Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Portland Visit


I spent the last four days in Portland, Oregon visiting my little sister, Erin, and her new home town.  She moved there a little over three weeks ago to pursue work and school.  We had a lot of fun exploring Portland together and all it's creative outlets.  When thinking back to what we did I would have to say the first thing that stands out in my mind is the food!  We went to so many delicious and different eateries it was always exciting when mealtime rolled around.  Organic, fresh, local, delicious!  It was everywhere.  The Co-ops, nautral food, organic restaurants, and farmer's markets, made it so easy to eat well.


Another thing that stands out is the Green Design.  Portland is known for it's forward thinking environmentally friendly building, design, and remodeling.  There are so many outlets and opportunities to do the right thing for the environment it is more normal than unique in this little city.  One of my favorite new resources for building materials has to be the Rebuilding Center in the Mississippi District.  Doors, windows, cabinets, lighting, hardware...you name it and it's all collected from former homes and gathered for your disposal.  I would love to have closer access to this store!  And the best part is that it is directly across from the best Mexican food restaurant, Porque No!  Homemade guacamole, tortilla chips, and sangria make for a delicious lunch. 


But I digress, I should probably go in chronological order of the events.  The first day of my visit we spent meeting her roommates, visiting Powell's bookstore (a Portland favorite), shopping, a job interview, happy hour, and a baseball game with the Portland Beavers vs. the Sacramento River Cats.  I think we were more interested in the silly mascot then the game...or maybe that was just me.

The next day was started with a free introduction to kettle bell at a gym called, Spinach, in downtown Portland.  Erin, her two friends, and I got a personal class which has proven to leave us all sore (and a little bruised) but very happy with this new form of exercise.  Then off to a farmer's market (Portland has plenty to choose from) near Portland State University where Erin will be attending this coming fall.  That afternoon we went to another baseball game at University of Portland (UP), where Erin's boyfriend, Nik, is an alum.  That night was a trip to St. John's Pub a McMenamins theater which is a restaurant/pub/movie theater where you can do all three at the same time in a rustic restored building.  Fun and cheap and they are all over the city :)


Sunday Erin and I had a nice six mile run in Forest Park, a large park across the river from her house and then cleaned up for brunch at another great eatery called Tin Shed in the Alberta neighborhood.  An hour wait seemed well worth it after we each had a delicious meal.  While waiting I toured around the neighborhood and found a great sewing shop that rents machines by the hour and offers free help to anyone that needs it, a fabric store, and a knitting store.  I was in crafting heaven :)


Some shopping and more touring of Portland that afternoon and then out to a neighborhood pub called, Leisure, to meet up with more of Erin's friends. 


It was a great trip and I'm already sad that I won't be eating another fantastic meal with my sister today.  Thanks Erin for being a wonderful hostess!  Looking forward to coming back!

PS- I borrowed a few photos from the internet because I didn't have my usual professional (Zach) with me. 

2 comments:

zach latham said...

I'm glad you had such a great trip, it's super cool that you and Erin are such close friends, I can't wait to see her back in ID!

Erin said...

Sarah, I had a blast and miss you already. I wish you guys were closer, but love that you can come out for periodic visits.