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MARCH 18, 2011
Get Out, Stay Put
Three cool vacations, all within PDX city limits
B Y A N D R E W C O L L IN S
That notorious groundhog already had his say. It’s a fortnight plus past, um, Febru
ary. And we certainly need not wait for those April showers. O ur allergies, and anxious
“get here already!” rumblings, prove positive: Spring is in the air—and, right about the
moment you’re reading this, officially on the calendar.
W ith that in mind, we step back into the yard with the return o f our resident Sassy
Gardener, LeAnn Locher. And into the closet— not that way, folks— for a little spring
cleaning courtesy of fashion maven Kevin Lennox. Since the season starts at home,
we’ve asked local designer Michael Reper for the best ways to bring spring indoors.
And because we’re all a bit stir-crazy at this point, travel guru Andrew Collins offers a
few suggestions for getting out and about, in town, on a budget, overnight—or over a
long weekend.
That’s not all. From planning ahead for an LGBTQ_family-friendly summer camp
(p. 30) to a wary tale about raising chickens (seriously, just turn to p. 26), this issue is
everything you need to venture forth as the temps warm and the clouds break.
And stay tuned—our spring sports spectacular is just around the corner. In the
meantime, visit justout.com for more seasonal scuttlebutt.
— A m a n d a S c h u r r
I’d be perfectly happy never again to see the
word “staycation.”The odious, gimmicky term
became popular in 2008, following the eco
nomic downtown, a rise in gas prices, the U.S.
dollar’s poor rate o f exchange against many
currencies and worries about crime or insta
bility in a number of erstwhile international
hotspots. These conditions still apply to vary
ing degrees, especially with gas prices back on
the up, but I’ve never agreed with the notion
that we should only consider vacationing near
home based on a negative perception o f trav
eling afar. If you’re a regular reader of Just Out,
you probably either live in the Portland vicin
ity or you enjoy visiting the
area. And you already know
that P-Town’s a cool spot
for a vacation, whether or
not you’re a resident.
If the idea o f spending
the night or two at a local
hotel sounds odd, or at least
extravagant, consider all the
fun reasons for doing so:
I t’s a chance to get to know
a neighborhood you might
otherwise rarely visit, it
frees you from having to drive home late at
night after seeing a show or enjoying a few
cocktails, it’s a wonderful way to celebrate a
special occasion or impress a date, and it’s also
a festive way to party with a few friends, per
haps before or after seeing a concert or at
tending a social event (the Red Dress Party,
for example, is coming up on April 16).
W ith that in mind, here are three ap
proaches to vacationing right here in Portland,
be it for a simple overnight or perhaps even a
long weekend.
East Side Offbeat
Portland has no shortage o f lively, pedestri
an-friendly East Side neighborhoods that
enjoy a strong following among nonconform
ists— the retail and restaurant strips along
Hawthorne, Belmont, Division and Missis
sippi immediately come to mind. The challenge
is finding a noteworthy hotel th at’s within
walking distance of one o f these interesting
neighborhoods. The funky Kennedy School
(m cm en a m in s.co m /4 2 7 -k e n n ed y -sch o o l-
home), a reasonably priced hotel and enter
tainment complex carved out of a vintage 1915
former elementary school, is one lodging that
fits the bill. It’s a four-block walk from the
slew o f queer-frequented coffeehouses, loung
es, galleries and shops in the Alberta Arts
District. And it’s even closer to the smaller
pod o f revered restaurants around Killings-
worth Street and NE 30th
that include such standouts
at Beast (beastpdx.com),
Autentica (autenticaport-
land.com) and Yakuza Japa
nese Pub and Izakaya
(yakuzalounge.com).
There’s actually plenty to
keep you busy right on the
premises
of
Kennedy
School, which is operated
by the weirdly endearing
McMenamins family of
hotels, restaurants, bars and theaters (many of
which are kooky, if occasionally creepy, old
buildings that have been imaginatively re
adapted). Inside the Kennedy School, you can
dine in the old school cafeteria, now the sun
ny— and still very old-school—Courtyard
Restaurant. A bar has been installed in the for
mer boiler room, and other lounges are themed
after detention and honors halls (I know which
one I’m better suited for). One former class
room currently houses the Theater Bar, which
adjoins the old school auditorium— now a cin
ema screening mostly second-run movies (you
can sip McMenamins ales brewed at the on
site Concordia Brewery and eat pizzas and
burgers while watching the flick). Finally, en
closed by lush gardens, a saltwater soaking pool
i ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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