How do you write about a place that’s stolen your heart, or even try to capture it in a photo? If we tried to capture what we love about Portland we may find that in the evidence, that there’s nothing there, or worse, that there is something special – but it’s something we can’t have.
Post box, Oregon. Photo by Chloe O’Doherty.
We spent four days in Portland exploring the bike friendly city by (you guessed it) folding bikes. We also ate our way through a sizeable amount of pok-pok chicken wings as featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives as well as sampling amazing sandwiches at Bunk Sandwiches which was also featured on the show. The pulled pork, apple, mustard and mayo sandwich eaten as a hangover cure comes highly recommended.
Beautiful public spaces in Portland, Oregon. Photo by Patrick John O’Doherty.
It’s a city that won’t grow up. Monday night bourbon and bingo was fantastic – you could win ridiculous prizes like ceramic figurines of alpine children playing the fiddle. It’s pretty much the most hipster thing you could do, ever. I even saw a poster for a knitting and cocktails evening.
Chloe exploring hipsterland aka Portland, by folding bike. Photo by Patrick John O’Doherty.
Patrick tossing back a rainbow trout he caught on the fly in Oregon. Photo by Chloe O’Doherty.
A friend told me that a homeless guy revealed to her that his mom said he and his brother should just keep going until they reached Portland and then they would be fine. It’s friendly like that. People in Portland aren’t bothered with our accents either. On the journey so far people have just generally stared at us after we’ve finished talking to them in a South African accent. And we usually have to repeat ourselves once or twice for the message to reach home. At a Walmart in Michigan I held my cell phone up and asked a cashier where the mobile phone department was, she stared at me and then replied that the bottle recycling was out back.
Still waters run deep. Oregon. Photo by Patrick John O’Doherty.
Interesting road kill. Oregon. Photo by Patrick John O’Doherty.
After leaving Portland, and a piece of my heart, we drove slowly down the Oregon coast. There’s no shortage of affordable beautiful camping, if we paid $24 a night, for both of us, it would be a lot. (Interesting piece of trivia: according to Bill Bryson in “Made in America,” the $ symbol was formed by combining U and S.)
Beautiful thick forests, Oregon. Photo by Patrick John O’Doherty.
We then went on to the town of Springfield, Oregon, which Matt Groening (the creator of the Simpsons) cites as the inspiration for the town in the show, seeing as he grew up in Portland. He reckoned the show would be popular, and Springfield being a common town name everyone would think it was their Springfield in the show. As it turns out, that’s exactly what happened.
Patrick fly fishing impossibly clear rivers in Oregon. Photo by Chloe O’Doherty.
Spot the human. Oregon. Photo by Patrick John O’Doherty.
Desolation. Oregon. Photo by Patrick John O’Doherty.
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