alyssa jayne: Road trip: Portland

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take a mini-road trip to help a friend move. Starting point: Portland, Oregon. I had never been west of Colorado so I was excited to see what the Pacific Northwest had in store. It's difficult to describe Portland in just one word, but if I had to try, it would be a combination of: colorful, interesting, eccentric, eclectic, and weird. It's a huge city with many different neighborhoods so you never really feel like you're in the same city because everywhere you go is just a little different. We started off with brunch at the Veritable Quandary, which was a super cute restaurant near the Portland Waterfront. We also hit up Nob Hill, Hawthorne, Alberta Street, and a few other neighborhoods. We then went down to the Saturday Market (which also runs on Sunday) and that was quite the experience. There were tons of vendors selling a huge array of different things. Most of it were what I would consider to be quite typical (think hemp necklaces, t-shirts, sunglasses, etc.) but there were also some true artisans selling handmade clothing, artwork, and other goods. We rounded out the day with amazing tacos from a little restaurant called ?Por Que No? If you're ever in Portland, you seriously have to go there. One thing that I loved about that city was the abundance of restaurants and coffee shops, which were just as diverse as the residences of the city. A couple interesting facts about Oregon: First, you can't pump your own gas there. Weird, right? I'm sure that's pretty nice in the winter! Second, Oregon has no sales tax. Don't let this fool you into thinking you're saving money however because you will pay almost $2.50 for a 33 ounce SmartWater...a major bummer for sure considering they can often be found 10 for $10 here in Colorado. Overall, I had a great time exploring the city. The next day our travels led us through Idaho and to the great state of Wyoming. You will learn more about that adventure tomorrow! In the meantime, enjoy so pictures from my time in Portland...