Westward Ho to Portlandistan

The air smelled like campfire when I stepped out of the PDX airport in Oregon and among my first surprises was the abundance of green during the dead of winter. Portland's wet season allows moss to remain on trees year-round. I never saw it rain in Portland, but the roads were always wet.


I had my first hoppy Oregon beer, a Hammerhead Brew, at McMenamin's Kennedy School - an old school which now serves as an inn with a restaurant, a pub, hot tubs and a theater pub. The McMenamin's name surfaces all over the Portland area where craft brews are served. Between the beer and Oregon wine country just several miles outside the city, this town is serious about their libations.

While shopping for dinner, the folks were significantly more pleasant buying groceries at their Trader Joe's than those at Manhattan's Upper West Side Fairway. (Perhaps because the shopping carts actually fit through the aisles...) I met a house full of colorful residents in the SE Mt. Tabor neighborhood where I stayed. The house had a grafitti wall with sharpie-d quotes and a spray painted bathroom that looked like it belonged in the East Village. I joined them for a Sunday ritual: "Dance Church" at Om Tradition Arts and with that experience I was truly welcomed to "Portlandistan" - a hippie good time of movement meditation and community building with a play list of high energy sacred dance music. A sign in the studio indicated the guidelines: "No booze, no shoes, no coke, no joke."

In addition to hoppy beer, the people in this town care deeply about their coffee. I drank freshly brewed Stumptown cappuccino at Albina Press, a bright and sunny space for caffination where MacBooks abound. All the coffee shops I visited had excellent Wi-Fi, local artists exhibited on the walls and plenty of bikes parked out front.


It took two hands to count the other Subaru’s on the road all headed toward the coast. The sun spots cleared the clouds just enough to see the volcanoes. Apparently during the winter one can go days at a time without seeing the volcanoes. Our first stop on this day of coastal tiki-touring was Cannon Beach. The beach is home to stunning rock formations including Haystack Rock – the third-largest of its kind in the world.


After seeing a handful of fully arched rainbows at Cannon Beach I started calling the place fairytale land. The weather systems from the rainy season maintained magical atmospheric conditions letting the sun sparkle on the water periodically. The high winds allowed flocks of pelicans to simply float in the sky without flapping their wings and the tide was savage with huge waves smashing into the rocks. After carving though the towering pines on the way to the beach and seeing the powerful stretch of ocean, I was humbled and reminded that nature will beat my ass.










We drove through one of the parks, actually considered somewhat of a rainforest with a canopy of trees, heavy moss and ferns growing wildly. More stunning emerald scenery unique to Oregon.



After stopping at the crashing waves of South Jetty(which looked like the ocean I imagined in Melville’s Moby Dick) and a few other coastal lookouts, we made it to Astoria, recognizable as the filming location of the final pirate ship scene in Goonies – a crucial fun fact to any American child of the 80’s! Huge barges were at port here and the Wet Dog Cafe offered a fantastic view of the ocean at dusk. I drank more good beer with my “ clucker” burger topped with a friend egg as we took a moment to reflect on our favorite scenes from Goonies…




Back in Portland my partner and I took a free yoga class at People's Food Co-op in a lovely studio above the produce for sale. A tea stand is set up out front and the bench is made of cob, a “green” material made of clay, straw and earth. The City Repair Project, behind much of Portland's beautification, also uses the material.

Petit Provence fueled us for our day skiing on Mt. Hood with strong coffee, the breakfast special (eggs, chicken basil sausage, polenta and toast) and the very best chocolate croissant ever. EVER. Seriously, so good. Multnomah Falls are the highest in the area, just 15 or so minutes outside of Portland, and the Columbia Gorge goes on for miles with breathtaking views of volcanoes and pines all along the way.




Of the three ski resorts on the Mt. Hood we chose to spend the day at Timberline which is at the highest elevation (read: best views.) And for you movie buffs, the lodge at Timberline appears in The Shining. We had plenty of runs to ourselves on the uncrowded mountain enjoying views of the other volcanoes well into Washington. When I first arrived I wondered if the steamy cloud atop the volcano was smoke but I was quickly educated that each volcano has its own weather system that looks like a little dome-shaped cloud over the crater.




