We spent Thanksgiving in Portland in 2012 and 2013. Each visit offered different experiences worth sharing. Our visit in 2012 was our first visit to Portland. We arrived on Thanksgiving and enjoyed quiet streets and an amazing Thanksgiving dinner at the Blossoming Lotus, where we parked in front of the nearby Lion and the Rose Victorian Bed & Breakfast from the Lonelyhearts episode of Grimm.
Friday we enjoyed the parade from our room, some Black Friday shopping in the Pearl District and Nob Hill, and a visit to Deschutes. Deschutes offered amazing gluten-free beer on tap and thick-cut gluten-free grilled cheese and fries. We enjoyed Deschutes so much we went back on Saturday. Saturday also included the Farmer’s Market at Portland State University and the Saturday Market.
We arrived on Wednesday in 2013 to run the Turkey Trot on a very cold Thanksgiving morning with the Oregon Road Runners Club. The run was fun. The highlight: the run ended in the Zoo for photo ops with elephants and orangutans. The low-light: the hills were monstrous. We ran the entire first half downhill, which meant an uphill and exhausting second half. The enjoyable end at the zoo and good workout was worth a little pain.
The rest of the day included biking to Grimm locations, lunch at La Provence & Petite Provence, shopping at Powell’s, Thanksgiving dinner at Henry’s Tavern, and the tree lighting at the Pioneer Courthouse Square. This event was loud and crowded but fun with live music, the mayor, and the 75-foot ‘holiday tree’ lit (one speaker accidentally said Christmas tree and then corrected himself).
On Saturday, we explored Hawthorne District where we enjoyed some more good food and holiday shopping for our nephews.
