When the doors of the MAX light-rail train whooshed closed, my husband and I settled contentedly into our seats. Steps from baggage claim at Portland International Airport, we had bought two tickets from a machine ($3.10 total), strolled to a train and skipped the whole nonsense of renting a car, waiting for a bus or catching a costly cab.
Russ and I were bound for downtown Portland, Ore., one of my favorite places. I love its vibrant streets, its restaurants, its stores. Last fall, Portland became the first city on the West Coast to extend a light-rail system to its airport; the ride into downtown on the new MAX Red Line is only about 35 minutes. So when a weekend opened up on our calendar, we figured, why not head to the Northwest, footloose and car free?
The MAX, or Metropolitan Area Express, with its clean cars and wide aisles for luggage, proved to be a great way into the city. Although it made several stops, the train allowed us to rubberneck without careening off the road. As the MAX crossed the Willamette River, the Portland skyline glowed under a bright sun, and joggers and bikers below us filled waterfront paths.
I started getting excited at the familiar scene. My parents live 10 miles outside Portland, and our favorite activity when we stay with them is to drive into downtown and play. We bounded off the train by the Pioneer Place Shopping Center on Morrison Street and headed to our hotel, the 5th Avenue Suites, two short blocks away.
Portland's planners long ago figured that to make their city appealing -- one to walk through and experience -- they would shorten the blocks. So while many city blocks throughout the United States are at least 400 feet long, Portland's are half that, making for a wonderfully walkable city.
Shops, galleries and restaurants fill downtown, and street corners are especially attractive spots because they lure people from more than one direction.
Then there's "Portland's Living Room," also known as Pioneer Courthouse Square, a sunken brick plaza where skateboarders, musicians, chess players and coffee sippers hang out at all hours.
We dropped off our bags at the hotel and walked about eight of those short blocks to another Portland hangout, the Saturday Market in the Skidmore area of Old Town. The MAX runs right by the market, which bills itself as the nation's largest continually operating open-air market.
Parents pushed strollers, teen-agers lingered, and tourists like us wandered among the crafts, studying jewelry made with Mount St. Helens ash and other novelties.
Despite its reputation, Port-land actually gets less rain than such cities as Atlanta and Houston. When the sun is out, as it was our entire weekend visit, so is everyone.
We wandered to the small park fronting the Willamette River and eyed the new 1 1/2 -mile Esplanade on the east bank across the way. Part of the riverside path floats in the water. Portland's active set can complete a three-mile loop by crossing a couple of the city's historic bridges.
After exploring, we went back to our hotel to relax and get ready for dinner.
Getting around
The 5th Avenue was pleasant. Our large suite was relatively inexpensive ($119 plus tax per night) and welcoming. The bedroom had a view of snowcapped Mount Hood; the living room was large enough that we could entertain my parents, who joined us later.
We walked a few blocks to what has become our favorite restaurant, Jake's Grill, a smaller version of Jake's Famous Crawfish, an 1892 Portland landmark a few blocks away. Dark wood gives the Grill a clubby atmosphere, but big windows looking onto the street bring light. The bar is lively and the wait staff attentive. We did the Northwest fish thing -- grilled salmon salad, stuffed trout -- with a berry cobbler for dessert.
Sunday, we walked a few blocks to Mother's Bistro & Bar for brunch. The restaurant is in an old, high-ceilinged building decorated inside with framed prints of mothers. The atmosphere was suitably Portland, which is to say funky, and we briefly thought about coming back for dinner, where the menu tends toward comfort foods such as pot roast, meatloaf and macaroni and cheese.
Well fortified, we walked back to a MAX stop and bought tickets for a ride to the Oregon Zoo. This time I didn't read the machine quite right and ended up shelling out a buck or two extra for "all zones" tickets.
MAX has two lines: the 5-mile Red Line to the airport and the 33-mile Blue Line between Hillsboro and Gresham, both looping through downtown. Fares are based on zones; the farther you go, the more it costs. The core of downtown, though, is "Fareless Square," where riders pay nothing to hop on and off MAX between the Oregon Convention Center to the east and 10th Avenue to the west.
