Portland Solo Vacation 2018

My Airbnb had an awesome view of the Portland skyline.

Panoramic view from my Airbnb’s balcony.

Mt. Hood right before dawn.

The Portland skyline at dawn.

Selfie in front of the Portland skyline.

The sun rising over Mt. Hood

My Airbnb hostess made me some authentic Thai coffee that she had just brought back from Thailand.

I had to walk this 203 step staircase to get up to my Airbnb.

This house, like the one I stayed in, was located right on the edge of a cliff, overlooking Downtown Portland.

Right at the bottom of the staircase was the Morris Marks House, a historic mansion that had just been relocated from downtown.

Closeup of the Morris Marks House, which obviously needs some work still.

Cool googie motel sign, just downhill from my Airbnb.

My Airbnb was way up on this hill.

Pioneer Courthouse, the second oldest Federal Courthouse west of the Mississippi.

Voodoo Doughnuts. I’ve heard the lines can get pretty bad, but it was okay at 8am on a Monday.

Awesome looking donuts. I chuckled at the “Gay Bar”.

I got a bacon maple doughnut and the eponymous Voodoo doughnut.

Portland is indeed weird, but Austin had the slogan first. (I checked.)

Two of these dog statues guard the gate to Chinatown.

Butte Hotel sign. To quote Beavis and Butt-Head, “Heh heh, huh huh!”

Powell’s City of Books was bigger and more amazing that I thought it would be. This is one of the few photos I snapped while perusing the shelves.

I made this exact same Oregon Trail joke on Facebook before my trip.

Hawthorne Bridge, looking west. Here you can see the center portion that lifts up for boats to pass through.

View of Southwest Portland from Hawthorne Bridge.

Marquam Bridge over the Willamette River.

Cool iron sculpture just east of the river.

Tov is one of the most amazing coffee shops in Portland, located in an old double decker bus.

Egyptian Coffee at Tov, with a little piece of Turkish Delight.

Fried Egg I’m in Love: Coffee, Mimosas and Puns.

Everything on the menu is a music pun.

More punny food trucks.

Stumptown Coffee, the original location on Division.

So many puns in Portland.

Fancy schmancy ice cream at Salt + Straw

These little bronze sculptures were all over Division Street.

I went a kava bar in Portland. Haven’t had kava since I lived in Samoa!

Kava. It tastes like black pepper and makes your lips tingle.

Awesome vintage car parked on Division Street.

I loved the sign on this coffee shop, but I had already had too much coffee to try it.

My favorite mini-sculpture on Division Street was this guy on his phone.

I really liked this sculpture on the Portland Transit Mall.

Amazing Art Deco sign.

The Portland Aerial Tram cables, from below.

Mt. St. Helens and the Willamette River.

Lots of development in Southwest Portland.

I rode the Portland Aerial Tram on a sunny day. Awesome views!

Picture of me at the top of the Portland Aerial Tram.

Loved this realistically sized bird sculpture.

Mt. St. Helens looming over the city.

Mt. Hood on a sunny afternoon.

This was the house across the street from my Airbnb. With the way it was propped up on the hill, it blew my mind every time I looked at it.

Tasty hamburger and fries at Deschutes Brewery.

I like street art and I like cats. ‘Nuff said.

Delicious biscuits and gravy at Pine State Biscuits.

Art fills the void! Very cool pop art.

I have a banana in my ear.

I love this little bathroom building downtown, with its mossy roof.

Camel or elephant?

The Big Legrowlski, yet another pun-based business.

These bright yellow chairs in front of Courier Coffee really brightened up a dreary day.

Nothing like coffee and a good book on a rainy day.

I really liked the shape of this growler.

Blossoms on a rainy day.

Cascade Barrel House was one the places I looked most forward to trying, and it lived up to the hype.

I arrived at Cascade just in time for a barrel tapping.

Hot (as in temperature) sour cherry beer. It was the best beer I had on the trip. Too bad this was the last of the keg.

Goats or dogs?

Downtown Portland on a mostly cloudy morning.

I loved this moss covered wall.

The staircase was a workout, but it was absolutely worth the views.

Statue of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce.

Egyptian themed apartment block.

Blossoms and bricks.

I love this old Victorian mansion.

Teddy Roosevelt in front of the Portland Art Museum.

Abraham Lincoln statue in the South Park Blocks.

I saw these old drinking fountains all around the city. The water is always bubbling out. I thought it was wasteful at first, but it rains so much that it’s not really a waste.

Capax Infiniti: This was hands-down my favorite street mural (though the banana was a close second.)

Blue Star Donuts. Not as funky as Voodoo, but just as delicious.

I got a blueberry glaze and a spicy filled peanut butter and jelly donut.

Case Study Coffee was probably my favorite place on the trip. (Though Tov was a close second.)

I absolutely love a busy coffee shop like this. If I lived nearby, this would be my go-to cafe.

Masala latte: like a chai with coffee instead of tea.

Director Park: one of Portland’s newer downtown plazas. Really pretty.

Pioneer Square, a/k/a Portland’s Living Room.

I like how there’s a ramp hidden amongst these brick steps.

Another one of my favorite sculptures. Love the red tie.

Towers loom over Pioneer Square.

There were little beaver and duck statues alongside Pioneer Courthouse.

Pioneer Courthouse, as viewed from the east.

Mill Ends Park, the Guinness-certified smallest city park in the world.

Mill Ends Park is home to Portland’s leprechaun population.

The Willamette River on a partly sunny day.

Morrison Bridge. Not the most exciting bridge downtown, but still cool.

This old tugboat has been turned into a maritime museum.

This war memorial is taken from the battleship USS Oregon.

I really liked this arcade.

Skidmore Fountain, which unfortunately hadn’t been turned on for the summer.

Skidmore Fountain and Ankeny Square.

Coffee is dope. Pretty sure I’m an addict.

The White Stag sign, an iconic symbol of the city. It originally advertised White Stag Sportswear, a long defunct apparel manufacturer.

Steel Bridge. Probably my favorite of the downtown bridges.

Clean up after your president.

The Portland sign with a cool old water tower.

The downtown skyline from Burnside Bridge.

Long live the wildcards, misfits and dabblers. I agree.

I love the loud exterior on this new development.

Tile art on a random mini mall.

I went up to the north side of town just for the halibut. Seriously, The Original Halibut’s had the best fish and chip I’ve ever had.

My parents used to have a Volkswagen van like this.

Another awesome mural.

Beautiful cherry blossoms on my way to Baerlic Brewing.

I went to a happy hour with the Portland chapter of AIGA, my graphic design professional group.

Pencil shaving. 😀

This might be one of my favorite drawings of Murray. I wish I had kept the original.

Last day in Portland. I found this path up on the hill near my Airbnb.

Moss everywhere.

I would love to live in one of these apartments, though I’m sure it’s well out of my price range.

Not sure what the purpose of this old building was, but I sure thought it was cool.

More moss and rocks. We don’t have anything like this in Dallas.

Salmon hash with eggs over easy. It was very tasty.

Water Avenue Coffee was another one of my favorites.

I happened to arrive at Water Avenue Coffee as they were doing a photoshoot for the point-of-sale vendor.

Pouring cream into my Americano at Good Coffee.

Hippo Hardware on East Burnside. The buildings along this stretch of road all have these arcades of the sidewalks, a remnant of a road-widening many years ago.

Portlanders are used to riding bikes in the rain, even the Purple Rain.

Another impressive house near my Airbnb.

I had to get one last coffee (or two) before heading back to Texas. Thankfully the was a Stumptown Coffee in the airport.