Urban Park and Romance in the City

Mt. Tabor is a little gem in the eastside of Portland. The park sits on top of an old volcanic cinder cone and has some of the most magnificent views of downtown Portland. The view is especially nice on a clear summer night when you can see lights for miles. On a clear day, the view of Mt. Hood can take your breath away. Or at least it does mine, but any huge crystal clear view of a mountain does. I went there for the first time during the day just this week. They close the gates on Wednesdays for bikers and folks just enjoying a stroll through the park, it’s also opened late into the evening. I would recommend it for a date night. Grab a dessert at Papa Haydn or Pix Patisserie and enjoy the sunset with your significant other.

In addition to great views, it is the home to 3 of the 5 open drinking water reservoirs in Portland. I have heard that these soon might be drained, due to the city or states concern on open reservoirs. Don’t quote me on this, as I cannot remember the details my friend once told me. I was also told this is an active volcano but I think she was full of hogwash. :)

Mt Tabor Park
SE 60th & Salmon St

Dining out for a Local Radio Station with Southern Cuisine at its Finest

Image courtesy of Tapalaya.com

Okay I started this blog so I will make a commitment to update. I keep visiting some great Portland places and really need to start sharing the wealth of my discoveries. One these discoveries, happened last night, on the East side of Portland. It was dine out for KBOO, a not-for-profit community radio station that plays the music of local musicians. 10% of all proceeds from your meal went to the station that produces its programming through volunteers. So I think I at least donated $2 bucks! Not too shabby. Total for our table was probably $6 bucks. I have only listened to the station on a few occasions but the opportunity really brought forth some great restaurants that I have never heard of, such as Tapalaya.

Located on the same corner as the Laurelhurst Theatre, this place full of Southern décor, was quite the treat. As stated on their web page, the restaurant is a “marriage of tapas and New Orleans cuisine brings to Portland the Louisiana city's French, Spanish, Caribbean and African influenced food.” There were three of us and you had to spend a maximum $15 on a credit card so we order about 3 dishes each. It was a mini southern Thanksgiving Feast with Grilled “Sweet-Blackened” Pork Tenderloin, Mac & Cheese, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Crawfish Fritters, Pulled Pork, Sweet Potato Puree and Cajun Apple Cole Slaw. We all shared our mini plates and I consider this the best way to go, especially when trying new kinds of food. My favorite was by far the pulled pork and crawfish fritters. First time trying crawfish and as a not very big seafood fan, it was fantastic! Oh and go for the southern waiter, he made the place more authentic. Now if they only had alligator, I would have been thrilled!

What other Portland restaurants are known for their tapas?

Ringing in 2010

What a better way to ring in the New Years than leaving the country. But for this single girl on a low budget, it had to be not too far away. So what did I do? I headed to the closest border- CANADA!

This was the first time I had driven over the border on my own and it was not too bad. Just make sure you have a passport or extended license. (And it has to be the official copy, not a temporary! A friend sadly learned this and had to ditch out on our journey) And don't bring weapons, drugs or fruit, which should be a no brain er for most. We got asked questions by the border control, who obviously thought he was a drill sergeant. "Where are you going? Who are you staying with? How do you know this person? yada yada yada...we are two 23 yr olds who look like we are 15, let us into Canada.

Ringing in the News Years was interesting. I a slightly liberal Christian ended up at a weird party with 8 people and a DJ. But the DJ does Raves.. with my great dance moves, I do not do raves. But it was New Years so I went with the flow.. attempted to dance with glow sticks, sent texts that I am going to regret when I get my bill and got giddy that it was a new year!

As usual in the Pacific Northwest New Years day was full of rain, rain, rain. But we braved it, laughed at the clouds and went on an adventure, first stop was Sophie's Cosmic Cafe. Great place for breakfast, funky decor, nice staff and highly recommended.

As we walked into the city across the Burrard Street Bridge, the heavens opened up and we soon were walking with puddles in our shoes and skin tight soaked jeans. I was freezing and staring jealously at my friends rain boots. If you travel to the PNW keep a pair of boots on hand at all times. I need to invest in some for these situations. But a stop at JJ Bean Coffee Roasters , sitting under the hand dryer in the bathroom and one hot vanilla latte later... I was a happy camper.

We spent the rest of the day wandering.. and catching the sites like any good American Tourists. For good bathrooms and a great view of the water check out Canada Place. Its has extremely interesting architecture that reminds me of the Denver airport.

Not a lot going on for the Olympics during this time. I only noticed a few signs and Olympics rings. So I plan to take the Amtrak up in February to check this city out again. I'm also noticing that I need to go when its not cloudy and rainy as I didn't even notice the mountains in the distance. Enjoy some of the pics below. My friend now lives in this city, so I hope to be having lots of great adventures and stories coming from here soon!