A Weekend Guide To Portland Oregon
This year for my birthday weekend, we took a quick long weekend trip to Portland. My cousin, who is practically my sister, and her family live up there so it seemed like the perfect little getaway plus I got to be with people I love.
The beauty of Portland honestly blows me away every time. I've been wanting to share the beauty of it with my Husband for years and I'm so glad he fell in love with it too!
If you like a little city vibe with a lot of nature then I can't encourage you enough to take a trip to Portland!
Here's a quick weekend guide to sampling Portland, OR!
Day 1
Portland is known for its "hole in the wall" restaurants and food pods. For my birthday dinner, I decided I wanted to try an area with several food pods because as a foodie, I wanted a variety of yummy yummy in my tummy as Krish would say. We settled on Cartopia (1207 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214) by rec from my sis.
With the fair prices, we totally splurged!!! We spent about $100 for 4 adults, 2 teenagers, a toddler and a baby! We ordered Peruvian chicken and chicken wings with potatoes from Chicken and Guns
Pork shoulder french fries and palak paneer french fries from Potato Champion lamb shwarma kabobs from Tahrir Square, tacos from El Brasero Mexican Cart and my favorite spicy fish sauce tator tots (so addicting and I don't like fish sauce) from Bottle Rocket. I also got a local porter draft from there for $6.
My favorite dishes were definitely the chicken wings and fish sauce tator tots, but the lamb shwarma also stood out!
After dinner, we took a walk to the river! The Tilikum Crossing bridge in downtown Portland has great views and NO CARS! Isn't that amazing?! It's a beautiful bridge for pedestrians, bikes and a separate lane for busses.
The views were seriously breathtaking. The water was full of people swimming, kayaking and partying on boats for the holiday (july 4th). I also love that the city is surrounded by nature. The bridge is a great place to catch the fireworks, but we didn't stay until dark because the children needed to sleep.
The city also has a forest reserve called Forest Park where you can go hiking. I have been there on a pervious trip, but didn't get a chance to go this time around. Definitely recommended if you're staying in the city and looking for a quick morning or evening hike!
** parking in the city was very easy everywhere**
Day 2
We never rush on vacation because in all honesty, we don't like to stress so we rolled out of bed, ate breakfast and Vijay played a game or two of NBA 2k with my nephew while we waited for our lazy, little Kareena to wake from her slumber. Somewhere around 9 am, we took off to see the waterfalls.
Exit 22 from highway 84 and take a sharp left onto Historic Columbia River Hwy. Multonomah Falls (our destination) was about 11 miles down the road and you can see all the starred falls right from the road!
We wanted to take the scenic route and luckily it was reopened recently from after the fires a couple years ago. We used a traditional map from an Oregon Travel guide (pick up at visitor's center). There are so many waterfalls on the way that are visible from the road, which is very convenient with kids since it's such a hassel to keep getting in and out of the car. We did make one stop at the Crowne Point Vista House, which had stunning views!
There is parking right by Multonomah Falls, but it was full so we took the historic highway all the way past Multonomah and got back onto highway 84 at exit 35, took it West and exited (left exit) at exit 31 where there is another, larger parking area. Then you walk under the highway to the falls.
The actual hike to the falls is very short and easy to do with kids. We saw many families with strollers. We weren't sure of the terrain so we used the Ergo wrap for both babies. We also hiked up to the bridge, which is a steep hike, but very short and easy as well. You also have the option of hiking to the top of the falls, but we opted out on that.
We hopped right on highway 84 from the parking lot and back home pretty quickly!
Then we headed over the Powell's City of Books in Burnside. If you haven't heard of it, Powell's is the World's Largest Independent Book Store with plenty of new and used books as well as knick knacks! According to wikipedia, it covers 1.6 acres of retail floor space!
Krish threw the most massive of meltdowns because he was exhausted and I was literally lost trying to get out. They have a store map, but in time of panic cuz I was holding a very loud and upset toddler, I had to ask for directions. Funny now, but very traumatizing. Luckily, my husband is the sweetest and got me a mug!
Our day in the city ended a little earlier than expected because of said massive meltdown, but we were able to sneak out a little later for some Bibimbap from Bibi2Go (total hole in the wall) and boba (there were a couple places on the same block)! The Bibimbap was really good and super affordable! They had a great menu of Korean delights. It was in a very popular part of town (near the original Salt & Straw, which had a line around the entire building)
Day 3
Let me start by telling you that you do not pump your own gas in Oregon, an attendant does it for you. What a luxury, right?
Our initial plan was to hit up the farmer's market in the morning, but we were feeling a little lazy and Vijay was playing NBA2k with my nephew again lol.
We headed to Cannon Beach right around 10:30 AM. It was about an hour drive and we attempted to make it at low tide around 11;30 AM so we could see the tide pools around Haystack Rock. (tides change daily so Google it before you go) We were starving by the time we got there and decided lunch was more important. We parked in the Mo's parking lot and got a table on the Patio. This is a no frills, must eat place! They are known for their clam chowder, but everything we ordered was delicious. The oysters were a little fat for my taste, but still yummy.
We walked over the Haystack Rock from the restaurant in hopes that some tide pools were left, but the tide had already risen too far past the rock by then. The tide pools usually have starfishes in there, which is so cool to see. I've also seen a sea cucumber in it as a teenager.
The drive to the coast is just as scenic as the coast itself, so put on some tunes and really take it in.
After the coast, we did some shopping (got new phones) because OREGON HAS NO TAX! So if you have some big ticket items you have in mind (somebody say new purse!?), bring an extra duffel to pack your goodies in to take back with you.
A couple other things to note for portland: The weather can go from hot to cold to hot again within the hour so bring layers. Jeans, tank and cardigan worked for me. I was cold in shorts for the hike to the falls in all honesty. Also keep in mind that the coast is about 10 degrees cooler in most cases. We got lucky and caught a sunny day at the coast.
A couple places we wanted to try, but didn't get the chance to was Salt & Straw and Blue Star Donuts. I've been to Salt & Straw before and it is seriously so good so try it if you get the chance. I've heard great things about Blue Star, but am saving it for our next trip there.
Can't wait to go back and experience the beauty of Portland again! Hope you love it as much as we did <3
