I decided to spend five days on a mini-vacation to the region of Portland, Oregon during the long Memorial Day weekend holiday. It was only my third visit to the west coast of the United States. This destination is known for being a “Vegan Mecca”! All vegan restaurants, bakeries, food carts, grocery stores, and even a vegan mall awaited me!
Before my flight from Boston’s Logan Airport, I wanted to eat dinner. The airport terminal included “Go Go Stop”. This take away market offers many vegan snack and meal options. I chose the wheatberry salad with cranberries and an edamame with rice noodles and corn in a spicy sauce. It was wonderful to find such tasty food at an airport market. I enjoyed an aloe vera juice for my evening meal’s beverage.
The Portland Hawthorne Hostel was my home for the next several days. It was situated in the lovely Hawthorne neighborhood, easily accessible by bus to downtown. The staff was helpful regarding transportation questions and tours. The quaint home provided beautiful accommodations! Arriving before midnight on Friday May 23rd gave me just enough time to settle in and get a good night’s sleep before the next day’s touring!
Prior to my trip, I printed a list of the various vegan-friendly restaurants in town. For my first breakfast in Portland, I walked down the street to “Jam On Hawthorne”(Jam On Hawthorne). It was within short distance of my hostel and located on the same street. Thus, I would make it back in time to the hostel for my tour pickup. I selected the oatmeal blueberry chai pancakes. They are made with Bob’s Red Mill oats(local to Portland), spelt flour, blueberries, homemade chai, and spices. The pancakes were fluffy, perfectly moist, and absolutely delicious! I can see why one of the Portland vegan guides listed it as one of the best vegan brunches/breakfasts in town! A glass of orange juice completed my morning meal.
After breakfast, my tour group picked me at the hostel for a full day of sightseeing and scenic beauty around the Oregon coast! The first stop was an old logging camp mill. Rusted logging and mill equipment from the 19th century were scattered across the landscape. The giant spinning mill wheel and large, ‘old growth forest’ tree trunks were among those items from decades gone by. This logging camp 18 is located in Elsie, Oregon.
We continued to drive closer to the northern coast. The views were stunning! The guide let us out of the mini-van for some wonderful photo ops!
I photographed the beautiful goldenrod flowers that are very prevalent all over this region.
These white, cottony flowers are also found in the local forests and growing in the grassy areas by the roadsides.
Photo stop number two was a sight to behold! The tree-covered landscape hugged the ocean waters which were dotted with monolith rock formations.
Our late morning stop took us to Haystack Rock. This monolith is the largest one in the region.
Haystack Rock is located at Cannon Beach. Now that lunch time had arrived, I dined at a vegan-friendly restaurant in town. The Cannon Beach Cafe(Cannon Beach Cafe)) menu includes some good vegan options. My meal was the sweet potato burger made of sweet potatoes, chickpeas, avocado, cucumber, and romaine hearts with a vinaigrette and a vegan aoili, in a ciabatta bread. It was delicious and filling! I washed it down with a berry tea.
Another cafe in town provided my dessert. Sweet Basil’s Cafe (Cafe Sweet Basil) ) offers a vegan dessert, so I opted for the cake with coconut frosting. It was scrumptious!
After lunch, I poked my head into a few of the art galleries in town prior to hopping back on the tour van for more sightseeing! Our next stop was Ecola State Park. From there, we could see a magnificent view of the side of Haystack Rock, several other monoliths, the woods, and the expansive Pacific Ocean.
The Tilamook Lighthouse stood in the distance.
Numerous birds and seagulls frolicked about the park.
Ecola State Park also includes a dense forest where visitors may go hiking.
As our van cruised past the wooded area, I captured some blurry views of the “Old Growth” Forest trees with their giant trunks.
The next stop of the day was the coastal town of Astoria. The “Astoria Column” on Coxcomb Hill stands as a distinguished tower. It’s surface artwork depicts the various settlers of the region. The magnificent Columbia River and the snow-capped Cascade Range mountains are visible from this vantage point.
Further into town, one can discover seal lions resting upon the waterfront piers. While many of them were reclining, one large sea lion proudly sat upright.
Our tour had concluded and dropped us off at the various accommodations. I then proceeded to walk the corner of Hawthorne & 12th Ave to one of the many food cart areas in Portland. I stopped at Whiffies Food Cart (Whiffies Pies) ) for a fried fruit pie. My choice was the Oregon mixed berry pie made with strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, and marionberry. The warm and gooey berries within the flaky crust made for a delicious snack! I took a bite or two immediately, then saved the remainder for a snack the following day. This cart is quite famous for their fried savory and sweet pies.
After freshening up and walking about town, it was time for dinner. I ate my evening meal at “Portobello Vegan Trattoria” (Portobello Vegan Trattoria)). My entree was the Harissa gnocchi: handmade potato dumplings with housemade harissa chili sauce, sugar snap peas, & parsley-mint. It was absolutely delectable!
For dessert, I opted for the vegan Tiramisu. Wow is all I can say! It was superb.. smooth and creamy and tasty!
It was time to take the number 14 bus to downtown, specifically to the famous institution called “Voodoo Donuts” (Voodoo Donuts)! It is quite common for the dedicated customers to wait patiently in long lines for entrance to the shop. At least two or three flavors are vegan. I selected the Portland Cream Donut. The fluffy, raised yeast doughnut was filled with delicious vanilla cream and topped with a sweet chocolate frosting. I was very pleased with my selection! I took a couple of bites and saved the remainder for breakfast on the following day.
It was time to call it a night and get some sleep. The following day’s tour will take me to the Columbia River Gorge, a variety of waterfalls, and Mount Hood.