Portland Visitors Guide

This is a write-up on what I think are fun things to do in and around Portland. I have always wanted to throw something together, but never really found the time. I love living in Portland, but frankly I think the best stuff to do as a visitor is in the area around the city rather than inside it. Anyway, with that said, let's get down to business.

Downtown

Beer
The Northwest is well known for microbrews. Find out if there is a beer festival going on while you are here (assuming you are a beer fan). I talk about some of my favorites in this post.

If you are not so lucky, then I would suggest checking out some pubs. A lot of them have beer samplers -- ask!.

• Laurelwood (there are a couple locations) has good beer and food.
• McMenamins has good beer but the food is not great. You can also catch movies, play frisbee golf, get some good wine, and more at various locations.
• Bailey's Taproom is a good place to try a bunch of local beers.
• Deschutes - Another Oregon favorite. Pretty decent food too.

Some other places I like: Lucky Lab, Hopworks, Tug Boat (if you really like hops), and Lompoc.

Japanese Garden and Rose Garden
This is located (really) close to downtown Portland. I am a big fan of the Japanese Gardens (especially when the Cherry Blossoms are out). The Rose Garden is really close and worth a walk through. You can do both in 1-2 hours.

Powell Books (downtown)
If you like bookstores, check out Powell Books (the one on Burnside downtown). This is a popular tourist destination (and also popular among locals). I personally don't see bookstores as being particularly exciting -- but if you are in to this sort of thing then check it out. Not a bad place to drop by and get some coffee and do some people watching.

Brunch
Brunch is very popular in Portland. If you are here during the week, I would suggest grabbing something (when it is not as crowded). Some popular places: Tin Shed, Screen Door, and Mothers. Your best bet is to check out Yelp.

Timbers Game
The Timbers are our soccer team (MLS). PGE park is pretty cool. Thursday is a popular game day ($2.50 cheap beer).

Food Carts
Portland is known for its food carts. Check them out!

Chinese Gardens
I have not been there yet :), but I know that some of my friends have enjoyed it. It is not particularly large, so don't plan on spending a lot of time there.

Voodoo Donuts
This place is a Portland landmark. They have all sorts of crazy donuts. Expect to wait in line (especially if you go at a popular time like in the AM or late at night). Janel and I have actually never been there -- it is one of those things that lots of people only do with visitors. Some locals really love it though.

Esplanade
Walking along the waterfront can be fun ... especially if you like bridges. I personally prefer to walk on the East side, as you can look across the river to downtown.

Outside Portland

Gorge
The Gorge is East of Portland. It is one of my favorite places. Lots of good hiking along with stuff to see if you are not interested in walking too far from the car. If you are going to hike, be ready to get your footwear muddy. It is pretty wet year round. Things also can be icy in the winter, so be careful.

I would definitely suggest doing a little driving tour on the Historic Columbia River Highway (the part between Corbett and Cascade Locks). Start at Vista House. Get out and see Latourell Falls (about a 2 minute walk). Consider walking up to Wahkeena Falls. Definitely get out and see Multnomah Falls. Before starting the drive, you should also consider driving up to the top of Larch Mountain if it is a clear day. This is a bit of a drive, and is only worth it if you have blue skies. Also be aware that the road to the top is closed during the winter months.

There are lots of great hikes in the Gorge. Three of my favorites:

• Multnomah Falls to Wahkeena Falls Loop -- ~5.5 miles -- a good number of waterfalls
• Eagle Creek -- lot's of options here (all "in and out") -- 3 miles to Punchbowl; 6 miles to the bridge; 13 miles to Tunnel Falls (but if you get this far, make sure you walk ~.25 miles past it to some awesome cliffs)
• Wahclella Falls -- A nice short (~2 miles?) hike with some nice falls at the end
• Dog Mountain (WA side) -- ~7 miles -- this is a great hike when the wild flowers are out (~May). It has a good amount of elevation gain, so don't be tricked. Probably not worth it other times of the year.

Wine Country
Oregon is known for Pinot Noir, but you can also get other varietals. There are a ton of options (see here. Your best bet is to go on a tour (so nobody needs to be DD). I have used this place twice. They are relatively cheap.

I like Elk Cove and Carlton Winemakers Studio. I am not a huge Pinot fan, so keep that in mind.

Saddle Mountain
This is a nice hike ~1 hour West of Portland on the way to the Coast. ~5.5 miles with moderate elevation gain. Great hike on a nice day. You can see the coast, the gorge, and most of the Cascade peaks.

