First 30 Days in Oregon - Top Things Done

Take a Trip to the Coast

Drove out to Tillamook and then went up the coast through Garibaldi, Rockaway Beach, Manzanita, and Cannon Beach on the way to Ecola State Park. Took in the views there and did a 3 mile loop hike. 

Ecola State Park

Go See Live Music

Saw a Jerry Garcia Band style cover band called Rhapsody in Red at the Laurelthirst Public House and the Phish cover band Shafty at The Get Down.

Attend a Professional Sports Game

Went to a Hillsboro Hops baseball game (High-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks) and also rooted for the Portland Thorns at Providence Park (National Women's Soccer League, NWSL).

Hillsboro Hops game

Sample Nearby Breweries

There are three breweries within walking distance: Three Mugs, Vertigo, and Mazama. It took less than a week to sample each of them!

Take the Train (light rail system)

The nearby Orenco MAX station makes it easy to hop on and go either west toward the actual town of Hillsboro or east to Beaverton downtown. Both of which are worthy destinations. Or take it farther east into the wilds of Portland!

Explore Local Parks

Have walked through Orenco Woods Nature Park, Noble Woods Park, Jenkins Estate Park, and Rood Bridge Park. All are close by. The best by far though has been Hoyt Arboretum in Portland. With 12 miles of beautiful trails this is a place I'll be returning to a lot.

Ride My Bike on the Rock Creek Trail

My bike arrived three weeks after I did, thanks to slow cross-country movers, but within time for me to ride it on the Rock Creek Trail during my first month in Oregon. The ride from my door to my sister-in-law's house is 4.5 miles, mostly along this paved path with a few road crossings along the way. There are a couple hills each direction that present a challenge for my single-speed, coaster brake bicycle, but so far I've been able to handle it.

Make it to Tomorrow's Verse, Portland's Phish-themed Brewery

Made it there once during the first 30 days. It was pretty cool. They had an acoustic duo playing so it was almost like a listening-room atmosphere that night. I'll be going back to watch some Phish summer tour 2024 webcasts for sure.

Check out the Nearby Restaurants

Let's see, within walking distance there's a Thai restaurant, a pizza place, a burger place, an awesome French-style bakery open for breakfast and lunch, a coffee shop that's open long hours, a neighborhood steakhouse, a sit-down Indian restaurant, a Lebanese eatery, a Japanese sushi and sake bar, and a Vietnamese pho house. Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I've been to five of these so far. And that's not even counting the other restaurants you can quickly get to using public transportation.

Scope Out Portland

We've been to the Laurelhurst, Bucktown, St. Johns and Beaumont-Wiltshire neighborhoods so far. Next on the list is the Mississippi Avenue District and the Hawthorne District. Find a city, find yourself a city to live in!

It's not supposed to be this hot!

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