Portland and the Columbia River Gorge

We timed our stay in Portland to coincide with our 10th wedding anniversary.  It’s crazy to think that we’ve been married for 10 years (and together for 14)!  Time flies.  It has been a wonderful 10 years, and I feel very lucky to have found Paula (as many of you confirmed when I told you she agreed to go on a 5 week+ road trip in a VW camper).  I definitely married up.

We had a great weekend to celebrate our anniversary, comprising of both family activities and adult nightlife thanks to the nanny service provided by our hotel.  We stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown Portland, which I really need to plug.  It combines a great location, a grand old building, and creature comforts.  The hotel sits in the Pearl district in downtown, which has many restaurants and nightclubs, is centrally located and near the river, and was a short walk to bike rentals.  It’s located in the historic Multnomah hotel building, which had interesting architecture and wasn’t bland like so many Embassy Suites. The suites have 2 separate rooms (privacy!) along comfortable beds and pillows (a must!) at very reasonable price (plus the bellhop comp’ed the $25 day parking charge which didn’t hurt).  They have a nice fitness room which has windows overlooking the pool, so we were able to work out while watching the boys swim in the pool (everyone’s happy!).  They also include made-to-order breakfast (a generous buffet and made-to-order omelets).

For our first dinner, we walked as a family to a pretty good Thai food place called E-San.  The next morning, we rented bikes at Waterfront Bicycles – they had kid’s trailer bikes so the kids could ride along at our pace – and followed a great path that took us along both banks of the Williamette River.  We had lunch at a great market

For our anniversary night out, Paula and I started with a warm up at a local watering hole, then went to Saucebox, which has a hip, energetic atmosphere and tasty Asian cuisine.  Service was perfectly paced and there only when we needed something.  We would definitely go back.  After dinner, we hit up the Thirsty Lion to see some live music.  Marv Ellis was playing.  He seemed promising on MySpace (I like to preview before going to see acts live), but was just OK live – a little bit too much of the white guy wannabe rapper in him (remember Eminem?).  All-in-all, we had a great night.

The next day we visited Powell’s Books on West Burnside at Nate’s insistence (we told him about the many suggestions we received to go there), which is an amazing book store.  The kids were happy for hours, and we each left with at least 2 books.  Before heading to the Columbia River Gorge, we also visited Washington Park (home to the Rose Gardens and the Japanese Gardens).  Again this was thanks to recommendations we received, and we all enjoyed walking around the park and playing on the teetor totters (which aren’t outlawed in Oregon apparently).

Dynamic Duo: Nate and I are teamed up and ready to go cycling around Portland!

Rest stop: We stopped at the amusement park along the river for a few rides, games, and a corn dog for Nate.

Geese in the road: Portland has great bike paths, but bikers aren't the only ones who use them!

Teetor Totters: The boys enjoyed playing hide and seek in the Rose Gardens at Washington Park, but the teetor totters were their favorite attraction.

Maybe this is why all states should outlaw teetor totters?

New statues: The boys add their own flair to the Portland Rose Gardens

View from the Japanese Gardens in Washington Park - you can see Mt Hood in the background

Watch your step: Paula and Nate hike along Eagle Creek Trail in the Columbia River Gorge area.

Punchbowl Falls: one of the scenic rewards along the Eagle Creek Trail.

Rusty stops to pose for a picture along the Columbia River.