Mt. Hood / PDX [#46]

When I told my coworkers and friends we were going snowboarding over Labor Day – they looked at me like I was nuts.  I don’t blame them, I thought it was pretty wild too until we were actually there.  We had been planing on how to make this trip work for some time, and everything just kind of fell into place.  And so we set off…

In three bags we packed all of our snowboarding clothes [our snow pants, jackets, beanies, gloves] – two snowboards, two pairs of snowboarding boots, and all of our normal clothes.  I still can’t believe it worked.  Zach was determined to only check ONE bag – he is a freak about checking bags.

We also checked our last and final item off our summer list.  We completed #46 – Travel somewhere we have never been.  We flew into Portland and as our plane descended into the city, we passed right over Mt. Hood [our snowboarding destination and home for two days].  I have to admit, I was super skeptical when I saw that mountain.  It was gorgeous – but wasn’t covered with much snow at all, at least not what I was used to for snowboarding back in SLC.

We touched down in Portland around 9:00 PM.  We got really lucky this trip with accommodations – when we picked up our rental car the Enterprise chick had a major crush on Zach [her name was Katie oddly enough], so she gave us a free upgrade to an SUV.  It was a serious stroke of luck because we had a LOT of gear.  The ride was crazy cool too – a brand new 2013 Ford, with all these sweet gadgets.

After we loaded up the rental, we drove into the city.  We stopped for dinner at Pizza Fino – recommended by a friend.  It was delicious.  The garlic knots were to die for.


Then, at 11:30 pm we stopped at the infamous Voodoo Doughnuts.  They are conveniently open 24 hours.  Luckily we had time waiting in line to decide what we wanted – there were quite a few options.

I got the ODB [oreo and peanut butter] and Zach picked his solely because it had cocoa puffs on top. We also bought a Mango Tango to share.  They were as good as I had hoped and dreamt they would be.

With our doughnuts we then made the trek up to Mt. Hood.  The mountain/resort is about an hour and thirty minutes from the City Center.  We made the drive up through Sandy and then the tiny little towns on the way to the Timberline Resort.  The Timberline is the only year round skiing resort in the Western Hemisphere.  And it’s really old.  When we arrived it was after midnight, so we didn’t get to see the Timberline in all of its glory.  When we checked in, our room wasnt available.  The night manager started apologizing a hundred times – telling us that we wouldn’t have the “fireplace room” we had booked.  Then with another stroke of pure luck, he told us they would comp our room for the night and give us a different room.  We seriously didn’t care, and weren’t upset one bit, but we ended up staying the night for free!

The next morning we woke up bright and early to hit the slopes. That’s when we saw the lodge for the first time. I felt like I was in a scene from the Sound of Music – which makes sense considering that the lodge was built in the 1930’s.

Rustic, no?  It felt like we were characters in Moonrise Kingdom.

We purchased our lift passes with that glorious gift card and were on our way.  I was still skeptical.  As we rode up the lift they call the Magic Mile there was still no snow on the ground. And all the tourists were wearing shorts and hiking gear.  Zach calls hikers “forest fairies” – I wonder where he got that one from?

After you ride the first lift you strap on your board [or skis] and ride up the last stretch; the Palmer lift.  That is where the snow finally came into play.

When we got to the top there were all these signs stating “for experienced riders only” and “black diamond runs only”.  I was trippin’.  I hadn’t been riding in over two years.  As soon as we set off down the steep hill, it all felt natural again.

We spent the majority of our time in the park – Zach’s favorite place to be.

We took a short break for lunch and then went right back at it.  The weather was perfect, and the snow was fantastic.  Under our coats and snow pants we had light layers and were totally comfortable the entire time.  Don’t worry…I’ve been rocking the same snowboard/boots since the 7th Grade.  NBD.

Towards the beginning of the day the snow was crusty and hard – and come 2:00 PM it was soft and slushy.  It felt like riding on a snow cone.  When the lifts closed we returned back to the lodge and showered up.  We then took the scenic drive along the Columbia River to Wahkeena Falls and Multnomah Falls.

Both were amazing and beautiful, but Multnomah Falls was breathtaking.  The largest waterfall we both had ever seen.

When the weather started to get cooler we drove back into Portland to dine. We ate at another great recommendation – Equinox on Mississippi Street.

Mississippi Street is this great area with amazing restaurants and shops.  The food was delicious.  Zach was having a love affair with his beef.  Our waiter recommended we grab dessert at a place called Ruby Jewel Scoops nearby, a homemade ice cream shop.

I wanted to buy a whole pint of their hand-crafted sea salt caramel and dark chocolate, but knew it wouldn’t bode well with my body.  Why did I have to be cursed with an ice cream addiction and lactose intolerance?  The rest of the night we walked around Mississippi Street before we returned back up to our last night at the Timberline.

The next morning was as before – snowboarding even earlier [Zach never gets up before 7:00 AM unless it involves something spectacular] and time spent on the runs and in the park.  Zach is quite the trickster, and I love to watch him do his thang.  I just do small box rails and feel happy about it.  

