Such a fun weekend! We had our first guests (they gave the guest bed five stars, so looks like Hotel PM is officially an “it” destination) and they’d never been to Portland before, so we jammed a ton of adventures into two short days.

Saturday started with a few Portland classics in The Pearl – Powell’s and Voodoo Doughnuts.

Food carts for lunch, walking along the waterfront, and then a new favourite – Punch Bowl Social where they have karaoke rooms!

(Before and after – karaoke is thirsty work…)

After getting on our Journey and our Les Mis, we headed off to hipsterville. Did you know that there is a store that sells only light bulbs? We did not buy light bulbs. But we did buy pizza.

Sunday was one of those days that you can’t quite believe you are lucky enough to experience. It was sunny and warm, and all around us Portlanders were emerging from their doorways, eyes squinting at that foreign bright thing in the sky.

We took the munchkins on an amazing hike in Forest Park.

And it was a literary hike, too! We were on the Wildwood trail and we saw the Witches’ Castle and Pittock Mansion!

(If you haven’t heard of Wildwood, it’s a fabulous kids’ book series written by Colin Meloy [lead singer of the Decemberists] and I’d say it’s got the most amazing use of verbs I’ve ever read. Truly, it is delightful. It’s set in a thinly-veiled Forest Park and there’s all sorts of real-life places you can visit. If you haven’t read it yet, do it stat, and then come visit me and I will take you there for reals!)

And what would a day in Portland be without some excellent food? There’s something for every type of dietary restriction, and we loved watching our gluten-free guest’s eyes sparkle when she went into Tula Bakery and realized she could eat anything on the menu she wanted!!

(Yes, I had soup at a bakery. Don’t judge)

It was far too short of a visit, but we had a super fun, whirlwind tour and crammed oodles of love and laughing into it.

Who’s up next?