Olympia National Park to Portland
After driving late into the night out of Olympic National Park, we woke up in Olympia, the capital of Washington—at the Hilton Garden Inn. (Pro tip: sign up for Hilton Honors; you’ll get preferred pricing and bonus points. Plus, this one has a restaurant and bar right downstairs.)
Alan did his food-scouting magic and found us a gem on the harbor: Row (rowolywa.com, 210 State Avenue NW). We sat on the patio with Kodi and ended up chatting with Aly (@alybutterflydesigns), who gifted us a whimsical mushroom keychain. The wild salmon, served on a bed of crisp green beans—was hands-down the best I’ve ever tasted. It was so good, we slowed down our pace and stayed another day. The next night, we tried Anthony’s Hearthfire Grill (anthonys.com), another waterfront spot where the vibe matched the views.
On the way south, we stretched our legs at Tumwater Falls Park, surrounded by berry bushes and rushing water. Then it was onward to Beaverton, just outside Portland—a clean, techy suburb where we landed at the Hilton Garden Inn again.
Dinner that night was at DiCarli’s (dicarlirestaurant.com), a sleek Italian bistro tucked in a strip mall, where the meatballs burst with flavor and the pasta made us forget we were supposed to be budgeting. Sometimes downtime is worth the splurge.
I was gearing up for a big hike up Mt. Hood, but Alan reminded me of the cracked windshield on Bessie (our van). Better to fix it now than risk a blowout in the middle of nowhere. So, Mt. Hood was pushed back a day—but the meatballs made the delay sting a little less.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is six different enclaves trying to out-quirk each other. Downtown was a bit tricky; between the large homeless population and limited parking for our van, we couldn’t cover everything—but we gave it our best shot.
We kicked off the day with Blue Star Donuts (www.bluestardonuts.com): two black coffees, a maple glazed, a classic glazed, and an apple fritter the size of Kodi’s head. Sugar high in full swing, we walked to Powell’s City of Books (www.powells.com). I’m a book nerd, so I asked about publishing. No secret sauce yet, but I left grinning—apparently my “travelogue” could live in the Americana section or the National Parks shelf.
From there we wandered through Chinatown, Old Town, and the food trucks before dialing the pace down at the Lan Su Chinese Garden (www.lansugarden.org). Serene paths, iced jasmine tea, and lots of photos. We wanted to keep the garden vibe going, so we drove up, up, up to the Portland Japanese Garden (www.japanesegarden.org). Gorgeous, multi-level, but no dogs allowed, so Kodi vetoed that one. The Rose Garden was packed…no room for the van—so we rolled onward to Pittock Mansion (www.pittockmansion.org). Think sweeping lawns, stately architecture, and a killer city view with Mt. Hood floating on the horizon. We capped it with Council Crest, Portland’s highest point, where Kodi finally got her off-leash run.
The next day we traded city for scenery: the Columbia Gorge and Multnomah Falls, plus a handful of others. I ambitiously tried to tack on Silver Falls State Park (ten waterfalls on a seven-mile loop). Reality check: I made it through two trails, snapped a waterfall overlook photo, and called it a win.
Back in town, Bessie needed TLC. The cracked windshield—fixed. But then we discovered a fuel leak. Thank God nothing blew up before we headed out to Mt. Hood. That climb? Absolutely worth it. Scary at first, but afterward I caught myself thinking, What else can I do?
We celebrated at Trillium Lake and then cruised the Fruit Loop—orchards, lavender fields, vineyards, country stores, tasting rooms. The perfect wind-down. Next stop was REI for protein gels, but I walked out with a harness and clip-on straps instead. I know what you’re thinking… but I was already dreaming of Half Dome in Yosemite.
