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It is early March in Florida, temperatures are averaging in high 60’s and low 70’s. And where do we decide to go? Portland, where there is a chance of snow or snowy rain mix.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind snow, it is the mix that gets me sometimes. And why are we going to Portland? Well, Teresa and I support various charities, from Humane Societies and rescues, to other non-profits like the arts. Late last year, we were at a fund raising function and they had an item on auction, a trip to Portland. We had never been there before and Teresa asked if I was interested. I said sure and she put in her bid. Her bid was low, I think the opening bid and when the night ended, no one had raised it, so we won it.
Per the organization, it was stated we had a year to use it. However, after we got the package, we discovered the airfare actually expired in April of 2024. So we planned and made it a sort of birthday trip.
The trip had a few excursions offered and some down time. Teresa researched the area and found some other local interests and planned out our trip.
She booked the flights, hotel and excursions.
March came and we set off. There was not a direct to Portland, so we connected through Vegas on the way there, and Denver on the way back. We landed and took a taxi from the airport to downtown and our hotel.
We made sure we packed well, including heavy coats and waterproof pants. However, I found that in my haste my scarf, gloves and hat were in my heavy coat where they had always been. As I unpacked, I found that was not the case. I apparently forgot to put them back after the ICE trip to Orlando. Well, it was still early, time to walk about and shop some.
The hotel had little in the way of a shop and I wanted some chocolate milk to take my nightly meds with. They directed us to a CVS just up the street and we set out. It was cold, but not frigid.
Portland is a very walkable city and the people there are very friendly. There is a high homeless population there, some living in tents and others on the streets. Despite that, we never felt unsafe.
We walked for a few blocks and found the CVS. I made note of the hours, not wanting to carry milk around with us for hours and it was close enough to the hotel too. We were hungry and decided to find a local eatery. There were several chains, but also several with the “local” flavors and we found a nice Italian restaurant called Pastini, I believe. The food was good and fairly priced and after, we set out looking for gloves.
The few stores we saw were closed or just closing. While I did not think it was that bad outside, the day tomorrow called for cooler temps and mixed rain. Top that off with the “Food Truck Bike tour” we had planned and keeping the fingers warm would be a good thing. We stopped at Nordstrom and they had a few gloves to select from. Of course, they were leather and wool lined and expensive, but they were needed. They also proved to be quite warm.
The next morning, we got up and decided to walk down to Voodoo Doughnuts for a doughnut and hot chocolate. We had time before our tour and wanted a little something. I tried the “Purple Haze” and Teresa tried a “Portland Cream”, both were very good.
We got an Uber out to the bike livery for our tour where we met Kelly of “Around Portland Tours“. We were given our gear and fitted for our bikes. It was off season and overcast, so the tour was not large, just five of us including Kelly.
I’ve not been on a bike in a very long time and neither has Teresa. I looked and they did have E-Bikes. I mentioned them and they said they were available, but after thinking about it, I declined. After taking a few laps around the lot, we were on our way.
Kelly explained that Portland was a very green city and that biking was protected under several laws. For example, stops signs are yields to bikers, bikes can and do take a full lane and more. Portland is also not FLAT. It is built in a river valley between two mountain ranges, but flat it is not. Kelly was very aware of our limitations and guides around some of the steep hills. Still, the tour was four legs with three stops. The first leg was mostly up an incline and I was feeling it. Kelly was kind enough to stop as needed, and at times, I stopped before and she stopped ahead and waited.
One thing I found, I am a pretty tall guy (okay, at 6’1″, not overly tall, but still). I had a big bike, but I found the need to adjust the seat height up a little more and a little more until I felt comfortable. The down side was that while the seat was raised, the handle bars were not. I did get it to the point I was mostly comfortable.
Our first stop was at a pod known for breakfast and coffee. Pod? What did she mean by that? It was not a term I was familiar with. Well, a pod or “Food Truck Pod” is a permanent location for multiple food carts, often near an office or park. Each pod usually paved and has water, sewer, electricity and trash service for the trucks. While most of the pods are always available, the trucks can run their own hours, so some trucks may only be open for breakfast or lunch while others open for lunch and dinner. Most pods have some for of shelter for the patrons, and that includes facilities.
I thought this was a neat idea and this first pod was quite quaint. The truck offered coffee and cocoa along with danishes. The shelter also was heated. Portland has hundreds of these pods through the greater Portland area.
We stopped and ordered, then sat for a bit resting and talking. Our tour companions were a mother and son visiting from the bay area. They were in town for their son as he was in a fencing competition. The cocoa hit the spot and it was time to be get on the way.
