We spend a good amount of time in Portland over the past three to four days. Our first stop after Eugene was Salem, OR which we where not very impressed with. It basically was a big strip mall so we decided to head stay as planned in Salem but to travel the 40 or so minutes up to Portland and visit one of the many districts. We ended up in the Hawthorne district which has a unique feel to it. It’s centered around Hawthorne St. and has a great mix of shops, bars, resturaunts, and other trendy but nice stops. This area has a strong punk or hipster, if you will, feel to it which we aren’t really a part of but still enjoy none the less.
The next night we had reservations in Portland near the convention center. We went a little more expensive with the hotel room and really lucked out. We paid $60 for what we thought was a Holiday Inn and when we got there found that they had changed their name to Crown Plaza (very posh) and they normally charge $170.
More about Portland when I have a minute. Now’s the time for a shower and visiting Seattle.