Portland & Hood River

On our first day in Portland, Bonnie and Phil took us out to Silverton to hike around the 10 falls trails. It was quite a contrast to the desert, being surrounded by all that water and greenery. We managed to see 8 out of the 10 waterfalls, saving the biggest till last (pictured). We got to walk right underneath the overhang, behind the waterfall, and only got slightly sprayed. On the way out, we saw what looked like 2 California Condors (see previous blog post), but they may have been turkey vultures…..they didn’t stick around long enough to confirm!

That evening we met up with Tim’s friend Andy at Jimmy Maks, a jazz club in the Pearl District of downtown Portland. The band (pictured) were excellent, and featured a pretty old B3 organ which sounded great. We stayed for both sets and were one of the last to leave!

Andy and his girlfriend Jennifer were kind enough to host us at their place for the weekend. After a wonderful eggy breakfast (courtesy of Andy and their 3 chickens!) they took us to the farmers market on Saturday morning, where we managed to try the free samples from most of the stalls…delicious! We then drove out to the edge of wine country and had a tasting at the Ponzi vineyard, before heading back into town for a wander around a few of the different neighbourhoods. Tim couldn’t decide which beer to try at our brewpub refreshment stop, so opted for the sampler platter! (pictured). We ended a great day with a meal at a Spanish Tapas restaurant, where we rubbed shoulders with the Mayor of Portland, Sam Adams - a very nice chap.

On Sunday we drove out to Hood River to meet up with Pierce and Kyla, friends from our MBA class. On the way we stopped at Multnomah Falls and watched the Oregon ‘search and rescue’ team do some demonstration abseiling down the side of the waterfall – very impressive. Pierce and Kyla took us to a great bar for lunch, overlooking Mount Hood. We then took a hike up a lovely trail with great views over the river and surrounding countryside (pictured - Pierce, Kyla, Claire, Tim, Andy, Jennifer). It was great to see Pierce and Kyla and to experience a little bit of the Hood River lifestyle.