Nikolas Lebanese is a gem serving up decadent mesa platters, mint tea and pitas almost two feet in diameter. There are no reservations but table turnover is quick and we were sampling succulent lamb kabobs and grape leaves in no time at this adorable family joint that has been in existence for 20 years.



Happy hours are yet another way to experience Portland. We could always find one extending well beyond the hours that one would traditionally consider "cocktail hour." Our friend Sophie was sporting her Ovulation Awareness T-shirt when we met her - she had recently published a zine on the same topic. This is a zinester town and places like the IPRC and other presses offer resources for self-publishing. Craft beers were $2 into the evening at Eastburn which had cage like swinging chairs that disguise if you’ve had one too many or are just swaying in your seat. I wanted to save my meager receipt at the end of the night to wistfully remember the low beer prices once I get back to New York where I would be charged $6 for a single beer.


On New Year’s Eve we rode a red vintage Schwinn tandem bike through Ladd’s Addition (a perfectly groomed square of Pleasantville houses) to Clinton Corner, yet another cozy neighborhoody coffee shop and breakfast joint for some eats. This trip is seriously recharging my batteries with amazingly tasty and healthy food. This morning it was a Nova omelet with smoked salmon and goat cheese and, you guessed it, Stumptown coffee.


The city proved its reputation for being bike-friendly during our bike across the Hawthorne bridge into SW, the business district and downtown. Pioneer Square is a central plaza and colorful ethnic cart food stands line the nearby street. I also got to check out the shiny OHSU hospital at the top of the hill with views of Mt. Tabor when my partner got called in to do some work.


My New Year’s treat and retreat was at Breitenbush Hot Springs. Upon arrival Mike and I were given a sled to pull our bedding and bags through the snow to our little cabin in the woods. Breitenbush is an off-the-grid magical respite and retreat center with all vegetarian meals, sanctuaries for yoga and meditation, a reading room, lodge with a fireplace and spiritual programming. The vibe is like walking into the first five minutes of yoga class while everyone else is set up and doing their practice. It’s the kind of place where you take your watch off and lounge around in your softest clothes and stocking feet-even for meals in the dining hall! Without my watch or a countdown I can’t tell you exactly where I was at midnight on New Year’s but I have a feeling it was under the falling snow in a geothermal hot pool among the pines. Stunning. I was able to do a yoga practice in the sanctuary with windows to the woods and rain pouring down and I later joined in a Chakra meditation based on imagery of Bridget Davies. The vegetarian meals left me feeling cleansed and nourished, and after a hectic period in New York prior to my trip, the luxury of time without structure was the space I craved. The hot pools were situated along a rushing river, high from the rainy season, and a sauna was also nearby to visit between soaks. The Silent Pool was especially serene with the best river view of any. My time at Breitenbush was the best gift I’ve ever received.


Back in Portland tried the happy hour at Night Light – a good hang in SE. A double date had us bar hopping on Alberta Street during an Art on Alberta night (a tradition which normally occurs the last Thursday of each month). After sampling Oregon beer at a few spots including Tin Shed ad the very hopping Vendetta which boasts all-season outdoor space, we found ourselves at Voodoo Donuts where we were served a huge Boston crème donut by a thouroughly pierced hipster couple. Our friend Tyson was selected for a donut eating contest in front of the shop. He won and will have icing in his beard forever now I think. Also, in Portland, if you can grow facial hair, you probably have a beard.


The tandem bike got more use during our final day in the city with a trip to J&M for breakfast (I recommend the Mediterranean scramble) and to the legendary Powell’s city of books – the largest book store in the country! They had an entire rack of local zines and you actually get a map to navigate the color-coded rooms of books.


Our tandem bike continued to 23rd street, a charming stretch of shops and restaurants including Vivace Coffee House and Creperie where we shared a strawberry and nutella crepe. Another stop on this tasting tour was the Rogue Brewery, known for its Dead Guy Ale. Andina was the real star dining establishment serving Peruvian small plates and Pisco Sours during happy hour. Peanut, passion fruit and hot sauces garnished our beef hear and octopus skewers. Amazing.


And after an entire week of doing nothing mediocre in Portland I think I’m in love.