As I mentioned in my Friday Five on Friday, I went on a girls weekend trip with my sister and our best friend from high school. We all have one or two kids under 5 and were looking forward to a fun getaway together for the first time in 8 or 9 years. It was a great time and I got home on Sunday at 10am so still got in some quality family time this weekend it. I should do this more often!
My sister and I on the plane (right before we joint-read US Weekly)
The weekend started out with a lively ride in from the airport on the MAX train. Boy oh boy, Portland really has this public transportation thing figured out. We carried on our bags, so we breezed right off of the plane on onto the MAX train in no time at all. It was a gorgeous afternoon in Portland, and we cruised by some familiar sights (Lloyd Center Mall, undergoing construction; the Rose Garden) over the bridge into Portland. I lived in Portland for 3 months during a summer in college and it was fun to be back and see familiar things.
We arrived to our destination, which was the Nines Hotel across from Pioneer Square. It turned out to be a fantastic hotel for the group. First, the rooms have 2 queen beds (which is nice when sharing beds with friends) and are very spacious. Second, it was conveniently located right in the middle of downtown, walking distance to a lot of shopping and activities (more on that later). Third, it's a fairly hipster place (kind of like a W Hotel) and while I am not a hipster, it was a nice change from our typical family-friendly accommodations. Look, when I am on vacation without the kids, I don't want to be staying with other people's kids!
The first night, we walked up Morrison to get a bite to eat. We stopped in at the conceirge's two recommendations, both of which had an hour and a half wait. I have become a real curmudgeon since having kids, but I have no idea who waits around for dinner, for an hour and a half, starting at 8pm! Vampires, I think. Instead, we headed to a non-descript Mexican joint that had room. Can't remember the name, it was completely fine and not something I would highly recommend.
Saturday was our main day in Portland, and we really wanted to make the most of it. Even without our little alarm clocks present, we all woke up early (I cannot sleep in anymore, darnit!) and went for a stroll along Tom McCall Waterfront Park. This walking strip along the Willamette is to me the highlight of Portland. You have a wonderful view of the downtown buildings, the wide sparkling river and the bridges spanning across the city. At one point, we passed an office building with huge windows right out on the water, and I thought for a split second that I needed to move to Portland and have that view every single day. Then I remembered that it's gray and rainy in Portland for 6000 days a year. (Side note, I overheard a couple on the flight back saying that they were thinking about moving to Portland from Santa Barbara, and they went up for the weekend to visit the city for the first time ever and really experience it. The weekend it was 80 degrees and gorgeous, which they must take for granted in Santa Barbara. Ummm, I hope you visit again in January, people!) On our long walk, we discussed live with children, our hopes and dreams, all of that good stuff. It is always good to catch up with girlfriends and hear about their lives and attempts to juggle everything.
River view, standing on one of the bridges
The long walk ended at SW 10th and Alder, one of the spots in Portland where food trucks congregate in a city block. There must have been a hundred food trucks in that one place, which is incredibly wonderful for pedestrians but makes you wonder what the local restaurants think of it. There were so many mouth-watering choices but I knew I had to have thai food, because a) I love thai food and b) I never get good thai food in my neighborhood. We shared an amazing lunch from Sawasdee Thai that was one of the culinary highlights of the trip. I have no idea how they prepare such delicious food from a 10x10 truck, but they did it, and I loved it. We had Pad Thai and Pad See Ew (I swear this is not the first time I've had thai, I just love the basics) - amazing.
Well, I am going to pause on the recap here and leave you in suspense for a day or two. Did they make it home? Were they eaten by wild bears? Stay tuned to find out!
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