Portland, Oregon

Have you ever visited Portland, Oregon? I mean actually visit it, not just drive through it? I have gone twice in the last year and a half, for two very different celebrations, and they were two very different experiences; but both wonderful and highly recommended.

My first weekend visit to Portland involved a group of women I had either never met before, and/or barely knew, and a LOT of wine. Sounds like the recipe for an interesting weekend, doesn’t it?

A little context/back story for you: Michael and I had been dating for roughly a year when the invite came in… The LaVergne Ladies Trip. A yearly ritual among the women on the LaVergne side of the family, in a different destination each year, and involving a different escapade each time. My understanding is that the responsibility for planning the event switches each year, as well, but this was my first experience, so I was working with a steep learning curve.

At the time of this invitation, I had only met most of the women once, except for his mother, of course, and the thought of going away for an entire weekend with my boyfriends mother (who I liked, but let’s be real here: SO. MUCH. PRESSURE.) AND all of his cousins and aunt, had me alternating between panic and delight. Regardless, obviously I said yes, and now you are caught up!

We traveled to Portland via train, something I should add that Michael had been telling me he wanted to do for several months now; he was definitely a little jealous that I was getting to do it without him. Our merry band of women were coming to this adventure from different parts of Washington state, from as far north as Sumas, down to Tacoma, and so we each joined the train at different points along the route. My future mother-in-law and I jumped on at the Tacoma Union Station, and for ease of travel, I really don’t think it gets any easier -while still being comfortable- than a train ride. Everyone gets to relax, chat and enjoy the view along the way, so the six of us had a great time!

Since I didn’t plan the majority of this trip, but was just along for the ride, I can’t tell you where we stayed, but it was at an air bnb kind of residence, on the outskirts of Portland-total suburbia- and it was a beautiful spot. After the first night, which we spent getting situated, and finding a little Mexican restaurant where we enjoyed their margaritas as much as we enjoyed their food, we spent all day Saturday doing a guided wine tour, and it was amazing.

There were only the seven of us (a third cousin drove down Saturday morning to join us at the house) and the driver/guide in the van, and we visited three different wineries, in such beautiful country that I never would have believed existed as part of Portland. Perhaps you’re like me; I just think: city, skyscrapers, traffic, and freeways when I hear Portland, but this autumn country-side was so breathtakingly gorgeous and I was enthralled as we traveled to each winery. I am sorry to say that I can’t remember the name of the tour company, especially since they were great, but I do remember the wineries! August Cellars, Styring Winery and Beacon Hill Winery.

Each location had it’s selling points, and I know that someone in our group bought wine from each of the wineries. Rather than going on and on about just how gorgeous each was, however, I’ll show you with some of the pictures I took while we were out and about!

Some key suggestions in case you go to these fabulous places:

If you ever go to Styring Winery- ask them for the port that pairs with chocolate like nothing you’ve ever tasted before. It will BLOW. YOUR. MIND. They saved it for last on our tour (and it will probably be a part of your tour as well) and it was so darn amazing the difference a piece of chocolate made when tasting that port. Also, one our favorite parts of the entire day happened at Styring. They walked out us out into their vineyard and had us taste the grapes OFF THE VINE. As they explained to us which grape made which wine, we were able to pick one and taste it right out there in the beautiful sunshine- with a glass of wine in our hand, of course! It was so neat and such a fun extra touch! And let me tell you- they do not taste like your grocery store grapes!

The views and accommodations at Beacon Hill were the best that whole day- which is saying something because it was gorgeous down there! Again, I never knew so much country-side existed in Portland, but our tour guide informed us that Oregon has established an Urban Growth Boundary, which controls urban expansion, and protects the farms and forest that surround Oregon’s cities. In my humble opinion it’s the best “law” I’ve heard in a while, because NOT keeping that country-side exactly the way it is, would be a tragedy.

The tasting rooms at Beacon Hill were huge and castle-like, but the cute little crafting tables they had outside for the kids (big and small alike) to decorate their own pumpkins was a fun little extra, and definitely a nice way to end the day.

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My second visit was at a different time of the year (by only two months) with much less drinking, but was equally enjoyable!

Michael’s 49th birthday was last year; he’s a December baby, and I decided to make that train ride trip to Portland wish come true for him, at last. I managed to surprise him (and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy) with the trip the weekend after Christmas, and the entire trip went much better than I had hoped! I picked a hotel via Expedia, with only the pictures, and reviews, to go by, but it looked like a beautiful piece of history so I was pretty excited about it; our arrival at The Benson Hotel was almost everything I had hoped it would be.

In the pictures, the decorations for Christmas were just beautiful and I had really hoped that they would still be up since December wasn’t over yet. Apparently we missed them by just a couple of hours, as they had been taken down the night before and that morning. Luckily, the hotel was still beautiful and amazing, though, and it was one of the highlights of our trip, for sure!

We spent the next day and a half wandering the streets of Portland, shopping and sightseeing till we dropped. We even snuck in a movie (the newest Star Wars, because, of course, the Fiancé is a nerd. Just kidding!) in the theater located just a couple of blocks up from the hotel. We walked miles, tried several of the local places to eat, and just enjoyed the Christmas lights, which were still up, thank goodness!

No, we did not go to VooDoo Donuts- at least, we didn’t stand in the line that wrapped around the corner, still, around lunch time. We did, however, try out the very cute Bijou Cafe, just up the street, and it was yummy, quirky, and most definitely bijou. El Gaucho was highly recommended by the hotel (they even give you a free complimentary dessert for being a guest of the hotel) but we never made it there. We did try the pizza place across the street (and up half a block) from The Benson, called The Crown, and if you love Chicago or New York style pizza, you’ll love them!

We also had a chance, thanks to my brother and his girlfriend, to catch a comedy show at Harvey’s Comedy Club on 6th Ave. They had three people up on stage that night, and we have to admit, we were more than pleasantly surprised at how funny they were! Good drinks, munchies to pass the time with, and enough laughter to hurt your sides. They may have had more food, but we didn’t even look, since we had dinner at the Yard House prior to the show. (Another great place to check out if you like just swanky enough sports bars!)

It has taken me so long to get this post finished, mainly because I was also busy planning a wedding, and in the era of Covid-19, that turned out to be much harder and more stressful than I ever anticipated. During those same months we were quarantining, and still trying to plan, people began to hold protests in both Seattle and Portland. As everyone knows, the protests in Portland still haven’t stopped, and I looked over this almost finished post tonight, wondering how many of those restaurants and stores we enjoyed were still open. I wondered if those same shopping district sights, and lights, would still be as beautiful in two months, as they were last year. All I can do is hope…