Portland, Oregon: Donuts, hikes & new friends
It’s been a whirlwind of a first week travelling.
I landed in Portland, Oregon a week ago, confident that after a good sleep I’d just slip into holiday mode straight away. Boy, was I wrong. Four days of sleeping in three-hour blocks and waking at midday threw me around a bit, but I think now I’ve finally come good.
When I landed I headed to Portland University Hotel smack bang in Downtown, giving myself a couple of days to get acquainted with the city and watch huge amounts of middle-of-the-night American TV. One of the particular highlights was the holy water and anointing kit that was advertised, guaranteed to wipe away your debts! According to the advertisement, God has heaps of money, so it’s no problem for him to bail you out of a jam… as long as you purchase this specific holy water and anointing kit. I was tempted, but no, I didn’t try it. If you have, I’d love to hear about it!
Walking around those first few days, I felt like I had stepped on to a movie set. Houses on every corner that looked like the witchy home from Charmed (don’t judge me), tree-lined streets, and American accents everywhere. I mean, it does seem obvious, but it got me thinking about the amount of American TV that we have in Australia vs locally produced stuff. I found myself instantly changing my lingo to what I knew would be understood by the people around me, and I knew that so easily because it’s on our TV screens 24/7. It also got me thinking about how different that would be once I hit Europe, and cultures that I wasn’t as familiar with.
My next stop in Portland was a hostel in the Mississippi district that soon became as familiar as home. Travellers House is one of the smallest hostels I’ve ever stayed at, with a capacity of under 25 people, and it is also one of the most gorgeous. A nondescript house on funky N Alberta St, they have a ‘no shoes in the house’ policy, keeping it homely and clean. There is a gorgeous communal lounge area, and a huge kitchen with everything you could ever need. Both of those spaces quickly became meeting places as I got to know everyone in the hostel. The benefit of such a small place is that it’s easy to bond with all the travellers that pass through! The best!
As you know, I love connecting with people and community, and I was so blessed to make some amazing friends at Travellers House. I’ve already got plans to head back and road trip my way around the USA one day - I’ve got lots of people and places to visit! Together we walked the streets of Mississippi and Alberta, perused taxidermy and crystal stores, took a drive out to Mulnomah Falls and Triple Falls and hiked for close to four hours, and ate heaps of donuts.
That hike though. Sheesh. I should probably have worn in my hiking shoes a bit more before I left Australia. I thought I did, actually, but sitting here right now I still have huge blisters on the back of my feet. That said, it was 100% worth it. Before setting off we ran into a couple of hikers who had just completed the trail. ‘What’s it like?’ we asked. ‘Oh it’s just a light trail’ they replied.
Light. Trail. What’s your definition of that? Precariously walking one foot in front of the other with a sheer drop next to you? Scrambling over rocks and mud uphill? Yeah, I didn’t think so. But it was a beautiful walk, and seriously some of the greenest foliage I have seen in my life. And, coming from northern NSW, that’s saying a lot.
Donuts are a thing in Portland. I’m not usually a huge fan of donuts (unless we’re talking about Byron Bay Organic Donuts, and then I’m all over it), but since it was a thing that people do I headed to Voodoo Donuts in Downtown Portland. ‘The magic is in the hole’ and ‘good things come in pink boxes’ are their catch phrases, so there’s a bit of a theme. Ahem. I’ve heard tales of hours-long lines to get in, but I must have been lucky because there were only about ten people in front of me. I got the Voodoo Doll (filled with jam, with a pretzel stick through its heart) and the ODB (because I couldn’t go past a donut named after a hip hop legend), and both were pretty tasty.
But locals kept telling me that Blue Star donuts were way better, and I got the feeling that Portlandians would never go to Voodoo Donuts in their life. So I was on a mission. I went twice to their store in Mississippi, and both times - closed for renovations. Boo. Third time’s a charm, and I grabbed the Mexican Hot Chocolate variety, which was beautifully chocolatey and spicy… but really tasted more like cake than donut. Later, one of my hostel mates grabbed a bunch of them and I tried a few more. They were much better, particularly the rosemary variety, so maybe I just chose poorly. Moral of the story: if you love donuts, go to both, try everything, and let me know your verdict.
Before I left Australia, I joked that the weather was getting too cold as winter set in, so I was off to find summer for the rest of the year. Hah. I picked the wrong place to chase the sun. Portland is pretty well known for its rain, and I didn’t get out of my jeans and leggings the entire time I was there. Only once did I get caught in a heavy rainstorm though, so that’s not too bad. In all honesty, I really appreciate the rain, because one of the main things I loved about Portland was how green it was. Roses blooming left, right and centre, gorgeously colourful flowers just nonchalantly sitting around in the middle of parking lots and green on every corner.
And I can’t go without mentioning Mississippi Records. I was staying just two blocks away from this store of heaven, and silly me didn’t head there until my last day in Portland. The owner Eric is an absolute legend, and he stocks vinyl and cassette tapes from all genres of music. Yes, cassette tapes. If you’re ever in Portland, go say hi, and while you’re there check out the cafe next door - Sweedeedees. I just ate the most delicious marionberry pie there… When in Portland, right?!
