Portland is a major city in Oregon. I wasn’t expecting much when we decide to visit. Boy, how was I impressed with its natural beauty, history, gourmet foods, its book-loving people!
Day 1. Trillium Lake, a hidden gem where people can fish, kayak, hiking and camping. We came here to see the snow capped Mount Hood. It’s a cloudy day, but we were lucky to see the tip of Mt. Hood. The boys had fun kayaking while me and hubby hiked around the lake. Btw, get cash ready, as the park entry fee is cash only.
From Trillium Lake, we headed over to Multnomah Falls at Corbett, which is well-known for its three levels. We hiked to the middle level but some adventurers hiked all the way up to the top.
Next stop: Vista House. Built in 1917, this house sits at Crown Point. It’s close to sunset, we weren’t able to get in. No regret though, because the view from the house was simply stunning!
Day 2. Powell Book store, the iconic bookseller at Burnside, with nine color-coded rooms. Our goal was to get a book for each of us. I picked a second-hand book: Don’t sweat over small things and it’s all small things. A good read for the rest of the trip.
Filling our souls with wisdom, we went to visit the wise man living in his airplane home in Hillsboro. This gentleman, Bruce, is the most welcoming and warm-hearted host. He prepared clean slippers for each visitor. We didn’t make appointment, he accepted our visit nonetheless. The inside of airplane (Boeing 727-200) was kept very clean by Bruce, who bought the airplane from Greece. Bruce is ambitiously building another airplane home in Japan, which would be fully functional.
Day 3 Cannon Beach. Quiet beach side town. Windy and chilly. It seems pacific west share similar temperature in summer time, from Northern California up to Oregon. We didn’t stay too long as Seattle is waiting for us:)
Foods / restaurants: Din Tai Fung at Washington Square offers tasty Chinese dumplings; Fuddo Yama Ramen serves your meals with robots and the small store is well decorated with Japanese anime characters. Of course, Voodoo Doughnuts, you can’t miss it!
