Finding Nob Hill

Portland is really one of those cities where you can just relax and enjoy the atmosphere around you...yes, even if it is raining. We didn't have much of a plan today, or tomorrow for that matter, but we knew we wanted to hit a few of the neighborhoods on the west side of the city at least one of those days. We had picked up some maps and a few brochures the night before while we were out to dinner, so we had an idea of where we wanted to go, but nothing was set in stone.

This turned out to be one of the best decisions, as our first full day in Portland really ended up as one of the best days we've had out here so far. After grabbing breakfast at a small corner diner up the block from our hotel, we got into the car and headed west about a mile into the Nob Hill neighborhood. It was sunny at this point, and relatively clear, but there was a chill in the air so before leaving, we both went back up to the room to grab our coats. About a mile later, the scenery of the city changed from downtown warehouse and loft living into ornate cottages and colorful homes, inspired by anything from deep southern plantations to English Tudor, or even a mix of both. The greenery in the Nob Hill neighborhood was completely outstanding, creating an emerald canopy over the streets, with painted magnolias and cherry blossoms mixed in for variety.

We parked the car and walked around for a few hours, exploring the small shops and novelty stores speckled throughout the streets, one of our favorites being named 3 Monkeys, which was the one place we actually purchased a few things from that day. We explored the clothing stores and walked through a few of the bars, then headed into the residential streets to view many of the homes and outlying parts of the neighborhood. At one point to avoid the drizzle that started, we ducked into a small independent coffee shop (not a Starbucks) and waited out the short burst of showers. Steph got an iced coffee and I settled for my Chai Tea, and we sat by the window, watching the rain pass through town, within minutes, it was bright and sunny again, and we were on our way.

After a while, we got back into the car and drove up to the million dollar homes on what's called King's Heights. These places range from anywhere between $600,000 and 5 million, depending on how high you are on the hill, your view, and of course, the size of the home. Surprisingly, a lot really weren't all that big, but they're perched right on the edge of a steep pitch, propped up by stilts driven deep into the side of the slope. The views are spectacular, offering a full panorama of downtown Portland and the Cascade mountains beyond. The higher you get, the more elaborate the homes become. Some of them even look straight down into Washington Park, which ended up being our next stop.

Washington Park is a huge suburban park containing the zoo and a few of the world's most renowned gardens. The Rose Garden, although highly rated would've been great had the roses been in bloom. We had talked about visiting the Japanese Garden earlier in the trip, but until now, hadn't really cemented the idea. We parked the car on the edge of the Washington Park Train Station, an old-fashioned steam locomotive that circled the entire park and through the Oregon Zoo, and took a short walk up a neatly kept hill path lined with bamboo and twine, arriving a few moments later at the Japanese Gardens. It had started to rain by now, but not the rain that we would know in Ohio where the drops are heavy and you're soaked within seconds. This rain was a light drizzle, almost a mist, and continued off and on throughout the rest of the day. We didn't let it bother us though, and surprisingly it didn't hinder our day, allowing us to start to understand the mentality of everyone out here.

Our walk through the Gardens was nothing short of relaxing and peaceful. We couldn't get enough pictures of our surroundings, and took about an hour and a half to walk through what was probably an area the square-footage of a football field. There were bridges, waterfalls and ponds, small tea rooms and pavilions, and scattered meditative huts that honestly persuade you to forget that you're not actually in Japan. This garden is the most accurate Japanese Garden in the world, outside of Japan itself, further proving how much the people in the in this area of the country regard their outdoors.

Upon leaving the Gardens, we decided to head back into Nob Hill and eat a small corner pub called McMenamins' Rams Head, which may sound familiar as it's associated with the McMenamins pub that we had met Jon at up in Seattle. It was a cozy little place, a perfect fit for the weather. Steph got an amazing mozzarella sandwich and I ordered a stuffed burger. Our waitress was really nice and we had a good laugh with her when one of the obvious patrons came over to our table while she was taking our order and announced that she's getting married in a few weeks, then proceeded to ask us if we knew where the wedding was being held. She turned to him and told him that for the last time, she's not giving him an invite as she's worried he'd throw cheese at her or something. He laughed and kind of agreed, then sort of staggered away back to his stool. You kind of had to be there, but it was actually really funny and the three of us laughed about it for the next few minutes while she continued to try and take our order.

The night again was fairly relaxing as we decided to retire early and watch some TV. I fell asleep reading and Steph caught her American Idol and before we knew it, the day had ended. We'll probably do much of the same the next day, only exploring different parts of town. Again there's no set agenda, which seems to be the way to go here in Portland, and we're enjoying every second of it.