I had to go to Portland for work so I decided to turn it into a weekend getaway! I caught an early 7AM flight Thursday morning and made it to Portland by 9AM just in time to start a beautiful and strangely warm October day. My work visit started off with a minor injury. *warning: bloody foot photo below*

Luckily it looks worse than it was and after my onsite event ended, I walked over to a nearby Whole Foods and tucked into hot bar takeaway while working through the afternoon. I had a frustrating evening sorting through finding a rental car, but luckily I have patient people in my life to help me out! I spent Friday working from my Airbnb and picked up my rental car that evening before exploring the neighborhoods around Beaverton.

I spent my night relaxing in bed with a cup of hot tea writing and went to sleep early…and I slept for 11 hours! The next day I woke up and hit the road to see Columbia River Gorge. I was bummed when the parking lots for Multnomah Falls were full, but I just kept on driving. I ended up pulling over to talk to a park ranger and picked a trail he recommended. The trail wasn’t the most peaceful since it ran parallel to the highway, but it offered some amazing views of the Columbia river and the surrounding mountains.

I started to head back toward Portland and luckily the parking lot for Multnomah Falls had empty spots! I pulled in and ventured over to the falls. It was stunning, but definitely overrun with tourists.

I hit the road again and headed to Flex and Flow, the yoga studio where Sweatpink (an amazing community of female bloggers) began! Visiting the studio was a must-do item on my Portland bucket list. I made it in time for a 3pm Power Vinyasa class with Nic–a lovely lady I’ve known via email for years now! Meeting her in person was surreal and her class absolutely kicked my butt (especially after hitting the trails that morning).

After yoga I met up with an old friend I’ve known since I was five years old. I hadn’t spoken with her in maybe four years, but catching up brought me so much joy. Plus, she has incredible taste in food and brought me to the best place for ramen in Portland: Afuri.

We started with the seasonal Butternut Squash plate with chili hazelnut miso, mustard greens, and hazelnut:

I ordered the Truffle Miso: miso tare, mushroom tomato broth, wild mushroom, beansprout, Chinese chive, and truffle oil.

That evening I wandered around the Pearl District and went to Powell’s bookstore–the store takes up an entire city block!! While I loved it, I have to say it was a bit too overwhelming for me. I slept like a baby Saturday night and woke up ready for a day of adventures on Sunday. I started my day in Washington Park and ended up wandering around for over two hours around the trails–I ended at the Rose Garden, which was magnificent.

So many roses in full bloom with unusually warm weather and plenty of sunshine.

Somehow I managed to find my car again and drove to the Oregon Historical Society Museum. I am a history nerd through and through–some of my favorite topics include history related to the Titanic and the Oregon Trail. I still vividly remember a unit on the Oregon trail from third grade; I wrote a diary from the perspective of a young girl (named Lucy Kitty Smith) on the trail and filled 60 pages with her thoughts and experiences on the trail. I hoped the museum would include more about the trail, but there wasn’t too much there. I ended the day in the Alberta Arts District walking down streets full of cute shops, thrift stores, and art galleries. I wandered around until it was time to head to the airport.

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Have you been to Portland? What would your favorite part of the trip be?