Experiencing Portland

We actually did not have a ton of concrete plans for our trip to Portland. The only real thing we had planned was that we rented a car for the last day so we could go see a waterfall about 25 minutes away (will post separately about that because it was so cool). I think the fact that we didn't have a car helped us experience Portland even better. Luckily our rental came with bikes and we took full advantage of those. I hadn't ridden a bike (besides an exercise one) in a long time so it took me a minute to get back in the swing of things. Also, oh my gosh my butt was sore, haha! Portland is so perfect for biking and using public transit. They seriously have the cutest architecture and neighborhoods. I couldn't stop taking pictures and dreaming about what it would be like to live in some of the houses. So many cute bungalows and craftsmen homes. One of the things Portland is also know for is being the home of Nike. We just happened to be close to a Nike outlet and took advantage of some great sales. There are also a lot of runners in Portland, so Thursday night we met at Portland Running Co for a group run. Those runners were fast! We still had a great time though and it was nice to be taken out on a route along the river and train tracks. Super cool way to experience the city. Also, Portland Running Co buys a round of beers after the group run so that was an added bonus. I also went on my own 7 mile run Saturday morning which was really nice. My phone died right as I finished because I kept stopping to take pictures. It really is a great city for running. We took advantage of all the beer and coffee Portland is known for and also did some shopping in downtown Portland. Downtown malls in big cities are so cool to me. A couple of other touristy things we did were visiting Powell's Books (which really is a cool bookstore), seeing a movie (Hunger Games) at McMenamins Bagdad Theatre and eating lunch at McMenamin's Kennedy school (an old school that has been repurposed with bars/restaurants/theaters/hotel rooms). Fall was in full season while we were there and it really was the perfect time of year to be there. We also only got rain the first morning and we didn't mind it at all. It added to the adventure! Could not have asked for better weather and a better city.

PDX Airport is known for its carpet so we had to document. 

 

post-run selfie

cutest little theatre with beer of course

 

We got gifts here for the kids. 

great weather!

 

I don't want to know how much these cost!

It was 38 degrees but felt great!

 

Our First Airbnb Experience

We are back to reality after our wonderful 5th Anniversary trip to Portland, Oregon last week. I have lots of pictures and information to share and eventually I will make a video from our GoPro and a book from Shutterfly, but to start I wanted to talk about our first time using Airbnb. After deciding to travel to Portland, we started looking at hotels and just didn't like what we were seeing for the prices. They had lots of great places but we didn't want to spend $300/night! After a quick search we knew we wanted to go with Airbnb. Portland has so many great neighborhoods that are perfect for Airbnb. Lots of properties have apartments/units with separate entrances so there was a lot to choose from. We ended up staying in this adorable little basement apartment in a cute craftsman/bungalow in the NE Portland Sabin neighborhood. We thought the location was great and the space was even more perfect. The host was just the sweetest and even left us a happy anniversary note. The actual unit had its own entrance and included 2 bikes that were available for us to use which we found very helpful. The unit was also designed and decorated very clean, modern, and simple. The bathroom was awesome and I actually really loved the concrete floors. I thought they would be cold first thing in the morning but they surprisingly weren't. We really were not sure what it was going to be like staying in someone else's place but it was actually pretty awesome. We could not have asked for a better experience. If you want to try out Airbnb on your next trip you can use this code HERE for $20 off your next stay. Here are some photos from "The Little White House Garden Apartment."

The unit when we arrived in the rain Wednesday night.

The cutest note from our host.

The front of the house and our little separate courtyard and entrance.

 

The living area and bedroom. There was also a kitchen not pictured.

The awesome bathroom with heated tile floors.