44th in the 33rd
- Roger Allen Burns
- Mar 30
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 9
Portland: Swapping Maine for Oregon
For most of our lives, Portland meant one thing: Portland, Maine. Having spent decades in New England, we often found ourselves celebrating wedding anniversaries along the rocky coast, enjoying fresh seafood, visiting the lighthouses, and watching the waves roll in. But for our 44th anniversary, we found ourselves here in the west—Portland, Oregon. This Portland has just as much charm, with a lot of weird thrown in for good measure.
When people think of Portland, Oregon, a few things might come to mind: lush greenery, craft donuts, and a reputation for being just a little bit quirky. But there’s so much more to the Rose City than its leftist vibe. Our latest adventure took us through Portland’s eclectic neighborhoods, interesting landscapes, and some great food and coffee.
This is not our first foray into Portland. We spent a few days visiting in June of 2022. Admittedly, the weather was much nicer then. Two hot spots we visited in 2022 included the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park. It is renowned for its beautiful collection of over 10,000 rose bushes. We also visited the Japanese Garden which is also in Washington Park. It's often considered one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan.
Unlike our foray in 2022, our trip of a few days in 2025 was mostly raining. We’ve learned in the Northwest, if you don’t go anywhere because of rain, you just won’t go anywhere.
The City of Bridges
Portland is divided by the Willamette River, and the city's famous bridges connect its east and west sides. Whether you're driving across the iconic Steel Bridge, hiking over Tilikum Crossing, or in a boat along the waterfront near Hawthorne Bridge, the views are interesting and delightful. Each bridge has its own unique architecture, making them a sight to see whether you’re a fan of engineering or just love a good cityscape. In all, there are twelve bridges crossing the Willamette hence the nickname, bridge city.
As you may guess, our favorite bridge is Burnside Bridge. Built in 1926, it's known for its bascule design, which allows the bridge to open for river traffic. We spent time walking on Burnside Street as it plays a role in the city's famous street grid, as Burnside serves as the dividing line between north and south Portland.
A City Block of Garden
One of the best things about Portland is how easily you can escape into nature. It is located in the city's historic Chinatown district. We spent a morning wandering the Lan Su Chinese Garden. It is an urban oasis inspired by the Ming Dynasty gardens of Suzhou, China. It was built by artisans from Suzhou. Much of the paving stones in the garden are from the Ming Dynasty, so we were walking on ground that was walked on in the 1500’s in China. We definitely recommend visiting the garden and seeing features such as koi-filled ponds, interesting walkways, and pavilions. We waited out the rain in the teahouse where we enjoyed authentic Chinese tea. We saw penjing (or "potted landscape") throughout the garden. Penjing dates back over a thousand years and involves creating miniature, artistic representations of natural landscapes, including trees, rocks, and water features. It is much like Japanese bonsai, but penjing incorporates a broader scene or storytelling element.
We always feel like our home landscaping falls short after visiting places like this. Oh well.
While in Chinatown, we ate at Xin Ding Dumpling House. If you like dumplings, you have to visit here. It was excellent and reasonably priced. The ambience was not impressive, but comfortable nonetheless.
Stumptown
Portland, Oregon, came to be known as "Stumptown" during its early days of development in the mid-1800s. As settlers rapidly cleared the area's dense forests to build the growing city, tree stumps were left scattered throughout the landscape. These stumps were so plentiful that they became a defining feature of the town. In fact, locals often found themselves navigating around the stumps or even hopping from one to another to avoid muddy streets. This quirky nickname has stuck around, serving as a nod to Portland's rugged (pun intended).
In honor of the name, Stumptown, we had a cup of Stumptown Coffee. It was very good and if you are a coffee snob, like we are, you will find that Stumptown Coffee is pretty good.
Tasty Doughnuts
Everyone raves about Voodoo Doughnuts, and it makes many of the top ten must-see lists of things to see in Portland. Because of that, we felt compelled to visit. The doughnuts are made fresh continuously. Yes, it’s touristy, but there’s something fun about excellent doughnuts. There is a waiting line to get in and they only allow a few people to go in at a time. After waiting our turn, we finally got to make our choices. To be honest, although the doughnuts were good, we were a little taken back by some of the names of the choices. It’s not something we endorse. Good doughnuts, yes. Offensive names, no.
Books, Books, and more Books
We wandered through Powell’s City of Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world, where it’s easy to get lost among endless shelves of new and used books. They boast over a million books! We didn’t count them, and we will take their word for it. Wandering into Powell’s reminded us of walking into The Mall of America. Yes, going to the largest mall in the world is exciting at first. But, after ten minutes, you realize … it’s just another mall, except bigger. Same with Powell’s. It’s a huge bookstore, but it’s a bookstore. Don’t get us wrong. We both love to read. The selections were varied and plentiful. We purchased a few books. How could we not?
Hayden Island
The highlight of our visit to Portland was staying on Hayden Island. We didn’t have much opportunity to explore the island. The fun part was staying alongside the mighty Columbia River. Hayden Island is a unique community located on the Columbia River, between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. It's known for its waterfront living, including houseboats and floating homes, as well as its history as a recreational destination. The island was named after Gay Hayden, an Oregon pioneer who purchased the land and farmed it with his family. Allen read the book about the Hayden’s journey along the Oregon Trail and their life settling on the island. They wouldn’t recognize the place today.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn which was excellent. When the management found out we were celebrating our anniversary, they treated us especially well with a complimentary room upgrade to the Presidential Suite. It was very spacious. They also left goodies in the room for us to enjoy. Thanks, Holiday Inn!
Final Thoughts
Portland is a city that blends natural beauty, quirky culture, and a thriving food scene in a way few places can. Whether you're hiking through lush forests, admiring the many murals, or sampling the street truck food, there’s always something to discover.
As a side note, the city felt a bit unsafe in some areas. There are many who are wandering around who appear to be street folk. Most seemed harmless, but a few were screaming obscenities at each other and were obviously a bit riled up. We witnessed a number of people doing drugs on the street. It’s a bit sad and there must be a way to help these folks. We did see a long line outside a gospel center that was feeding people.
This is one city that truly lives up to its motto: Keep Portland Weird.
Have you been to Portland? Share your favorite spots in the comments!
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