Portland was exactly what we needed. It's true that we did not pursue the fun very aggressively, but it seemed like the right thing to do there.
We drank a lot of delicious beer--even the dives seem to have at least a couple solid local brews on tap. We walked, and consequently saw, a lot.
Comparisons to Austin were inevitable. While the two are very different, the similar proliferation of food carts and cute DIY shops full of things like mustaches printed on shit and naive watercolor sketches of woodland creatures made me feel kind of cynical. But the food out of those carts is very tasty (takoyaki!), and anyway, I think those creatures are cute.
Portland is cool and green, and it has a lovely, working river. I especially liked how the urban core spreads far out into the neighborhoods, which are all roughly on the same street grid and have amenities like corner taverns and frequent bus service throughout.
As much as I loved walking around and exploring the city's neighborhoods and bridges, my favorite times on the trip were when we were hanging out under giant evergreen trees.
Mount Tabor, an extinct volcano with views of downtown, was great. I really wanted to go to Forest Park, but we opted for a spin through the Rose and Japanese Gardens in Washington Park instead to save time and spare tired feet. Without a car, bike, or working knowledge of the bus system, Portland wasn't as easy to get around as we'd assumed it would be. We did ok but relied on cabs and overly long walks more than we would have liked.
Anyway, it was great to go someplace lovely and green, sleep in, and just mosey around until late at night all weekend. I'd like to go back someday, maybe as a giant Pacific Northwest driving trip. Yeah, I should do that.
(Eric has more pictures if you'd like to see them. You like pictures, don't you?)