Night out in Portland

Dan and I went away for an overnight date this last Friday. The last time we got away without kids was FIVE years ago. So, I would say that we were overdue for a night away. Since moving, we don't have family around to watch kids. However, we do have two fantastic babysitters in our home, ages 17 and 12. We really like hanging out with the kids and going on trips as a family, but it was great to spend time alone. The kids got along just fine without us. They even finished their lists of Saturday chores before we returned home!

We decided to spend a night in downtown Portland, to take in some of what makes Portland unique and enjoy the urban feeling downtown. We stayed in a "boutique" hotel called Hotel Deluxe. The building was built in 1912 and the hotel was renovated a few years ago. It still has great charm, but with some modern conveniences. The entire hotel highlights movie making in the 1940s and 50s. There are pictures throughout from movies of that era. The decor, colors, and on-site restaurant are all reminiscent of the 40s/50s "glamour" era. It was a fun place to stay. I would say that modern hotels build much bigger bathrooms. It may not be possible to see in this picture, but the bathroom was unbelievably small - probably the smallest bathroom I have ever seen! Yes, it had cool marble floors, but no more than one person could stand in the room at one time.

Only in Portland would you find a "spiritual menu" in the room. Hotel guests are welcome to peruse the Torah, Koran, Book of Mormon, Bible, or books on Scientology. Another only-in-Portland sight - a recycle bin in the hotel room!
All the walls of the hotel, including in the rooms, were lined with pictures from great old movies.

After we checked in we put on our walking shoes and took off to the "Pearl District." It was an interesting walk. The downtown was very festive on a beautiful Friday night. We ate at a popular Peruvian food restaurant. We had tapas, which meant that we tried five different plates of food. Dan was brave and ate beef heart - I passed on that one! We thought the food was delicious, and we felt very adventurous.

Afterward, we walked to Powell's Books - an absolutely amazing bookstore. I have been there many times, so I shouldn't be so awed, but I still walk in and marvel at the sheer number of books. You can seriously find almost any book on any topic. Used books are shelved next to new books. The store takes up an entire city block. We wandered and browsed and picked out a book for each of the kids and a few for ourselves.

A few of the less savory residents were hanging out on the streets when we left Powell's, so we walked quite quickly back to our hotel. The next day we planned to eat breakfast and then walk to a different area with fun shops and restaurants. But, the RAIN hit. We are accustomed to rain, so we thought we could handle it. However, over 1/2 inch of rain fell during the two hours we planned to walk. We checked out of the hotel and drove instead to explore more of the downtown "districts." We feel like we have a much better understanding of Portland's downtown. It is a fascinating place to visit. We postponed the rest of our Saturday plans (we wanted to visit Pittock mansion which overlooks Portland of go on a short hike, but visibility was nil) and headed back home.

I took my nice camera and intended to get some great pictures of us on our adventure, but we were too busy exploring and being adventurous to take many pictures!

This is a less than flattering picture of us having a fancy brunch in the hotel restaurant. We had been soaked by the rainstorm! Below, Dan checks out our handy dandy walking map of downtown Portland. It was our best friend!