A Not-Quite-Portland Weekend: Slow Travel, Great Food, and Friends

You ever planned a trip, get wildly excited, and build a list so long you’d need a week to get through it? To say that’s what happened this past weekend is an understatement. I don’t know what we were thinking, but we crossed off only a fraction of what we hoped to do. Instead, we accepted our normal slow travel pace, made the best of the time we had with friends, and focused on the few things that mattered most.

Table of Contents

A Not-Quite-Portland Weekend: Slow Travel, Great Food, and Friends

I’ll share everything we meant to do at the end so you can cross-compare!

Friday: Coffee Shop, Hotel Check-in, & Sushi in Lake Oswego

Not gonna lie, I was pretty proud of us – we left on time and made great time, even with a quick stop in Tumwater for gas. Leaving Seattle for Portland is always a 50/50 gamble with traffic since the roads are constantly under repair. Somehow, we got lucky and rolled in right around the three-hour mark.

Our first stop was Maplewood Coffee & Tea (map), the most darling little shop just outside downtown Portland. My friends… if I lived in Oregon, I’d be there every single day. Wonderful people, a warm vibe, and the best selection of tea.

Next, we checked The Hotel Vance – a Marriott in downtown proper. Are you surprised?? I know. I’m usually a Hilton snob through and through, but we got such a great deal on this room that we couldn’t pass it up. The location was perfect for wandering around and reminiscing about our past lives in Oregon.

To end the night, we drove out to the beautiful and extra festive downtown Lake Oswego for dinner at Bamboo Sushi. I started with miso soup and ordered the Friday the 13th roll as my main. SO GOOD, you guys. We finished the evening with friends at Salt & Straw, where I got the vegan Mint Chocolate Chip!

Saturday: Good Hashbrowns, Powell’s Bookstore, & The Best Lebanese Food

Saturday started a little rough because I went to bed with a migraine the night before. Taking it easy was a necessity, but we still made it to The Daily Feast (map) before the breakfast rush. I ordered the veggie omelet and a decaf Americano, and boy-o-boy, was it an actual treat! The hashbrowns were so phenomenal I literally dreamed about them that night. I can’t say enough good things about this charming little diner in the heart of PDX. The colors, the menu, the people – 10/10 recommend. LOVED it.

We also stopped into SuperJoy, the most perfectly Portland-y coffee shop you could possibly imagine. We met up with an old friend (new to me!) and had a wonderful cup and even better conversation. To our surprise and delight, the sun came out!

After that, we were determined to cross a few things off our tax-free shopping list. We popped into Anthropologie and then into Powell’s Bookstore (map), since they’re right next to each other. We spent nearly an hour and a half wandering Powell’s and picked up the sweetest children’s books and a few other gifts. There’s something about Powell’s that just feels like home. One day I’ll remember to buy their mug — they had a really cute yellow one a few years ago, but I don’t think it’s stocked anymore.

Finally, we headed out to the suburbs for what might be the best Lebanese food in Oregon. I swear this to you, guys. If you have never listened to me before, listen now: go to Oasis Lebanese Cuisine (map) in Beaverton. This place is *chef’s kiss*. So brilliantly wonderful and good. The best hummus. The most amazingly seasoned and juicy lamb skewers. OMG just go! Trust me.

Sunday: The Vance Hotel Gym, Mexican Brunch, Home Again

The last day, we were feeling surprisingly accomplished despite all the things we didn’t do. I started the day with a quick workout at the hotel gym while watching Kara and Nate‘s latest YouTube adventures. Then we packed up all of our gifts, left Portland, but stopped just on the other side of the bridge in Vancouver, WA for one last meal with my oldest and best friend.

Who Song & Larry’s (map) sits right on the water with a gorgeous view of the bridge back into Oregon. I can only imagine how perfect it must be on a warm summer evening out on the deck.

After a heartfelt goodbye and promises to visit one another soon, we started the drive home. 💕

Everything We Meant to do in Portland

See the Pioneer Courthouse Square Christmas Tree (it’s always a donated Douglas fir!)
Shop at the Portland Saturday Market
Visit Voodoo Doughnut
Thrift along Hawthorne Street

Thank goodness Portland is only 3 hours away, and next time, we might take the train so we don’t have to worry about overnight parking. Despite not hitting everything on our list, we had a really nice, lovely, and slow trip – which are my favorite kinds.

So even though I don’t have a picture of the tree and I don’t have many pictures of myself as evidence… it was absolutely worth the trek to see so many of our favorite faces.

Thanks for reading, friend!