Categories
Afternoon Adventures

Hiking Multnomah Falls in Portland, OR

Vacation always tests my willpower on eating healthy and keeping up with a semi-regular exercise routine. Actually, deep fried snacks, dark beers, endless sweets, and melted cheese always win. Portland in particular is like a direct assault on my waistline. If I’m not out trolling all of the delicious food trucks or taking home a hefty sampling of Voodoo Doughnuts, I’m partying myself into oblivion while chowing down on beer and cheese dip. Though this time was slightly more tame in the partying sense (hey, I’m getting older), I vowed to be a bit more active to cancel out the gluttonous amounts of food I was consuming.

My friend Jessie and I took her pup Maya for a walk up Multnomah Falls. Greatly unfamiliar with the Pacific Northwest, I’d actually never heard of the falls but I jumped at the chance to do something outdoors that didn’t involve concrete, skyscrapers, or Times Square.

Maya. How could I say no to this cute puppy face?

We settled in the car for a 40 minute drive East along the Columbia River. With the serene views and wide-open spaces, I found myself deep in thought wondering why I haven’t been able to break free from my love-hate relationship with city life on the East Coast. Then Maya farted. And it stunk, bad.

From some angles the two drops don’t look like much, but I’ve heard it’s the second highest year-round waterfall in the US at a total height of about 620 feet. I forgot my tape measurer so I can’t really back that up, nor have I seen any other falls in person. Nope, not even Niagara Falls. I’m slacking.

Standing at the base of Multnomah Falls

We thought twice about hoofing it the entire way to the top and just going up to the bridge instead. That was until I heard some severely overweight—okay obese—mother tell her four-year-old daughter they’re not going on the trail. “You can see it from here” she scolded from the coffee stand near the parking lot. Then she explained to the barista how they’d just finished an exhausting hour of mall walking, and ordered what seemed like one of every pastry on the menu for lunch. I looked at my thighs, acknowledged the feeling of my jeans pressing into my gut, looked at Jessie, and we headed for the trail.

 

Looks like a fun ride
The wannabe photographer in me trying to snap a decent shot

The path was narrow but paved and it wasn’t overly crowded. That meant we were able to maintain a leisurely pace without disgruntled assholes passing us by every ten seconds. So much different than the streets of NYC. It’s just over one mile of back and forth zigging and zagging, surrounded by moss-covered  trees and other green stuff. There were a few crazies running past us at full speed in their running gear, but those people are just insane. And by insane I mean insanely in shape and I am totally jealous.

Along the winding path
Bad place for mold allergies
Everything was covered in vibrant green moss

For that mile we were accompanied by the welcome scent of crisp air and wet pine, and only a few of Maya’s rotten egg tainted farts. The sounds of the cars below were replaced with sounds of the falls at every turn. And there were plenty of views of the Columbia River and the snow-capped mountains of Washington peeking through the trees.

Two states, one picture
The water streaming towards the falls

At the top there was a small, circular gated-in deck for people to take pictures on. But the only thing I wanted to do was jump in and ride the falls back down to the bottom. Unfortunately this wasn’t a safe option, so we just snapped a few pics and made our way back down.

Looking down from the top

As soon as we returned home from our hike we negated any calories burned with a delicious Mexican fiesta. All in all, another perfect day in Portland.

There are few things I love more than a DIY taco station
First plate. Homemade pork and bean tacos with guac and green sauce. OHMYGODgood.
“Yo dog, who invited this guy?”

Categories
All You Can Jet Lodging

Day 6: 11 Hours at the City Hostel in Seattle

This was my first experience at a hostel. Ever. I didn’t really know what to expect, but since I only needed a place for about 11 hours, I figured it would be fine. The people working at the hostel were great. Very friendly, and helpful. The place was constantly busy, something I wasn’t really expecting on a Sunday night, especially considering how dead the city seemed to be. Since living in New York, every smaller city I visit just seems like a ghost town when I don’t see people out and about at all hours.

The hostel had a lot of art on the walls that looked like it was for sale. There was a kitchen, library, computer room, and even a hot tub. Instead of paying the regular $35 fee, I went for the $38 all female suite which included a private bathroom. The room wasn’t for everybody, but it certainly provided exactly what I needed for the evening. There were four of us sharing the room on two bunk beds. The bathroom had a shower and a toilet, and the sink was in the main area. Nothing special, but there was hot water so I was happy. Two different times that I tried to enter my room with the electronic card, it wouldn’t work. I had to run downstairs each time and have them reprogram it.

Overall it was a good location as far as I could tell. It was downtown, within walking distance to the Space Needle. They serve a free breakfast around 8a, but since I had to check out at 530a I didn’t get a chance to grab some. The Light Rail was only a few blocks away, so taking public transportation out to the airport was extremely convenient and cheap. Only $2.50. They had free wifi, and if you’re interested in staying there, you can view all of their rooms on their website.

Inside room 305C

Categories
All You Can Jet

Day 6: 15 Hours in Seattle

After about 3 hours of sleep, I woke up excited and energized to head to Seattle. Too bad I was the only one who wasn’t hungover. We didn’t leave Portland until around 1130, and while Jessie manned up and made the 3hr drive to Seattle, the guys & Maya passed out in the back seat. We got to Seattle around 230 and spent the majority of the day down near the Pike Street Market and the waterfront.

We were going to try some seafood, but ended up giving in to the sight of Mexican food at El Puerco Llorõn. Everything was handmade right in front of us, including the fresh corn tortillas. I ended up ordering two entrees because I couldn’t decide on just one.

Then they wanted to head back to Portland around 5 so they drove me out to a friend of a friend’s house, Shawna, that I was planning on staying with. I wanted to hang out in the city all evening, then walk back to her place later at night when I knew she’d be home around 10. But after realizing how far of a walk it would be from downtown to her place, the only option was to sit at a local bar near her place for 5.5 hours. Ruben told me about the City Hostel downtown that was only $35 a night, so I decided since it was still light out and I had a lot of exploring to do, I’d go check in there. I knew the cab fare from Shawna’s would cost me at least $35, so I figured why not spend that money to hang out downtown all night? I’m so glad that I did. I dropped my stuff off at the hostel and made my way over to the Space Tower before sunset. The view from there was gorgeous. I stayed up there for about an hour, snapping picture after picture until I got some really great ones. It cost $18.50 to go up the 520 feet to the top of the tower, which definitely wasn’t in my budget, but I knew I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t.

After that I walked back towards the hostel and stopped for some tea at Bedlam Coffee on 2nd ave and Bell Street. Cozy little spot with delicious blood orange tea.

And before I left for good, I managed to snap one more picture of Mount Rainier from above the clouds in the airplane.

Check out a ton more pictures on my Flickr.