By the time we were done with our runs, it was time to check out of the lodge and drive back into Portland.

We checked into our next hotel downtown and then decided to eat at one of the hundreds of food trucks in Portland.  There are food truck “pods” on every other corner.  I wanted some dumplings at the Dump Truck, but wasn’t brave enough to try their famous bacon cheeseburger dumbling with special sauce.  All well, our plain jane version was amazing.  

Then we were off to take another road trip out to Cannon Beach.  I honestly wish I would have noticed how many miles we put on that brand new SUV.  It was another hour and thirty minutes from the city. It didn’t take long before we were cruising along the Oregon Coast.  The drive was half of the fun.  That sweet car was synced up with our music and we danced and sang the whole way.

When we arrived at Cannon I was memorized.  The beach houses were all covered in grey weathered shingles and looked so picturesque.

The beach was gorgeous. If you have ever seen one of my all time favorite movies, the Goonies, you might recognize this spot…

We explored the beach, lounged in the beach chairs, and then made the trip back to the city for our last time.

We ate at a restaurant not far from our hotel.  There was a band playing next door and got to enjoy the free concert.  Zach ordered a giant platter of meat – their signature dish.  I had their BLT.  Probably the best I have ever had.  Then, at the recommendation of our waitress we walked over to a place called Salt and Straw [apparently recently featured in O Magazine, hence the reason the line was out the door and around the block].  There are a lot of Foodies in Oregon.  The kind that will wait 2+ hours to get a freakin’ scoop of cold cream.

I know…another ice cream spot.  But I couldn’t resist.  An interesting detail about Portland is that the restaurants and shops have garage doors as facades – so they just slide up the door and the whole shop is open and more inviting.  You could smell the place from a block away!  The design was amazing too [including their killer website] and the dessert was well worth the wait.  I got Cinnamon Snickerdoodle and Zach…got Vanilla.  I am not kidding.  Farm fresh ice cream, shakes, and cookies and he gets the most unoriginal flavor.  That guy.

The next morning we ate breakfast at Slappy Cakes.  I found the place on a list of Portland’s favorite dining spots.  It was my favorite.  They had a griddle built in to your table and you could make your own pancakes!  You picked your batter [there were a lot of options – buttermilk, whole wheat, vegan] then your toppings.  I picked blueberries, bananas, and chocolate chips.  Zach? He had plain.  No toppings.  He did enjoy the flipping – it was like Benihana but with flap jacks!

After our breakfast we decided to go to the Pearl District and stop at Powell’s Books.  This is a must see for Portland visitors, so I was told, and I am obsessed with bookstores anyway.  It is the largest independent bookstore in the western United States.

You know how you go to a bookstore like Barnes and Noble or Borders and there is usually one small section of books on your selected topic?  Try AISLES at this joint.  There was a whole section of just treehouse construction.  I am obsessed with tree houses, and thought I owned every book on the subject, until I walked into that glorious place.  The building takes up the whole block – Zach got lost trying to find the restroom.

After Powell’s we ventured into the Farmer’s Market for some goodies.

We then found another food truck pod and ate a delicious lunch.  We also stopped at a friend’s favorite – Moonstruck Chocolates, and nubbed on our chocolate while we shopped around downtown.

Then it was off to the airport to return our rental car and board our flight.  We were not happy to be returning home.  We had such a blast.  I am in love with PDX.  In my mind Heaven looks like Wahkeena and Multnomah Falls.  Add the beauty of the falls, the beach, and mix in a crazy quirky city and you’ve got one amazing place.  I thought Portland would be full of Hippies and Vegans, and I was right…but it had such a great energy.  All I would change about that whole place is deodorant.  I wish people there would just slap on a bit more deodorant, that’s all.  Do they make Vegan deodorant?  I sure hope so.  I could live in Portland.  I would just have to become a deodorant missionary.

Until next time, Oregon…I will continue to support your Ducks Football, crave your crazy doughnuts, and dream of your tall trees and falling waters.

[For the record, Zach does not in any way support the Oregon Ducks, it is solely myself.]

4 Comments
  • Monica Terry
    September 4, 2012

    I Love this. I use to live in Oregon and this made me homesick… seriously.

    • K + Z
      September 6, 2012

      How lucky are you, Monica!! I didn’t know you lived in OR. SO LUCKY!

  • Annie
    September 6, 2012

    Is it sad that the only reason I’m sad the summer is over is because I can’t read about your AWESOME summer adventures anymore?! Please, keep playing through the fall so I can continue to live vicariously through you. You guys are too cool and too fun. And I love your blog layout! And your pictures of your meals make my mouth water!

    • K + Z
      September 7, 2012

      Annie, you are the cutest! Thanks so much! But I am not a good cook, so I really appreciate you saying that my meals LOOK good…hahaha because they don’t always turn out. You are the sweetest!