Portland, Oregon

Jill's Journal: We’ve learned a little about Portland during our 10 days here so far and there’s a lot to like, a lot of character to this city. There’s also a lot of water: the Willamette River runs smack dab through the center of the city before veering northwest to meet the Columbia River at the top of the city. The word “Willamette,” by the way, (which we’ve heard constantly since Eugene) is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable. Someone told me the only way they can remember how to pronounce it is to make it rhyme with “dammit,” and now unfortunately that seems to be how I remember it too!

Portland is actually named after Portland, Maine, the area we loved so much last fall. Two land partners shared the claim for this land back in 1845 and each wished to name the area after his respective home town. The partner from Maine won two out of three coin tosses to beat out the prospective name of Boston, Oregon. The “Portland Penny,” the actual coin used for the fateful 1845 toss, is on display at the Oregon Historical Society.

Portland is frequently called “Beervana” or “Brewtopia.” Nearly 40 microbreweries hone their craft here, more than in any other city of the world.

A more seedy distinction here in Portland is the prevalence of strip clubs. It seems like there’s one on every corner downtown. Sure enough, there’s more strip clubs in Portland per capita than in any other city in the U.S.

Portland is on the same longitude as Montreal, which means it’s light outside until nearly 10pm and light again by about 5am. No, it’s not quite Alaska, but that’s a lot of daylight in the summer!

Driving in Portland is rotten. I’ve found driving in places like Boston, San Francisco, and even the whole state of New Jersey easier than in Portland. It’s a battle here. The freeways are always packed and my GPS must be outdated for this city, because Garmin is constantly trying to send me the wrong way down one-way streets. It gives me an instant headache to drive downtown. Portland is a very bicycle-friendly city…maybe this is why?

All that being said, Portland has a really great vibe. Old Town Portland and the Pearl District are especially eclectic and wonderful. It is regularly awarded the “Greenest City in America” and has also been titled the “second-greenest” city in the world. People who live here are fiercely proud of it and rightly so. I’m so glad we’ll be here another week and a half; we easily have another 20 or more things to see before we leave.