I’d have to say the “Big 4” must visit cities of the Pacific Northwest are Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle and Portland. We basically live in the first one (A 20 minute drive from the city limits), and have been to the next two countless of times, but for some reason have never made it to Portland. What were we waiting for? If you have never been, and find yourself headed out west, do yourself a favor and head down to this haven of food and Hipsters.
I think for many, the first stop in Portland is Voodoo Donuts, and it was certainly ours. We had a beautiful, sunny afternoon to head down to sample their deliciousness. Be prepared if you go. The donuts are huge and sweet.
Venturing out from Voodoo Donughts I was taken by Portland’s abundance of old buildings. It made me realize how poor of a job Vancouver has done in preserving it’s own architectural history.
We then went to Powell’s books, the largest independent bookseller of new and used books in the world. 68,000 square feet of books. It was incredible. And we found some amazing deals as well. Old Typewriters at Powell’s in the Art and Architecture section.
On our second day we went on an incredible food cart culinary tour with Eat Adventures. (http://www.eatadventures.com/) They drive you around Portland’s many districts taking you to some of the best Pods in the city. Everything was incredibly yummy. Highly recommended.
If you go to Portland make sure to take some time to drive out to the Columbia river gorge and take the old Gorge Highway to see some of the amazing waterfalls. Don’t do like me however, and leave your tripod quick release attachment sitting at home. It made taking these long exposure images very challenging. I had lots of good images ruined by unsteadily balancing the camera on top of the tripod head. This made me a bear to be around. So kudos to my family for allowing me back into the car, and thankfully I got a few good captures out of it.
On the way back home we stopped in Seattle at Pike Place Market for lunch. Mental note: Do not arrive there at 12:00 PM on a Sunday and expect to find a place to park your car or your butt. I turned into a massive grump until I got a very nice bowl of chowder in me. I was then able to look around and capture a few images of the neon and other sites. I will definitely be returning for a day on my own to walk and shoot.
So to make a long story short: GO TO PORTLAND!