Greetings from Portland, Oregon where I’m at the start of my round the world adventure. Flying direct from Washington, DC on to New Zealand would have involved many very lengthy flights and was not something I was looking forward to. So I decided I would make a stop on the West Coast before heading out of the States and on to Oceania.
I have friends in Portland that are graciously letting me crash in their spare bedroom and showing me all around this cool city. I’ve never been here before and these past two days have consisted of exploring all around the city, drinking as much good craft beer as possible, and eating all the food!
We started off the long weekend with dinner at a cool pizza place called Dove Vivi. Their claim to fame is their homemade cornmeal crust pizza and I had a special pie featuring butternut squash, kale, and a cranberry reduction sauce! To die for and so unusual.
Saturday was all about food and seeing the city. Breakfast at a local bakery and then lunch in the city center with friends at a really cool food cart corral. Right downtown there is a permanent collection of 20-something food carts with food from China, Iraq, and Georgia! It was the most varied food selection I’ve ever seen from food trucks. I went with Georgian food and thoroughly enjoyed the khinkali – beef and pork stuffed dumplings. From there we headed up to the high point in the city, Marquam Hill and took some cool shots of Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens. We rode the tram back down the hill then went a mini-goose chase to do some last minute repairs to my day bag!
Then the highlight of the day for me was our visit to Base Camp Brewing. In their words, they create “awesome brewskies for the adventure-minded palate, with a holistic approach to production, packaging, environmental awareness, customer service and employee care.” I chose to do a 10-beer tasting flight, because why not? I most enjoyed their Camp George Dark Hefeweizen and the S’mores Stout which comes with a hand-toasted marshmallow on the glass!
Today we went to explore the area around SE Hawthorne, grabbing brunch then walking through really cool neighborhoods and past quaint little shops. I really enjoy the style of architecture you find in the Pacific Northwest and the use of green spaces. We also found lots of funky places like the “mature” Oregon theater above.
This evening I’m sitting here watching the Superbowl and drinking yet another local beer, an ale with peppers and apricots, by Burnside Brewing Company. In just 14 hours I’ll be boarding my first flight bound for Honolulu to Brisbane to Auckland. I can’t wait!!
