We finally made it to Portland, Oregon in 2021—a trip originally planned for 2020 but, like so many things that year, postponed due to the pandemic. Portland had been on our list for a while, mostly because of its famously easy public transportation (a dream when traveling with a Serwedes kid) and the fact that my friend Erin lives there. Having a personal, local connection always makes a place feel more special.
What we didn’t expect was how much the city had changed in the wake of COVID. The downtown area, especially near the core transit hubs, was visibly impacted by the homelessness crisis. With many shelters closed during the pandemic, tents and makeshift camps had popped up. We quickly learned to avoid these spots and discovered other places throughout the Portland, Oregon area.
That said, the trip had plenty of bright spots. Portland’s food truck pods lived up to the hype—rows of carts serving everything from Korean BBQ to vegan donuts, all within walking distance of each other. We spent time exploring nature just outside the city, where the Columbia River Gorge and forest trails gave us the kind of quiet we didn’t realize we needed.
The museums were a surprise highlight. We visited the Bonneville Dam and watched fish climb the ladders. We found a quirky Bigfoot museum that leaned all the way into the legend. And of course, we hit the science and train museums—because no Serwedes trip is complete without a little STEM and steam power.
