Wandering Downtown Portland

Since on this trip I was determined to enjoy some solo travel I went looking for some places where I could relax my mind. One of the best places to sit, read, and vegetate is in the giant Powell's Bookstore in Downtown Portland. Its claim to fame is that it is the second largest bookstore in North America. Powell's sells new and used books displayed on the same shelves. Be careful though! It's easy to get lost throughout its many flights of books. Maybe my next trip will be to see the largest bookstore...

Quick Tips:

My suggestion for travel in Oregon is to act like you live in Oregon. Being from California we tend to be at a faster pace and Oregon just doesn't feel like that. Don't use your cellular phone often...people stare at you. Don't try to pump your own gas or the attendent gets really mad. Thank goodness I was warned at the rental car place.

Best Way To Get Around:

I rented a car because I received a very low rate of .99 per day from Thrifty Car Rental. I found my great price on Travelocity.

There are tons of hotels offering shuttles to and fron the airport. I don't like to rely on hotel shuttles because they are often delayed (that fast pace of CA is coming out again).

I have heard the public transportation system is wonderful. You can even catch a light-rail train from the airport. Check out the website for more information Tri-Met .

Walking around Downtown Portland is very easy. The hotel desk clerk told me that from one end of Downtown to the other is about a mile and a half. That is what she said??? The blocks are half the size of a normal city block so that may be the reason. I walked all around and felt very safe.

The Doubletree Downtown Portland (on Lincoln -- sometimes confused with Lloyd Center) was very clean and well kept. All the staff I came in contact with were very nice and willing to help. The check-in agent showed me on the map all of the places I wanted to go. She also gave me the yummy cookie they give to all guests.

The room was fine until the the toilet stopped working. The little chain inside broke free. The housekeeper only left decaf coffee and even though I requested coffee with caffeine, it never came. I ended up purchasing my own at a shop downtown. The walls are very thin too. It didn't help that my neighbors weren't getting along well and wanted to share that with each other loudly. I think they also had a problem with their bed since it was doing a lot of squeaking. I believe another guest stole the "Privacy Please" sign from my door and the housekeeper woke me up. She didn't quite understand why I didn't need housekeeping during my stay. Oh well!

Parking was $12.00 per night. About one block away (I would say 5th Ave. and Lincoln), there is a parking lot that charged only $2.50 on weekends (I didn't see any weekly rate info). I did not take advantage of the cheaper parking lot though because it was raining while I was there and I kept forgetting my umbrella in the room. The Doubletree doesn't have an attendant in the parking lot overnight. I left in the morning at 4:30am without having to pay the last night's parking charge. I even asked at the desk and the agent told me just to leave since no one was on duty. SCORE!

There was a coffee shop in the lobby that served espresso and sold souvenirs. It was open until 8pm on Sundays, which I thought was nice. I didn't use any other facilities during my stay.

My hotel room rate was $35 per night. I received that price by bidding on Priceline. If you would like to learn more about bidding on Priceline try reading some posts on BiddingForTravel.com

I love Thai food and had read some great reviews of this establishment. What I didn't know is that they aren't the best at catering to customers dining solo. I felt uncomfortable during my entire lunch. I was left alone except the bus boy folding napkins at a booth a little way from mine. I was never asked if I needed anything else. The waiter was caught off guard that I would want my tea iced. Iced tea may be a rare order in Portland??

Back to the food . . .

I ordered an appetizer of "Vegetarian Spring Rolls: $4.95 Light and crunchy, packed with veggies and served with Bo's special plum sauce." The plum sauce was very good and is served with the plum pits. The serving size was perfect for two people (or one solo diner who hadn't eaten all day).

I chose "Phad Thai: 6.95/7.95 Arguably Thailand's most famous dish, with sweet and sour Chantaboon noodles served with ground peanuts, bean sprouts and greens. Choice of veggie, chicken or shrimp." If you have never tasted Phad Thai, I recommend trying it at Typhoon. I haven't tasted it better anywhere else.

One of the menus offered as you are seated is a tea menu. It has pages of different teas to choose from. My choice was a green tea with a fruity flavor. The price was $4.50 for that particular tea and it is served in a hot teapot. I requested a glass with ice (stunning the waiter), which worked perfectly to cool the tea.

I would give the food at Typhoon an A+ and the service a D-. I am sure if you dine with at least one other person the service is much better. See more of the menu at TyphoonRestaurants.com.

I love bookstores. I love to find books about my interests. Powell's City of Books. has books about any interest you might have. This place is huge and a common tourist attraction.

Here is some of what is on their website:

Powell's City of Books is a book lover's paradise, the largest used and new bookstore in the world. Located in downtown Portland, Oregon and occupying an entire city block, the City stocks more than a million new and used books.

Nine color coded rooms house over 3,500 different sections, offering something for every interest, including an incredible selection of out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.

With 68,000 square feet packed with books, we buy 3,000 used books over the counter every day.

Approximately 3,000 people walk in and buy something every day. Another 3,000 people just browse and drink coffee.

Our parking garage provides space for 40 cars (ok, so there are bigger parking garages).

We stock 122 major subject areas and more than 3,500 subsections, you'll find more than 1,000,000 volumes on our shelves

Approximately 40,000 book lovers browse the City's shelves every day, in Portland and via the Internet.

I came across the Woodburn Company Stores on my way to the Spring Tulip Festival in Woodburn. Let's just say I love to shop and hate to wait in lines. There were a trillion cars waiting to go to the festival . . . so I went shopping instead. Remember I wanted to relax on my trip to Portland and didn't want to feel cramped by crowds of people.

I can only tell you that this is just like any other factory outlet mall. The prices are high just like in the normal stores, but if you search, you can find great bargains. I found the egg cups I wanted for my Easter eggs discounted at Harry & David. The capris at The Gap were only $14.99. I also got a pink sweater for $9.99, which I thought was a deal. I found more odds and ends in other stores too.

Directions:

From Portland take I-5 South to the Woodburn exit 271/Hwy 214. Turn right at the signal. Turn right again at Arney Road. It's about 30 miles from Downtown Portland. A beautiful drive also.

What's OMSI like?? In one word . . . loud. I happened to go on a Portland school holiday and kids were jumping around everywhere. Remember again I wanted to relax on my trip to Portland. This isn't the place to go for peace and quiet, but it's a great place to go for education.

My first stop in the museum was to see the planetarium show, "Pacific Nortwest Skies." I recommend sitting near the middle so you can easily see the entire ceiling. The show goes over all the major constellations and their visibilty throughout the year. The show is an additional $4.00 on top of the museum admission.

I was scheduled to see the next showing of "Coral Reef Adventure," but had some time to catch a bite to eat. The museum has a cafeteria-style eating area serviced by Aramark. They have pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a soda, spending around $7.00. You have a choice of eating indoors or outdoors. Your admission is good all day with in and out privileges.

Now I am off to see the "Coral Reef Adventure" on the OmniMax IMAX screen. The museum is a bit confusing, but I managed to find the theater OK. The guide warned us ahead of time of the possibilty of nausea. He wasn't lying either. Some of the camera angles send your stomach for a whirl. They recommended closing your eyes and taking a deep breath to ease it. That worked for me and I was able to watch the entire movie. The movie is narrated by Liam Neeson and has discussions with marine scientists. It's about how coral reefs are dying and focuses on the reefs of Fiji. It's both educational and entertaining. It is another $8.00 on top of the museum admission, but well worth it!

I skipped the rest of the exhibits. It was time to go back to the hotel and relax (and run far away from the kids). Ha Ha!