I Heart Portland

I had a feeling this might happen before my trip, but I can now say it's official: I love Portland.

A few of my good friends moved out there awhile back and I've been meaning to visit ever since. I'm so glad I got to catch up with Debbie, Julie and Sarah and get to know a part of the country that was completely new to me.

During my visit, we did plenty of eating out (Violetta, Besaw's, Elephants Deli, Papa Haydn, Veggie Grill, Por Que No, Voodoo Doughnut) and sightseeing (Washington Park International Rose Test Garden, Powell's City of Books, The Pearl District, 23rd Street shopping, Nike Campus).

Here are a few highlights:

Gorgeous hike in the park despite the lack of roses . . .

View from atop the Rose Test Gardens

Believe it or not, this was the Veggie Grill's Veggie Stack

The Alberto Salazar Building at the Nike Campus

Julie and I on a self-guided "tour" of the Nike Campus

Dinner at Por Que No, aka The Last Supper

A trip to Portland wouldn't be complete without Voodoo Doughnuts

The one thing I didn't do on this trip was run. Although it would have been fun to try out paths frequented by some of the country's greatest distance runners, I was visiting non-runners and it felt a bit wrong to allow running to cut into my time with people I rarely see. Perhaps next time I visit, which I hope is soon and who knows, maybe by then I'll have converted them into runners. I did mention we should run Hood to Coast in the upcoming year or two . . . :)

Your Turn: How have you been keeping busy this week? Has anyone ever run Hood to Coast, or for that matter, any other relay race?

- ST