Blazing Trails in Portland

Downtown Portland

 I want to write about what an amazing time I had in Portland. It is all of things I want a city to be, environmentally conscious, abundant outdoor activities and good beer. A friend of mine said that Portland was the city version of me. I went there with enormous expectations and it really met them all, but somehow it was disappointing. It took me a while to put my finger on the problem but eventually I came to the sad realization that I'm just not cool enough for Portland. If someone asked me about Portland, I would 100% recommend the city. I liked it. I just didn't love it but like some poor teenage girl is hearing right now, "it's not you, it's me." It is city of hipsters. Endless people ride on their skinny tires with baskets like Dorothy and Toto. I'm not cool enough for a bike basket. People have dyed hair strands, piercing and hot pink fishnet stockings. I'm not cool enough for fishnet stockings. Within hours of being in Portland I had processed this disappointment and adjusted accordingly. Whenever I am in a new place I always try to blend in and let the city drive my experience. This time, I had to blaze my own trail. I decided to seek out the things that I love and see how they measure up in Portland.

Washington Park's Rose Garden

Stop number one was the city park. As a New Yorker, I have had the luxury of spending time in Central Park and the lesser known (and dare I say better) Prospect Park in Brooklyn. These are two of the finest city parks and it pains me to say this, but Portland's Washington Park puts them both to shame. New Yorkers say that Central Park gives them an escape from the city but that's just bullshit. If you look up you see skyscrapers, if you listen you hear a taxi blowing on the horn and there are 3 million people crowded on the lawn on a sunny day. Not exactly my idea of an escape. Washington Park on the other hand is a real escape. I really did not feel like I was in a city at all. Granted Portland is a small city and the park is up on a hill overlooking the city and not right in the center of it all, but it is still an escape nonetheless. The nature trails were secluded and rarely did I have to share them with others. The rose garden is hands down the most spectacular flower garden I have ever seen. If you have an ounce of interest in flowers or gardens this place will blow your mind.

My Food Truck

Stop number two was lunch at the food trucks. These aren't your Daddy's food trucks filled with grease and parked outside some construction site. This was a block, all four sides of the block bumper to bumper food trucks of every imaginable variety. I had the most incredible veggie sandwich. As a vegetarian, I have had a lot of bad veggie sandwiches in my day but this one was by far the best I've ever had and only cost me $5. You feel like you've hit the food lottery when something tastes so good and was so cheap. It definitely doesn't happen often enough.

Columbia River Gorge

Stop number three took me out of Portland to the Columbia River Gorge. People always say that Portland is an outdoor lovers paradise, but Portland isn't really. The area around Portland is undoubtably an outdoor lovers paradise with Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. Unfortunately you can't access either of them using public transportation so I hopped on a guided tour of the gorge. The tour included waterfalls and a view of the gorge that convinced me that the words gorge and gorgeous are appropriately linked. The view from the Vista House left me imagining Lewis & Clark paddling down this gorge sensing that they are approaching the Pacific Ocean. Bottom line, you might not be cool enough for Portland but in the spirit of Lewis & Clark explore around and you're bound to find something that is just right for you.