Mt St Helens
Climbing this peak requires a permit which you need to get well in advance. It is not as hard to get permits on week days. You can definitely do this in one day (including driving up from Portland), but you can also camp at the trailhead. This is 10 mi + ~5K elevation. Other than the start, this is not really a "trail". Most of it is either scramble up bolders or a trudge up volcanic ash (at the top). This is a LOT harder than your typical 10mi hike. I have done this hike on both a perfect day and a terrible day. If the weather is looking ugly on the day you got your permits, you should consider just not going (unless you enjoy suffering).

The Visitors Center on the North Side of the mountain (the part that blew out) is also supposed to be cool. I have not been there, and it is a lot farther away than the South Side (where the summit trail is).

Silver Falls
This is a state park ~1.25 hours south of Portland. There is a 7 mile hike with a ton of great waterfalls. I suggest doing the loop starting at the main parking area at South Falls. Do the loop "counter-clockwise" (follow the rim to start out rather than dropping down near South Falls). This trail is well maintained and suitable for children.

The best time of year to go is when you are getting some snow melt (Spring and early Summer). It is good at other times -- just not as good.

Oregon Coast
You can make a day trip out to the Coast. I would suggest Ecola State Park and Cannon Beach. Seaside is a "tourist town" (mini golf, cotton candy, etc). There are lots of other options farther south, but they are too far to be a day trip. Crabbing can also be fun in months that end in "ER".

Mt Hood
Skiing/Snowboarding is pretty good from Dec - April. Snow shoeing can also be fun (White Mountain is a good one). Dinner at Timberline Lodge is solid (any time of the year). Ramona Falls is a good hike (just make sure that the road is open).

Outside Portland -- Farther Away

South Sister
This is my favorite hike in the area. It is a good distance from Portland, but something to consider. It is ~10 miles w/ ~5K of elevation gain. The trail is good until the end (which is a bit trickier on some scree). It is a great hike on a nice day. Definitely not worth the drive if the weather is not so nice. No permits required. I suggest getting an early start so that you can make it to the top before it gets warm. Note that you can do this as a day trip; just be ready for a LONG day.

Mount Rainier
This is an amazing National Park. Paradise is ~3 hours north. Probably too far for a day trip, but good for a couple days. Comet Falls and Skyline Loop hikes are good ones (near Paradise). Reflection Lake is a great place for sunrise/sunset photos.

Crater Lake
This is long way south. You definitely can't do it as a day trip, but you also don't need to spend a long time there (1 day there is probably plenty). You probably need 1 day for travel both ways. Definitely go on the boat tour.

Reflection on the first 7 weeks

I have found that people tend to forget the first couple months of parenthood, so I thought I would write some stuff down before I forgot it all (mostly for our future reference for our friends). This is going to seem really long. It is targeted at pregnant Mom's (who tend to not mind reading about baby stuff).

Before I get into things, I think that Clara has generally been a relatively easy baby so far, so keep that in mind.

Books
Just ask us and you can borrow ours. We have a lot. Books for pregnancy, early childhood, and bbreast-feeding have all been useful. The "dad" versions are decent.

Classes
We went to a childbirth class. This was worth it, but took up more time than it needed to. You probably won't enjoy the classes, but I think they were worth it in the end.

Hospital Tour -- This was short and sweet and well worth it.

At the Hospital
This is already getting a bit fuzzy in my memory :). Epidurals are the best thing ever and Pitocin is evil. There is not much you can do about getting Pitocin, but it is evil. I would recommend against having a hard-set plan for how you want the labor to go. As with many things in life, flexibility will help to keep your stress down (and you don't need need extra stress). The last thing your wife needs is to feel bad if things are not going according to plan.

Changing the first diaper sucks. Babies first #2 is this nasty tarry stuff. These diaper changes are really a pain. I would suggest bringing your own diaper wipes with you, as the things they give you are junk. You might want to practice on someone else's baby ahead of time. I volunteer Clara :).

Don't hesitate to ask for help. The nurses will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Take advantage of this. Also, talk to a lactation consultant while you are there.

Coming Home - the first few days
Lots of people say that putting the baby into the car is one of the scariest things ever. I actually did not find this to be too bad.

The first night was hard. We constantly thought the baby was going to choke on her own spit-up. You probably will feel the same way -- but know that this is not going to happen. Babies have an awesome choke reflex to prevent this.

You are not going to sleep much these days. Clara was breast feeding, and generally wanted to feed every 2 hours. In the first few days when your milk is not really flowing, it takes like an hour to feed. 1 hour break every 2 hours does not leave much time for sleeping. Don't worry -- this gets better after the first week or two. You are actually supposed to wake your baby up to eat if she has gone 3 hours -- so you are pretty much guaranteed to get no good sleep. Babies on formula tend to go longer between feedings.

