Engaged in Portland

Text and photos by Jason McKenney

“Look over there at the fountain.” I pointed out over the central test garden back towards the front gates. My girlfriend looked over and smiled at the magnificent view. The weather was perfect on a warm July afternoon. The fountains were flowing and the roses were abundant in reds, whites, and yellows.

When she turned back to face me I had the ring out waiting for her. I hoped those were tears of joy.
I’m not the most creative person. I’m certainly not the most romantic. When preparing to propose to the woman who is now my wife I wanted to do something special given the fact of those two personal limitations.

One thing that I love to do is travel, and one way to make an event feel creative and romantic is to do said event somewhere unique. I figured I could propose in a trendy LA restaurant, or a soccer game, or in our apartment, or . . . why not go to a cool city that neither of us have ever been to before and find a romantic location there? Thus the inspiration for a trip to Portland was born.

Portland is known as The Rose City. It is also known for being weird and culturally unique. Home of lumberjack hipsters and good beer. Nature is important and so is food (Urban Farmer inside the Nines Hotel delivers amazing steaks or if you like your pizza with a little haunting? check out Old Town Brewing Co. downtown ).

There is also a high number of street musicians. There are a lot of seemingly homeless people on the streets and in public spaces, many of whom appear to be young and able-bodied. Did they move to Portland to follow their musical dreams? Did they choose vagabondom over a more traditional way of life on purpose? Or are they simply backpacking across the Pacific Northwest for the summer? I didn’t find the answer to any of these questions, but during the warmer months, there are few cities outside of California where I’d rather be homeless.

The metro area of Portland is clean and orderly and can be managed easily by walking. Public transportation is also readily available and I’m sure is very popular during the colder seasons. The bulk of downtown lies between the Willamette River to the east and the International Rose Garden in Washington Park to the west.

The Rose Garden boasts nearly 600 varieties of roses that bloom throughout the summer months. Next to the Rose Garden is a Japanese Garden, an amphitheater, and an arboretum. The park, lying atop a high hillside, also provides wonderful views of the downtown area spread out beyond the tall fir trees that are ubiquitous to the area.

Tea house in the Japanese Garden

At the end of the day I was engaged. WE were engaged. Maybe I was finally growing up. And the beautiful, weird, artsy city of Portland would forever be entwined in our life story.

With Sacajawea