The Perfect Weekend Getaway to Portland, Oregon
Riding the Amtrak Cascades, exploring Portland neighborhoods, and eating far too well along the way.
Portland Oregon
After being home from Mexico for a few weeks and finally getting caught up on things around the house, we decided it was time for a quick weekend getaway. This time, Portland, Oregon sounded like the perfect choice.
Rather than making the drive, we decided to take the Amtrak Cascades train from Everett to Portland. It’s definitely not faster than driving, but it is a whole lot more relaxing. No traffic, no stress — just sit back, look out the window, and let someone else do the work.
Our trip started Friday morning aboard Train #517, departing Everett right on time at 10:37 AM with a scheduled arrival into Portland at 3:35 PM.
Amtrak Cascades
Amtrak launched the Cascades route back in April 1994 with a single daily round trip between Seattle and Portland. Originally called the “Northwest Talgo,” the service used modern Talgo trainsets during a six-month trial period before eventually being rebranded as “Amtrak Cascades” in 1998 — a name much more fitting for the Pacific Northwest scenery the route travels through. Today, the service has expanded to include six daily round trips between Seattle and Portland, two trips to Vancouver, BC, and two extensions south to Eugene.
For the weekend, we booked a stay at one of Portland’s classic historic hotels, The Benson, located near the Pearl District. Since the weather was unusually nice for the Pacific Northwest, we decided to make the easy walk from Union Station to the hotel.
After checking in, we headed back out to explore a bit of the city. We wandered down toward the riverfront where crews were already setting up for CityFair, one of the signature events tied to Portland’s annual Rose Festival.
After a nice walk along the waterfront, we stopped for dinner at Mucca Pizzeria followed by ice cream from Miss Oz Ice Cream. From there, we slowly made our way back toward the hotel, taking time to wander through the neighborhood before calling it a night.
Saturday morning started with what may have been the highlight of the trip — breakfast at Ken’s Artisan Bakery over in Northwest Portland. It’s about a mile from the hotel and luckily, we arrived early enough to beat the long lines that usually form outside.
Breakfast included a slice of bacon and cheese quiche, a goat cheese & leek croissant that was honestly worth the trip all by itself, and a strawberry rhubarb galette for dessert. We also grabbed “The Jambon” — ham, butter, and asiago on a baguette — to stash in the backpack for later.
Since we were already nearby and the weather continued to cooperate, we decided to walk up to Washington Park to visit both the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden. The roses were just beginning to bloom for the season, and by the time we finished walking through both gardens, the crowds had definitely arrived.
On the way back down, we stopped into Zupan’s Market, picked up a salad, and sat outside enjoying lunch along with the Jambon sandwich before heading back to the hotel for a little afternoon downtime.
Dinner Saturday night was at one of Alan’s favorite Portland spots — Grassa Handcrafted Pasta. We split a spring vegetable salad, while Alan ordered the carbonara and I went with the chicken parmesan. The food was excellent and honestly very reasonably priced compared to many Italian restaurants these days.
The restaurant itself felt very “Portland” — laid-back, creative, a little quirky, and completely unpretentious.
Of course, after dinner we somehow still found room for dessert. This time we tried Black Cat Frozen Custard, which we stumbled across while looking for something new. It’s sort of a cross between soft serve and traditional ice cream. From what we could tell, the frozen custard comes out of a soft serve machine, is frozen a bit firmer in a chest freezer, and then scooped to order. Simple flavors — vanilla and chocolate during our visit — but really, really good.
Sunday morning started with another Portland classic — Voodoo Doughnuts. It’s one of those places that has become almost as famous as the city itself. The doughnuts themselves aren’t necessarily revolutionary, but the toppings and combinations definitely are. Maple bars covered in Fruit Loops, doughnuts topped with crushed cookies, cereal, bacon — all kinds of over-the-top creations.
Founded in Portland back in 2003, Voodoo Doughnut helped launch what became the gourmet doughnut craze. Famous creations like the Bacon Maple Bar and Memphis Mafia helped put them on the map. Honestly, after more than 40 years as a baker, it’s the creativity and uniqueness that stands out most to me. As it says on their pink donut boxes, “Good Things Come In Pink Boxes”.
After breakfast, we walked the riverfront trail down toward the marina before circling back to the hotel. Checkout wasn’t until noon, but our return train to Everett didn’t leave until 2:10 PM, so we left our luggage with the hotel and headed to Luc Lac for lunch.
Luc Lac is one of Portland’s popular Vietnamese restaurants and usually packed at lunchtime, but we arrived just ahead of the rush. We shared a green papaya salad and a bánh mì, and once again Portland delivered when it came to food.
Although we did eat some not-exactly-healthy meals and snacks on our trip, we did walk nearly 20 miles over the three days, so we felt less guilty about indulging in those tasty treats!
We made it back to the station just in time for early boarding. We decided to splurge a little for Business Class on the return trip. The extra space, 1x2 seating layout, additional legroom, and small Bistro car voucher made the ride back even more comfortable.
The train cars themselves are definitely starting to show their age, although hopefully by later this summer the new trainsets expected for the Cascades route will finally begin arriving.
Eight new Amtrak Cascades Airo trainsets, featuring modern design, enhanced comfort, and advanced technology, are set to enter service in 2026 along the Pacific Northwest corridor.
The trip from Everett to Portland normally takes about five hours if everything runs on schedule, although we ended up arriving about 40 minutes late due to switching issues along the route.
Still, like we said earlier — it’s not faster, but it sure is more relaxing.
Our Final Take On Portland
Like many larger West Coast cities, Portland is facing some visible challenges, including homelessness, vacant storefronts, and public safety concerns in certain areas. At the same time, the city still holds onto the creative, independent spirit it’s long been known for. Neighborhoods continue to evolve, local businesses adapt, and Portland remains full of great food, walkable streets, and unique character that make it worth exploring.
Most importantly, we had a really good time. We ate some excellent food, enjoyed wandering the neighborhoods, and once again found ourselves appreciating Portland for all of its quirks, personality, and Pacific Northwest charm. We’ll definitely be back.
