Portland, OR

This past weekend, we traveled to Portland, Oregon for a wedding. We had beyond a great time!

If you ever get the chance to go to Portland/Oregon/The Pacific Northwest, DO IT! The weather and scenery were beautiful. It was so nice to escape the heat for a few days - highs in the 80s. That's right the high. The high. In July! It was perfect sitting on the porch weather. It was perfect walking around town weather. It was perfect hiking weather. It was...well, perfect weather.

We stayed in Portland and it was our first time to use Airbnb. While, of course, there are a few trade offs from staying in a hotel, overall I really enjoyed it. The first place we stayed at was in the hills just to the west of downtown. It was a beautiful area and the house we stayed in had a wonderful view, surrounded by trees, and had a large fruit and vegetable garden out front. At the end of the trip, we stayed in a cute retro airstream. To me, Airbnb gave a much more in depth view of the city by having us stay in neighborhoods and in more unique rooms than a standard hotel. Based on our experience, I would definitely recommend using Airbnb.

Portland is a picturesque city - a large river running through the center, interesting architecture and bridges, street art and murals, boutique shopping, great walk-ability, and plenty of greenery. Downtown is a fun area to walk through and thanks to the wonderful weather, I never felt too tired or worn out from being hot (aka sweating). Along the river are plenty of parks to enjoy the sights that were filled with bikers, sunbathers, and geese. Towards the center of downtown, was a large food stand/cart area with a wide selection of different cuisines. Powell's Books is one of the largest bookstores around and takes up a whole city block and is 4 stories. You could easily get lost and spend a whole day searching through their gifts and books. There's also plenty of amazing boutique shopping to do downtown for unique gifts, crafts, and art. I highly recommend Tender Loving Empire.

There were plenty of delicious places to eat in Portland too. Our first meal there was Pine State Biscuits. We had fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, eggs, and homemade poptarts. Sizzle Pie has delicious NY style slices. I had the goat cheese, chive, and white truffle oil pizza. It was insanely good. Of course, there's Voodoo Doughnuts. Walking through the door a sweet, sugary perfume smacks you right in the face. There are SOOOO many options too. None of them wrong. This trip, I had the (big as your face) apple fritter and a mexican hot chocolate cake donut. They even have a huge donut called the Texass. Everything I had from a food cart was delicious. Downtown Portland (via twitter) recommends Koi Fushion, Nong's Khao Man Gai, Kim Jong Grillin, and Juniper Cart (I was in the mood for Asian when I asked). They also directed us towards SouthPark Seafood restaurant which had good prices and super fresh seafood dishes. I also recommend Salt & Straw. They make crazy creative ice cream flavors including one of Oprah's favorite things - olive oil ice cream. I thought it sounded strange but I gave it a try. It was sweet, creamy, and refreshing. I ended up getting blackberry birthday cake.

Medford & Jacksonville

The wedding was in Medford, OR which is about 4 hours south of Portland. The drive was through the hills and forests of Oregon with plenty of deer and birds hiding just inside the tree line. Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S., is about an hour north of Medford. It is a spectacular place with great fishing and beautiful colors. Medford is a quaint town filled with plenty of farms, orchards, and natural beauty. It is part of the Rogue River Valley for which is Rogue Brewing is named. We spent our time there enjoying views of Table Rock, the Rogue River, walking through pear orchards, kayaking and swimming. Despite only being in the upper 80s the water was perfect and the water activities wonderful.

As evening fell, the wedding began and was beautiful - set just outside the orchard. It was catered by the amazing Jacksonville Inn. I had probably one of the most tender steaks in my life. Who knew some Northerners could cook good beef? It was a wonderful event and the stars over Table Rock were beautiful.

On the way back to Portland the next day, we stopped in town at Lillie Belle Farms Chocolates and Rogue Creamery. Lillie Belle's chocolates were insanely good and delicate. I bought six truffles: peanut butter jelly, marshmallow and peanut butter, banana and honey, strawberry cream, and tequila lime. All good but that banana and honey one...oh man. Rogue Creamery hand makes cheeses and I had one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever plus a million samples. At both places, you can watch behind the scenes as they work to make their cheeses and confections.

All-in-all a wonderful trip with good friends, delicious food, and beautiful scenery. Can't ask for much more. But it's always nice to be back home in Fort Worth.

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