Ranger Holly

Last weekend, I was in Portland with my best friend from college, Jenn (she’s an amazing independent book editor), and we had the best time, as we always do in every city we go to.

Our love affair with Portland began in July 2014, when my friend and her husband were visiting the city to see if they wanted to move there. I joined them and we got an adorable Airbnb in Hawthorne District. Hawthorne remains one of our favorite neighborhoods. We always hit the thrift stores as soon as I get in.

Since I have been home in San Diego, I have been wondering if I would I love Portland so much if it weren’t for Jenn? I have never been there without her and as I started to think about it, I realized some of my favorite cities are the ones I have experienced with her: Ft. Lauderdale, Key West, San Francisco, San Diego, Portland.

Jenn is that friend who is always up for adventure. She’s always up for seeing where the night goes and is ready to adjust the sails when we need to. She’s a fantastic trip planner and navigator. She’s the one who takes ideas and makes them better.

We’ve been friends since we sat next to each other in news writing at University of Central Florida and I’m pretty sure we’re going to be doing the Golden Girls thing in Miami later on in life.

Our weekend went a little something like this:

Saturday

We had breakfast on Hawthorne at The Hazel Room. Great food and all the alt-milks your heart desires.
We always go thrifting at Crossroads. I’ve scored something amazing every time we’ve gone in this store.
We stopped into the boutique Sloan to look but not buy.
Then we got manicures at a place I will not name because I do not recommend.
We had pre-concert dinner and drinks at Tope. This place is a modern minimalist’s haven. The rooftop patio is the thing that dreams are made of.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise concert at the Roseland Theater. This venue is fantastic and the band was even better! An amazing show and the impetus for this trip with my BFF.
Post-show drinks at the Elvis Room. It is completely unclear to me why this place is called the Elvis Room. Sorry to be dense. Kitschy and gorgeous nonetheless.
We stood in an epic Disneyland-style line at Sizzle Pie for approximately 30 minutes. Then inhaled our slices. Worth the wait and the people watching was entertaining. We saw a Prince Harry lookalike!

Sunday

Lunch with my friend, former San Diegan and amazing artist Anisa at Produce Row. Her art is popping up all over Portland, so keep your eyes peeled!
When Jenn and I are together, ice cream is a must. We hit up Salt & Straw and had some of their summer Camping Series flavors.
We stopped into Artifact to peruse vintage finds. This store provided me one of my favorite articles of clothing back in September. It’s a vintage black sequin shirt. Once owned by a woman named Maureen (I made up that last part, but it seems accurate).
Casual Sunday Beer ™ at Assembly Brewing. My favorite summer ritual is getting a Casual Sunday Beer (CSB) with friends. A CSB is an afternoon drink on a patio where you genuflect in the sun and appreciate how amazing life is. We also got some of their Detroit-style pizza. BONUS - a nice (read: questionable) man in a dirty tank top performed a poem for us. Beautiful.
We got a drink at Scotch Lodge before we went to see Rainbow Kitten Surprise for their second show.
I had a late-night sushi craving after the show, so we hit up Saucebox. We didn’t get any sushi because it was too late but we got some food to keep us going.
Then we went to Roadside Attraction. This place is one of the weirdest dive bars I have ever been in. The decor is ripped from an old Chinese restaurant, a pirate ship and a flea market in Florida. It’s surreal and amazing and I’m pretty certain it is a portal to another dimension.

The flowers along the trail were so beautiful! Photo by Ranger Holly.

Monday

Jenn’s dog Piper was leading us on the trail. She’s the cutest and best leader of the pack. Photo by Ranger Holly.

When in Portland, one must go hiking. We hit up Multnomah Falls, which though touristy and popular is a hike that requires proper footwear. Just, FYI, don’t be one of those people in flip-flops huffing and puffing up a steep incline.
After the hike we had lunch and more ice cream at Sugar Pine Drive-in. So good!
Then, this was the biggest thing for me -- we went to The Moth at The Secret Society. The Moth is a live storytelling event and in December I made up my mind that this year I would get onstage and tell a story at The Moth. AND I DID IT! I was the sixth person called to the stage and it was exhilarating and fun and I loved making a room of about 200 people laugh. I’m going to do a full post about this because it’s that important to me.
After The Moth, our crew went to Victoria Bar. Another of Portland’s modern minimalist bar/restaurants. I got come celebratory mac and cheese.

Tuesday

This was our last morning together and we had breakfast at Bella’s Italian Bakery and then Jenn dropped me off at the airport.

It took me a full four days to finally unpack and put my luggage away. That’s actually kind of quick by my standards. At any rate, I had a blast in Portland as always and writing this up shows me why I have been so tired this week. Jenn and I always pack it in when we’re adventuring together!