Hellobee

The Cheesecake family took a food-filled and city-centered week-long trip to Portland, Oregon back in August. We loved that Portland was so public transportation friendly and easy to navigate for us suburban folks. The weather was pleasant and made daily excursions into the city easy. Here’s a breakdown of the places we visited and ate at during our week in PDX!

What we Packed & Where we Stayed

We stayed at the Residence Inn, Downtown/RiverPlace which is located southeast of downtown on the waterfront and across the Williamette River from the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI). We were right next to a streetcar stop so it was very easy to get to and from downtown. On our first day in Portland we were feeling adventurous and actually walked all the way from the hotel to the Portland Saturday Market (great place to get souvenirs made by PDX folks!) which was a 30-minute scenic walk on the waterfront. This was our first time staying at a Residence Inn and what I loved about it was the complimentary hot breakfast and the in-room kitchen. Having these made it so easy to stay in for a meal if we wanted to.

Before we left, the weather was predicted to be in the mid-70’s to low-80’s so I packed mostly summer clothes for us all. We did plan on visiting Multnomah Falls at some point so I also packed a pair of warm pants and long-sleeves for everyone. Surprisingly, I packed a light jacket for each of us as well despite the hot weather and no rain forecast. StarCakes tends to get cold easily so he used his jacket the most, especially in the mornings when it was coldest. We were lucky though that there was barely any rain or drizzle during our stay so we were able to enjoy being outdoors in Portland for most of our trip.

Keller Fountain Park – a park with waterfalls inside the city!

Where we Went & What we Did

Oregon Museum of Science & Industry : We spent a good two hours here because there were so many activities that the kids could participate in. StarCakes loved the Chemistry lab where he could experiment with baking soda, vinegar and color droppers. GemCakes liked the cardboard room where she could cut, build and make a mess with abandon. They both enjoyed the water play area because what toddler doesn’t enjoy getting wet! We also saw a show in the planetarium that featured Big Bird and Elmo from Sesame Street. The kids loved it and surprisingly so did we.

Washington Park, Oregon Zoo, International Rose Test Garden & Children’s Museum: This is PDX’s version of San Diego’s Balboa Park or NYC’s Central Park. There was lots to do in the Children’s Museum and the kids loved walking around the Oregon Zoo. I love how the zoo’s habitats are more natural and it feels like you are walking through a forest the whole time you’re there. We thought that walking to the Rose Garden from the zoo would be a good hike, but it turned out to be a lot more difficult than we expected. We had our double Maclaren stroller with us and while it proved itself to be very durable for off-road hiking, I would never do it again. Having learned our lesson we decided to ride the shuttle back from the Rose Garden to the zoo when it was time to go back to the hotel.

Greyline Tours: At first I was hesitant to go on the tour with the kids. Who wants to be stuck on a 2-hour bus ride with a 2-year old and 4-year old? But in the end, we decided to take the risk because we really wanted to visit Latourell and Multnomah Falls and because there was a potty on the bus. So in preparation for the bus ride I brought as many low-sugar snacks as possible, charged all our tech devices in case of a meltdown and brought extra clothes in case we didn’t reach the potty in time. Surprisingly, the kids did well; lots of snacks were eaten, lots of Angry Birds and Tower Madness 2 was played and a nap was even had by GemCakes. Overall we really enjoyed the quick day trip and the kids really liked seeing all the waterfalls.

Family picture at Latourell Falls. We made it!

Lan Su Chinese Garden: This place is a scenic oasis in the city. We spent a good amount of time wandering around the garden and it’s a great place for kids to get some energy out. There was a koi pond and also a small teahouse inside the garden, but we weren’t able to get a seat because it was so busy and the kids were getting antsy for lunch.

Powell’s City of Books: I could have spent a whole day here getting lost and looking at all the sections in this bookstore. It is by far one of the most comprehensive bookstores I have ever been to and I would love to go here again if I had the chance. I loved that their children’s section has so many social-justice oriented books that focused on characters of color. Let me just say that our luggage was a couple pounds heavier on the way back because of the amount of books that I purchased here!

Portland Aerial Tram: This quick four-minute trip allows for gorgeous views of the city and the river. I do want to mention that the tram ends at a hospital so for us there wasn’t much to see after the ride up. We walked around the hospital for a bit then went back down.

Our view from the Portland Aerial Tram. 

Memorable Eats

Pine State Biscuits: We arrived here accidentally after a visit to OMSI. We didn’t realize they were about to close, but the manager was very kind and let us order even though they were getting ready to close shop. I am so glad we decided to eat here because their biscuits are the BEST – moist on the inside and slightly crunchy crust on the outside. I highly recommend this place if ever you are in the area!

Kalé: Best place for katsu curry – hands down. We went here twice because once wasn’t enough. I recommend getting the Doria which adds cheese and paprika to the top of your katsu curry. The kids loved the crispiness of the katsu and we loved the spiciness of the curry.

Other Restaurants: Lardo | Pok Pok | Stumptown Coffee Roasters | Killer Burger | Marukin Ramen

Ice Cream: Salt & Straw | Cool Moon Ice Cream

Between these two ice cream places, we like Cool Moon Ice Cream best. While Salt & Straw tends to be the more popular of the two, wherever we went the line was always long so we just grabbed two pints of their most famous flavors, skipped the line and went to town on those instead. We liked Cool Moon for its mom & pop atmosphere and for the Kulfi (Pistachio/cardamom/rosewater) flavor.

Dessert: Petunia’s Pies & Pastries | Lauretta Jean’s | Saint Cupcake

Donuts: VooDoo Donuts, Blue Star Donuts, Coco Donuts, Donut Bytes Lab

Among these places I would have to say that I liked Blue Star Donuts the best because of their unique flavors (I had an horchata glazed donut). Mr. Cheesecake liked VooDoo Donuts because their donuts reminded him of the ones in San Diego. The kids didn’t really favor one shop over another, all they cared about was eating any and all donuts!

Overall we had a great time in Portland and would definitely recommend visiting this scenic, family-friendly, foodie town when you have the chance!