Like many in this country, I decided to get away on Labor Day weekend. I did not go far, just to the nearest large city south of where I live. For $70, i purchased a round-trip train ticket down to Portland, Oregon. Included in that price was the $5 fee each way to bring my bike on board. It's about $65 to fill up the gas tank on my explorer. The train ride was just under 4 hours. Four beautiful hours of enjoying the pacific northwest scenery. Arriving in Portland, I walked to the baggage car, claimed my bike, attached the panniers and rode out of the station, sun shining.
WARNING! Streetcar tracks.
Molly, the friend I was staying with, lives about 1 1/2 from the train station. She has a great old studio in the Nob Hill district of Portland. It is also known as the ABC district, because the streets are alphabetical. Her studio apartment is beautiful, with a small shared courtyard and huge windows.
We hung out for awhile until her friend John came, then shared some wine together.
It was "happy Friday" the day I arrived, so I was looking forward to joining the Portland Critical Mass ride. I had high expectations, knowing that Portland is one of, if not the most bike friendly city in the nation. After finding NW Park St. and Couch St. (pronounced kooch, not like a piece of living room furniture), I met about 20 other cyclists near a statue of an elephant. Yes, critical mass had about 20 cyclists with 6 police escorts!! It was very disappointing. We stopped at every single light and stop sign, often waiting for automobiles. 
(Portland has these nifty green sections at intersections so that the bikes wait in front of the automobiles, making cyclists more visible.)
Nevertheless, we had awesome weather and ended up at Voodoo Donut Too, the most amazing donut shop in the world. I had been to the original location last time I was in Portland. Funny that I ended up here my first day back. The Bacon Maple Bar is by far the most GENIUS donut creation. It seriously tastes like one's eating pancakes with bacon and syrup. Molly, John and I have contemplated adding some sort of scrambled egg filling, to make it a well-balanced meal.
Bacon Maple Bar, half-eaten.
A bike with a drinking fountain attached was parked outside of Stumptown Coffee Roasters!
Molly and I sitting on her stoop checking out the map of Portland.
I did do more things than eating donuts and riding my bike while in Portland. On Monday, I felt like riding my bike somewhere, so I headed up to the International Rose Garden. It was definitely an uphill battle, very similar to hills in Seattle. The climb up was exhilarating. At the top I spent about 30 minutes walking around the beautiful rose garden, snapping photos. Some of my favorites are below. The weekend was super relaxing and invigorating, a nice getaway.
