visitors | Our Oregon Trail

Bend with My Bro

January 27, 2014 by kristikrass

My little brother. He is the rare bird who deliberately chooses February to visit us in Portland. The reason: the snow-capped mountains beckoning for snowboarders. Dave last visited exactly two years ago, and we covered a LOT of ground in a few days. This time we had a whole Tuesday-to-Tuesday to explore new places. Dave is our kind of guy: He loves his breweries and food. We kicked off his trip with a night at beer haven Apex, a pizza dinner at […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: bend, breweries, falls, mountains, parks, Redicks, restaurants, vacation, visitors

First stop of Joey's visit: Clyde Common

Peoples in Portland

July 23, 2013 by kristikrass

Jeff and Joey “Peoples” met more than two and a half decades ago in their kindergarten class in Brighton, Michigan. Today, the two remain best buds – both West Coasters now, too – and Joey ranks high on my list of favorite people in the world, fo’ sure. Joey hopped a quick flight from Cali to PDX on Friday, July 19, and the three of us kicked off his second visit to Portland (his first trip was epic!) with our own […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: festivals, restaurants, visitors

Webs Weave through Portland

April 7, 2013 by kristikrass

Our friend John Minagawa-Webster (aka Webby) and his wife Mai brought the sun (and a bottle of Four Roses single barrel bourbon) from Louisville to Portland last weekend. We were stoked to meet Mai for the first time, and of course she was awesome, but we were also overjoyed to have ridiculously perfect weather in the 60s and 70s with sun, sun, sun. Perfect weekend for a Portland immersion! John and Jeff met via Michigan State soccer, so there was […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: gorge, hikes, market, restaurants, visitors

Chuckles and Chepys

March 23, 2013 by kristikrass

Have I mentioned I love visitors? It makes me giddily happy when far-flung friends and family carve out a long weekend and purchase that Portland-bound flight. Big thanks to the Krass family (including cousin Linda), Redick family, Tillmans, Joey, Lesley, and the latest member of the PDX visitors club, Chepys. And there are more to come, with the Minagawa-Webster (aka Webby) duo coming next weekend – yay! Our Chicago-based buddies – and Michigan State grads – Chris and Julie Chepy rolled […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: breweries, restaurants, Timbers, visitors, wineries

Krasses in the House

November 10, 2012 by kristikrass

Visitors make me so happy. Not only do we get to spend time with some of our favorite people in world, but we also get to pack in a boatload of exploring! Last weekend, Jeff’s parents came to town – their third trip to the Rose City after their Oct. 2011 visit, Chris’ April 2011 visit and Bob’s Jan. 2011 visit (our first visitor in our new city). With this crew, y’know we hit some bars and restaurants. We commenced […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: coast, gorge, hikes, Krasses, parks, restaurants, visitors

Lesley and me perched on the outdoor seating at Amnesia Brewing

Kristi and Lesley’s Excellent Adventure

October 21, 2012 by kristikrass

The first weekend of October brought an awesome milestone: The first major visit to Portland from a girl friend of mine from back home. Yay! Welcome, Lesley! Lesley and I are Pinny High grads, cheerleading buddies and we lived in Chicago at the same time. It was great getting her out to the West Coast – and witnessing her first visit to the Pacific Ocean! We had 48 hours and a lot of ground to cover. First stop: lunch at […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: breweries, coast, Cooper, restaurants, views, visitors

Mugging for our final food cart challenge at FlavourSpot

Sloppy Jerrys Rule

March 10, 2012 by kristikrass

Last. Saturday. was. amazing. A highlight of our time in Portland. To begin from the beginning, Jeff’s long-time buddy Joey was in town to open a Boot Barn in Troutdale (he’s in sales for Wolverine shoes). Last minute, Jeff, Joey, Lindsay, Daniel and I signed up as a team of five for Cartathlon II, a four-hour, city-wide scavenger hunt anchored by food cart challenges. Up for grabs: a year’s worth of free food cart food, free Keen shoes and other […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: breweries, exercise, race, restaurants, visitors

PB and J Barleycorns

February 27, 2012 by kristikrass

Can you believe it’s almost March? Holy moly, where did the winter go? The awards season is a wrap (I’m watching E!’s Fashion Police Academy Awards special as I type), the trees are starting to bud, the Portland Timbers’ second season is kicking off, our Easter trip to AZ is knocking on our door…it’s fabulous. True, it’s still 41 degrees today, but spring’s coming, I can feel it. My eyes were crazy dilated after my final LASIK consultation Friday so […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: 23rd, breweries, restaurants, TV, visitors

Oh, Brother

February 11, 2012 by kristikrass

My little brother Dave finally made his way out to Portland last weekend – thanks mainly to my friend Wendi who offered a free Southwest ticket that was expiring within weeks. (So nice of her!) Dave’s only flown the Dow jets to and from Houston, so his trip to Portland was his first “real” flight. His trip involved planes, trains and automobiles: Kalamazoo to Chicago – where he spent a night with Rob and Amy – to Portland. It was […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: breweries, games, Mt.Hood, Redicks, restaurants, visitors

Our Oregon Trail

Portland through the eyes of a festival-loving, dessert-feasting, travel-addicted Midwesterner.

Tag: visitors