We unlocked the bikes, geared up and headed out again, uphill. Kelly said there was only a slight incline and she took us through some other nice and older neighborhoods. She pointed out homes, told us about her family and how none of them drive much, preferring to bike and not worries as Portland protects its greenways. I could see that and if I was younger (and in better shape), I’d consider living in Portland.
Our second stop seemed a bit more upscale, and that i not because it was at the top of the hill. Looking around, there were plenty more streets going UP. No, this one was our “lunch” stop. More of the trucks were open and the out building had tables and chairs. The building was finished and insulated and the front end was a bar.
Kelly gathered the bikes and made sure they were locked up. Crime is not high here, but bikes can disappear quickly. We stepped in and Kelly went to order the food selections. At the bar, I ordered a “Newtopia Cyder” and we foind a table. Kelly came in and set up, breaking out plates, cutlery (real silverware) and some serving utensils. She pointed out some of the food trucks through the window and pointed out one owned by a 5 star Michelin chef. She had order some tacos, roasted veggies, cheesy mac, and a couple of other things. She was very conscious of our groups eating preferences or limits. And as you can see, there was a lot of food and it SO good.
We gathered our stuff and got geared up for our next leg, our last stop before heading back to the garage. And, since most of the routes had been up hill, this leg was going down.
This leg took us through some of Portland’s first “designed” or “planned” neighborhood developments. The streets here were less travelled and the house older, but up kept. I mentioned as we were riding this reminded me on Broad Ripple or Meridian Street in Indy, or South Seminole Heights in Tampa.
And the next pod we came to was called “Hawthorne Asylum“. This was the grounds of a former Asylum and the walls were still standing. Inside was a larger selection of trucks. It was sweets time and Kelly asked our preferences again and went to order food. We explored a bit and noticed that some people around us were dressed in their Sunday best. We were told it was normal for a church to let out and some of the flock to gather around.
The grounds were nice and if I was not so full from lunch, there were more than a few trucks I would have ordered from. Some were local flavors, others more exotic and all smelled so good.
Kelly returned with our “24 hour Waffles” from “Smaaken Waffles”. The batter is “aged”, made 24 hours ago. And they are stuffed with a variety of things. Ours was filled with cream and jams, all homemade locally. They were delicious.
After we wobbled back to our bikes, it was a short trip (less than two vlocks) to the garage. For being as out of shape as we were, we survived and would do it again.
We bid Kelly goodbye, telling her we had a good time. We had asked for some points of interest and she suggested the Shilling Cider House. We had enough food, and a drink sounded good. Plus, we had plenty of time before our next excursion, a Spa Treatment and massage at 4:30.
We made our way to the cider house and Teresa ordered a flight of six. She was able to choose from a wide variety, from dry to sweet. She knew I would not like them all, but one of the drier ones was better than I expected. Like always, I leaned harder on the sweet ones though.
After finishing the flights and a few repeats, we headed off to explore more on foot. The spa was not far, some 20 minutes or so by foot. We had plans to go to the “Sock Dreams” store, but before we left the Cider House it was discovered that they had closed their brick and mortar store in favor of their online presence. What we found instead was “Guardian Games“.
This was a very large game store with two large gaming rooms hosting games of Magic in one room and RPG and board games in the other. Their shelf space was amazing too. We did find a game there that looked interesting with a theme of dogs. We’ll have to see how it plays.
Our next stop was at Knot Springs. We looked and knew we would be there early, but we hoped they would take us in or have a place to sit and relax. Our appointment was for the spa treatment first, then a massage.
We arrived and they let us into the lounge. Once it was our time, they invited us into the spa. We had packed our swimsuits and were assigned our lockers. We showered using the exfoliant they gave us and changed before entering the spa.
Now I’ve been to spas before and springs, but this was not like one I had been to in the past. They had a “ritual” posted on the wall, the instructions of how to use the springs and in what order. And, I tried to follow it, I really did. But the cold plunge? I’ve done ice baths before and they are not my favorite, but I understand the needs at times. The cold plunge here seemed much colder (much much colder). I could not submerge at all. I barely got waste deep before having to turn around. Teresa did not stay long either and we went to the sauna to warm up.
We tried the ritual a few more times, but that “cold Plunge” was too cold. They claim it is 47 degrees, but I left like it was much colder. Would this stop me from going again or trying a spa like this again? No to both.