Try and get out and take a walk or something. You will both feel better if you have some time to get out.

We had a lot of food frozen and ready ahead of time. This was critical.

The First Month
Our parents were not there until Clara was ~2 weeks old. I was a bit worried about this, but I think it actually went pretty well.

I took 1 week off, and worked from home the 2nd week. I thought that went pretty well. Just be ready to avoid any early morning meetings for the first month or so, as there are going to be nights that just don't work well.

The mom needs to sleep whenever she has a chance. The dad needs to take care of as many of the chores as possible so that the mom will actually sleep (especially in the first 2 weeks or so).

Sleeping
The first few weeks are going to be terrible most likely. Don't worry -- it will get better.

For the first couple weeks, the Dad should plan on getting up for all the feedings. If the mom tries to do this by herself, she will just get over tired and end up crying and being unhappy for the next day. Nobody wants that. I was in charge of all the "non-feeding" stuff. That meant getting her up and changing her diaper, and then soothing her as needed (after feedings). I did not stay up while Janel was feeding Clara, but tried to make sure Janel was getting as much sleep as she could between the feedings.

We kept Clara in our room in a Bassinet (Graco Travel Crib) for the first couple weeks. Then we moved her into her own room. There are many ways to deal with this (common topic in books) and kids seem to end up the same regardless -- so IMHO you need to do what makes you happy (whatever that is). We found that you don't need a baby monitor (at night at least) (they are still useful for naps during the day). You really don't want to hear all the little squeeks that the baby will make -- and you should have no trouble hearing the crying when it comes time to feed.

Pacifiers are great (as soon as breast feeding is established). We started after ~3 weeks. I would buy a variety of them and find out what they like the most -- then buy a bunch of the ones they like the most so that there is always one handy. Clara likes the Nook ones the best.

Diapers
We are using a cloth diaper service (Tiddee Diddee). So far we like it. I don't think we are saving much money by doing this (after taking into account the diaper covers you need to buy), and you do need to change them more often (they cannot absorb as much). Not sure if it is true or not, but I have read that babies tend to potty train sooner (since they can actually feel it), but who knows if that is true or not.

We will re-evaluate this after she starts eating solid foods (this is @ ~4 months).

You need to get diaper covers for cloth diapers. You can buy them from Amazon. We have tried three different kinds:

• Thirsties (Snaps) -- These cover a wider weight range, but the snaps require a bit more effort. These are a bit of a pain at night, but are good during the day.
• Thirsties (Velcro) -- These are our favorite.
• Bummies (Velcro) -- We find that these stain faster than the Thirsties, so we don't like them as much.

Note that poop is going to get on the covers. You are going to have to wash them. This is not a big deal, just be ready :).


Crying
Clara is really good about this. I am not a good person for advice here.

Stuff to Buy
First off, different babies like different things. I would suggest getting 1 of a bunch of things. Find out what your baby likes. Then buy more.

Amazon has a new "Baby" store. Today they give you a free 3-month membership to Amazon Prime (free 2-day shipping on everything). If you keep buying stuff from their baby store, they extend your membership (with some limitations). This is awesome. Get it. You can find a lot of stuff at Amazon for substantially cheaper than Babies R Us.

Swaddling Blankets -- We don't use them for swaddling, but they are still nice to have. I would only get a couple.

Miracle Blanket -- These are for swaddling. Clara liked them for about a week or two. She now hates them. I would suggest getting 2. You can buy more if the baby really likes it.

Sleep Sack -- I would suggest getting 2. Clara loves these. We have 2, and don't need more.

Graco Travel Lite (Portable Crib) -- This is the "cheap" one. I think the more expensive ones are pointless. Good for a bassinet early on.

Fisher Price Bouncy Chair -- Not too expensive. Clara seems to like it more the older she gets.

35mm Prime Lens for DSLR -- Only 1 chance for good photos. If you are going to go the DSLR route, make sure you get your camera a while ahead of time so you know how to use it. Otherwise you are better off with a regular digicam.

Clara's First Halloween

Here are a few photos from Clara's first Halloween. We did not get too creative with a costume this year. You can see all the photos here or download them (for a limited time) here.

Not quite sure what to think...



Janel, Clara, and the Pumpkin

At the Park with Clara

Janel and I went to Dawson Creek Park with Clara to take some photos and go for a little walk.

You can see all the photos here or download the photos (for a limited time) here. Here are a couple of them.