My birthday is at the end of November and I can say from experience that it’s a great time to visit the Grand Canyon and the Big Island of Hawaii.

If you live in Louisiana, I agree with you. I live in California though, and 99% of Californians have no idea what they are. Sometimes it’s tough being a Southerner on the West Coast.

“Using your hands like a squeegee, wipe the water off your body before you get out of the shower, says a-r-c. Essential for hairy people who otherwise end up with a sopping wet towel and a lake on the bathroom floor.”

There are so many great locally owned ice cream spots in Portland to try that are NOT Salt n Straw. The lines are just so long, and you can give your money to an equally, if not better, great ice cream shop a few blocks down. Heartbreaker in SE is good, Cloud City in SE is good, the ones LeBron Jeremy suggested below…

I was there 2 years ago stuck in freeway traffic in Portland when the Acura next to us rolled down it’s window. A man in a batman mask stuck his head out and yelled “Stay safe citizen” before they pulled ahead of us.

If you’re eating directly from a folded paper food box (i.e., Chinese take-out container or Whole Foods food bar), unfold the box and it becomes a plate. Much easier to get to the food and to cut things if needed.

I LOVE this dressing. I don’t care if the side salad is just iceberg lettuce slathered in this stuff, I order it every time I go out for sushi. It’s refreshing and zingy and delicious.

Random points, mostly about being on a low budget:

Breweries: Great Notion, Breakside, Back Pedal, Little Beast, Ex Novo, Upright, Wayfinder, Cascade (if you like sours), Baerlic, Modern Times (tho it’s a bit pricey), Level or Wolves & People (though they’re a bit far out of town)

Beer Bars: Bailey’s Taproom, Loyal Legion (mostly Oregon beers and all are $6), Beer…

Our #1 choice of place to stay in Portland is The Bike Shed Guest House, and for breakfast Pine State Biscuits on Alberta is an absolute must.

The trail to the top is still closed due to the fire last year. No ETA on when it will reopen.

Can’t get much more Portland/twee than Queen Bee. I’m convinced this is where Portlandia got the idea for “put a bird on it.” 

There’s probably something to this. In Chuck Palahniuk’s fun guide to Portland, Fugitives & Refugees, he says Glisan is supposed to be pronounced glisten even though everyone I’ve ever known for decades living here pronounces it glee-son. 

Back in the 90s we used to live off fabulously hip SE Hawthorne in the sort of bungalow that gets drooled over on Apartment Therapy. We also had to lock our garbage and recycling bins in the garage, otherwise homeless folks would literally turn them over in the middle of the night and scatter trash all over the…

Oregon is historically a very racist state and Portland is a racist city. It was illegal for black people to live here at one point. Please read this article in the Atlantic about Portland’s racism: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/racist-history-portland/492035/

That Grandland article is great. Squinky peaked in 2011 after Bedlam and we were convinced that there was no way in hell the BCS championship game would be a Bama v LSU rematch.

About 30 miles east of the city, on the south side of the freeway is Multnomah Falls, one of my favorite places in the world. It’s an easy hike up to the top, and looking down you can better appreciate the over 600 feet (180 + meters) the water drops. The view of the Columbia river gorge is spectacular there as well.

If you plan to cross either bridge to Vancouver, WA, know that it’ll take you over an hour during rush hour (compared to 10 minutes otherwise)...can be pretty agonizing, especially on a warm, sunny day. If you want to be efficient, go in the morning (though you can still get some traffic from people heading to…

Being of Japanese decent (my grandparents met in the internment camps), I know of the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center (Japanese American Historical Plaza) in Portland, but many do not. It’s a wonderful experience, right in downtown Portland.

Use public transit! Or use a bike share. Driving/parking around Portland isn’t great.