little worn out and tired of eating out so much.  We lounged around the hotel and soaked up a lot of cable TV since we don’t have that at home.  By the time dinner rolled around we were contemplating options that were within a block, including the hotel bar.  None of it sounded appetizing to me and eventually I decided I wanted our last night in Portland to include dinner from a place that was considered a true Portland establishment.  On an earlier walk I took notice of Old Town Pizza and remembered seeing it on a TV travel show about Portland eateries, I think mostly because they deliver pizza and beer by bicycle.  I convinced LJ to make the trek back up to Old Town (I realized afterwards that we should have hopped on the MAX red line which would have only cost us a few dollars and saved our feet some wear) and we were very pleased with the experience.  It was family friendly and had especially friendly staff.  It also didn’t hurt that they had hard cider available which LJ was excited about.

Tuesday morning before we headed back on the train we had one last place to cross off the list.  Many people would argue that a trip to Portland is not complete without a stop at VooDoo donuts.  We got up early and were prepared to stand in line after seeing a line wrap around the building the day before at 3 in the afternoon.  We were shocked as we approached and saw no line and by the time we got inside we were third in line to order.  LJ got the McMinville Cream Donut and Dirt Donut and I went with the Triple Chocolate Penetration and the VooDoo Doll.  We took them back to the hotel and gorged ourselves on them while we absorbed a little more HGTV before we had to make our way back to the train, which is where I’m currently writing this post from.  I sure do enjoy taking the train!