An Exceptional Day In North Portland
For our first full day in Portland, we traveled by bus to North Portland. The bus system is easy to use and much safer than Baltimore. We planned to checkout a few neighborhoods in the north including St. Johns, Kenton, Piedmont, Humboldt and Boise. The first stop was the far north neighborhood of St. Johns.
From downtown, we road the bus north and over the St. Johns Bridge. We got off at the first stop in St Johns to visit Cathedral Park. This public park is under the St Johns Bridge and butts up against the Willamette River. According the history of some, Lewis and Clarke were said to have landed at this location. The park acquired its name from the cathedral like presence of the St. Johns Bridge arches.
View of St. Johns Bridge from Cathedral Park
A short walk from the park is the center of the St. John's neighborhood. Lombard Street splits the center, and it is lined with coffee shops, grocery stores, boutiques, bars and other locales. It was a small but pleasing area. We continued to walk Lombard toward Kenton, but we soon decided to hope onto a bus.
We tried to stop in Kenton, but we didn't pull the Request Stop line at the right time. We ended up on the east side of I-5, and we were forced to walk back over the highway. Unfortunately, the Kenton area was not pleasing. There are very few trees. A lot of the houses were in disrepair. Luckily, the yellow MAX line runs on North Interstate Avenue. We hitched a ride down to Skidmore.
From this MAX stop, we had full intention of visiting Humboldt and Piedmont. The Peninsula Rose Garden seemed a lovely attraction. The new plan was to walk Mississippi and go back north. Of course, things always change when you have no plan. Mississippi Avenue is located in the heart of Boise, and it captivated our entire afternoon. We walked from north to south and south to north.
We ate lunch at Mississippi Station. The thin, so thin, BBQ pizza tasted amazing. The Terminal Gravity IPA tasted of perfection. We didn't sit in the patio, but we enjoyed a street side table. This gave us a few of the entire street.
After our lunch, we stopped into a boutique called Gypsy Chic. Teresa was in love with the clothes. The sales girl Liz was so friendly. She gave us the scope on Boise and the surrounding neighborhoods. So helpful!
Our next stop on the Mississippi Avenue tour was Amnesia Brewing. The beer is made on site. You can't hit on the bartender (so says the sign). While sitting on picnic benches, you drink under a tent. Its a terrific atmosphere. Immediately after taking our seats, two guys asked to join us. Their names were Happy and Aaron. Both were staying in Hostels in the city, and they were checking out the different neighborhoods. Happy was from Chicago, and he was tiring to find a new home in Portland. Aaron was doing much of the same, but he had been traveling for five months throughout the west. Our conversation was varied and interesting. They asked us about our engagement and upcoming wedding. We heard a bit of their histories and beliefs. We chatted up our favorite musicians. It was an excellent impromptu traveling experience. I believe, it warmed Teresa to the idea of a hostel and the community atmosphere they tend to foster.
After saying goodbye, we had full intention of riding the MAX back downtown. On the walk back to Skidmore, we passed the Crow Bar. On an impulse, we veered right and plopped down at the bar. We enjoyed some Full Sail LTD. We also pumped the jukebox with some Talking Heads and Rolling Stones. The bar was extremely dark, but the staff was friendly. It would be a great place to bring a few friends for night of drinking and pool.
Finally, we caught the MAX and made our way back to the Travelodge. We had a very full day in North Portland. I wish we had walked through Piedmont and Humboldt, but we can always go back to this area of the city. We had so much fun on Mississippi. I love those points in travel were things just flow. This was an afternoon were everything feel right into its place. I wish everyday was just like this day.