The time had past and we were called for our massage. We were given a hooded sherpa, told to shower and return wearing whatever we were comfortable in. We were taken to the massage rooms and it was amazing. My masseur was great. I was having a deep tissue massage. He cautioned me that if if anything was too painful, to let him know. At one point when he was working on my arm, I spoke up and he immediately went to lightened up and worked it from a different angle.
We ubered back to the hotel that evening and just crashed.
It was Monday morning and we got up early (still on Eastern timezones, I guess). Teresa found a place called “Cheryl’s on 12th” for breakfast and we headed there. We had most of the entire day to explore, but had to be back to clean up and dress for dinner.
We found Cheryls and was able to get a seat. The food came out pretty fast. I ordered a breakfast burrito and it came out HUGE. I felt bad that I could not eat it all, but looking at other orders coming out, I was not the only one as many of the portions were quite large. When our waiter found out we were from Tampa, he told us that the owners were in St Pete gearing up to cater and event for the St Pete Grand Prix.
We waddled out and called for an Uber. Teresa made sure it was an XL as I had been struggling to get into a regular one this week. Even the Tesla’s were tight. In my defense, the day before had us in “water proof pants” over a layer of jeans and long johns, so flexibility was even more limiting for me.
Teresa had gotten us tickets to the Portland Aerial Tram and we were off to see Portland from a different perspective. When we arrived, we found our tickets had expired, but the attendant showed us some tips and we got new tickets.
We boarded the tram for the trip down. Unfortunately, for us, the views from this ride are better with clear skies. You can see Mount Hood and others in the range. Today, though, the sky was overcast with low clouds. We had a return trip and was told we have to see the observation deck after we came back up. The thing was, the view was poor and that trip would require us to get an Uber back. On the lower level, though, was the bus station and we thought we’d try the public transit.
As luck would have it, the pay station was no working. There was, however, a link to an app and we downloaded it. We were able to add money to the card and away we went.
More cities need to invest in this kind of public transit. I mean, it was clean, efficient, there were three lines that made loops throughout the city, the stops were near bus routes if needed.
We picked a stop closer to downtown as there were a few places we wanted to see. One of those was Powell’s City of Books. This is a five story bookstore in downtown and we spent a good amount of time there. While they did not have the books I was looking for to fill my collection, they had plenty others to thumb through. I even found a “Armageddon 2419 AD Buck Rogers”, a sci-fi book I read before the TV series came out.
A few shops and blocks away, we found China Town. Many of the shops were closed (Mondays), but the Chinese Garden (Lan Su) was open and we paid the admission and entered. We were told they have tours, or we can wander on our own. We had been in the gardens for some time and explored many of the areas on our own. We had even gone to the tea house. We were getting ready to leave when the docent we had met at the entrance stopped us. She told us the director of the organization responsible to the gardens was giving a tour. She let us know that is was very rare and we should stay and listen. Teresa and I looked at each other and our watches and agreed we still had time. I mean, we were not paying her for the tour, and were told we could step away if we wanted. So, we joined them in the atrium.
It was a fascinating tour. We learned a lot, including why there are no straight lines in a Chinese Garden. It slows you down. Chinese Gardens contain many symbolic imagery through too, including many ways to explain or show in infinity, a pillar of Buddhism and philosophy.
They had some original works of art from a world renowned Chinese artist. These works were almost fluid and the colors of the threads used changed color depending on the angel of light hitting it. One piece was of a cat, black, or was it orange? It was hard to tell. Again, it comes back to the philosophy of perspective and of change.
The gardens were beautiful and showing signs of spring. As the tour wrapped up, we thanked our host and made our way out. We had to get back to the hotel to change for dinner.
We cleaned up and got dressed for our last night in Portland. We had dinner reservations for the Portland City Grill. It was not a formal place requiring a jacket, but was still upscale.
This was also Teresa’s birthday dinner (though not exactly on her birthday) and was included in our tour package. The view from the 30th floor was amazing, even though it was still overcast. Our waiter made sure we had want we needed and what we wanted. He suggested some good cocktails and the cheese plate appetizer was fantastic, catering to Teresa. The main dish was a bit harder and nothing on the menu was vegetarian. The waiter did check on the pasta dish and she was able to order that. My steak was cooked well (that is to say a perfect medium) and mashed garlic potatoes were awesome too. The night ended with a birthday cake.
Soon, it was time to head back to the hotel . We needed to pack and between games and books, we were coming back with more than we came with. We also were watching the weather as a storm was moving through the Rockies and our layover in Denver was just as one hour. For those who do math, that 10-15 minutes to get OFF the plane, 20 minutes to get to the gate, and 20 minutes to board. And Denver is not a small airport.
We did make it home safely. Now time to plan another trip.
