Recently my travels took me to Seattle and having been there a few times before I wanted to explore a bit, which lead me to the realization that Portland is only 2 hours south!  Note to readers: I have been to Vancouver BC several times and decided Portland would be a good investment of time on this trip.

Photo courtesy of Cactus website

The DoubleTree hotel in SeaTac near the airport would be my hub for a few days because I was very fortunate to get a last minute deal there using the Priceline Negotiator at $65.00 a night (about half off).   After checking in I asked about a local place that is both unique and trendy and the suggestion was West Seattle, Cactus on Alki.  This is a true beach town with a lot of people walking around, enjoying the water and sunset, and just having a good time.  They make fantastic margaritas and I’d suggest the Baja and ask them to add an extra jalapeno to spice it up a bit more.  Try the butternut squash enchiladas, very unique.  The locals can be distant at first to visitors but after a while, they warmed up to me.  One in particular, Jimmy, who is a fellow foodie, was most helpful in recommending several downtown locations for future visits. 

After a good nights sleep and a speaking engagement the next day I headed south to Portland where I arived within 2 hours.  Traffic at the 5:00 PM hour is brutal in downtown but clears up quickly.  If you are driving from Seattle, take the I-5 South, merge to the local I-405 Loop and take the Couch Street Exit, turn left at Couch Street and find parking anywhere along the next several blocks.  This is the hip little area of Portland where you’ll find Blue Plate as well as Voodoo Donuts.  I stopped in at Voodoo and stood in line for about 20 minutes to get a Maple Bacon and Old Dirty Bastard, both would have only be perfected by having a glass of milk.

Photo courtesy of Bob Hoever

This visit to Portland was fun because I got to hang out with a friend from Alexandria VA who happened to be visiting Portland and I finished the evening with a visit to Sandfords Bar and Grill just south of Portland’s downtown to meet up with an old friend who I hadn’t seen in 15 years. 

Make the trip to the pacific northwest and check out Seattle and Portland, two great destinations.