We rolled past brick buildings and green trees, entered a tunnel through Portland's volcanic rock West Hills, then got off at the Blue Line's Washington Park stop, said to be the deepest transit station in the country at 260 feet underground.
The day was gorgeous -- sunny and in the 70s -- and the air was forest fresh. We wandered through the zoo for a couple of hours, watching fruit bats hanging upside-down gnawing cantaloupe and musk ox hanging out beside their private stream.
Inside the zoo, we boarded a small steam train to cross Forest Park, 5,000 hilly acres overlooking the city. Ferns crowded the forest floor, and trees towered above us. It was as if we were deep in the woods, not minutes from the city. At the train's halfway point, we got off and explored the city's renowned rose garden -- 9,000 bushes glowing in pink, red, yellow, mauve and salmon.
Then it was back to the MAX, where we got off at PGE Park at 18th Avenue and Morrison Street. There, we watched the Beavers, Portland's minor-league baseball team, play in front of an enthusiastic crowd. With a cold locally brewed beer and a coffee, it was a great break from touring. We were fanned by a pleasant breeze, and caught up in the fun with 8,000 cheering fans.
Taste of the Northwest
We had made dinner plans before getting to town, a good idea because the hot restaurants -- many of them small bistros -- fill up on weekends. Northwest Portland has its trendy eateries, while the up-and-coming Pearl District also has hot spots. Both of those areas are within walking distance of the public Portland Streetcar, which runs north-south across the city.
But around the block from our hotel was Typhoon, a restaurant tucked into the Hotel Lucia, one of the city's new boutique lodgings. Our meal -- pad Thai, stir-fried eggplant in black bean sauce and pineapple shrimp -- was some of the best Thai food we have eaten recently.
In the morning, we darted into a Starbucks, one of five coffee shops just steps from the hotel (and all were busy!), then walked to Powell's City of Books on West Burnside Street -- a reason in itself to go to Portland.
Among the city's biggest draws, Powell's is one of the largest independent bookstores in the world, with hundreds of subject categories from "activism" to "zines" spread throughout nine large, color-coded rooms that take up a city block.
We ate our goodbye meal at Higgins, a popular restaurant on Broadway, where the kitchen turns out dishes with a Northwest bent. I had pasta with a hazelnut pesto, which sounded odd but was delicious.
We collected our bags from the hotel, dawdled those two short blocks to the MAX (we didn't want to leave) and soon were riding back to the airport.
Jennifer Lowe is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.
When you go
Getting there: Several major airlines offer connecting service to Portland from BWI, and United Airlines flies direct from Dulles Airport.
* For information about Portland's MAX light rail:
503-238-7433; www.tri-met.org / schedule / r090.htm.
Lodging:
5th Avenue Suites, 506 S.W. Washington St., Portland, OR 97204
866-861-9514
www.5thavenuesuites.com
* 221-room historic boutique hotel downtown near Pioneer Square; rates from $139 (but inquire about package deals)
Dining:
Typhoon, 2310 N.W. Everett St., Portland
503-243-7557
www.typhoonnw. citysearch.com
* Excellent Thai dishes,
located in the Hotel Lucia; dinner entrees from $9.
Jake's Grill, 611 S.W. 10th Ave., Portland
503-220-1850
* A smaller version of Jake's Famous Crawfish, an 1892 Portland landmark. Lively bar serving seafood and traditional bar food. Dinner entrees from $18.
Mother's Bistro & Bar, 409 S.W. Second St., Portland
503-464-1122
www.mothersbistro. citysearch.com
* Funky old building decorated inside with framed prints of mothers. Offers comfort foods such as meatloaf and macaroni and cheese; dinner entrees from $11.95
For more information:
* About attractions, dining and lodging in Portland: Portland Oregon Visitors Association: 800-962-3700; www.travelportland.com
* About traveling in Oregon: Oregon Tourism Commission: www.traveloregon.com; 800-547-7842.