Good morning, friends! Welcome to the final Portland recap, highlighting some of the great restaurants we went to and non-conference adventures we had! :)
If you missed my first couple posts, check those out first:
- Fitbloggin’ Conference Highlights (don’t forget to enter my Reebok gift card giveaway!)
- Portland, Oregon Adventures
We were lucky to get such great weather in Portland. I was expecting gray skies and drizzle, but it was beautifully sunny and warm! On Friday, Julie, Gina, Tina, and I took a break from the conference to get in a nice walk along the water.
Check out these views!
I loved all the running/biking/walking paths they had along the water on both sides.
On Friday night, we got cleaned up and headed out for drinks!
We got drinks at Noble Rot, a fun wine bar across the river, courtesy of the Porter Novelli PR team. A bunch of their team is from DC so it was great to chat with them!
And from there, we headed to dinner at The Farm Café with Allie, who I work with for Almond Breeze and Blue Diamond campaigns. We’ve been emailing for nearly a year now so it was great to finally meet her in person! A big thank you to her PR firm, Fanscape, for hosting us for dinner. And how cute is this restaurant?!
Unfortunately my stomach was feeling a bit off the whole time I was in Portland and I wasn’t able to enjoy as much of this meal as I normally would have, but I had the kale salad and the lamb, which is their specialty. It was all REALLY good. Everyone loved their meal there!
On Saturday, a few of us headed over to explore the famous Portland farmer’s market!
It was HUGE and just as awesome as you guys said it would be. I wish this market were in DC!
We also returned to Kure juice bar a couple times – once on Friday and again on Saturday afternoon. SO GOOD!
On Saturday night, we got fancied up again for our final dinner outing. (My Friday and Saturday night dresses were both from Target – oh, how I love Target sundresses!)
From left – Tina, Ericka, Julie, me, Heather, Gina
We started with a drink on the roof of our hotel – The Nines, which was FABULOUS by the way – the views up there were amazing!
And then we headed to The Picnic House nearby for dinner, which was recommended by a bunch of you guys.
This was hands down my favorite meal of the entire trip. Not only was the company great, but the food was FABULOUS. We ordered a ton of appetizers to share:
And then all got entrees, too. I had a delicious salad with pear, feta, dried cranberries, walnuts, and a fried egg. YUM.
And finally, I ended my time in Portland with my favorite way to explore a city – on foot, running. :)
One of the things I love about Fitbloggin’ as a conference is that it always ends with a fun run or walk! There were options to do a 1 mile walk, a 5k run, or a 10k run. I headed out with the 10k group, keeping a casual pace and enjoying the views.
My stomach was still feeling a little weird so I didn’t push it on pace, but thankfully I felt fine the whole time and was able to enjoy the views and chat with new friends.
Speaking of new friends, I had wonderful company on the run! For the first loop around the water, I ran with Amanda of Grow Soul Beautiful (not pictured – she ended up heading out after one loop), and then for round 2 I settled in with Kat and Erica. It was so fun meeting and chatting with all three of them! I love how everyone at Fitbloggin’ is so friendly – during parts of the run the 5k group and the walkers were coming back the other way, and everyone was cheering each other on. It was so wonderful and supportive. :)
We ended up losing the 10k guide so we just did another loop around the water, and finished at 5 miles in about 50 minutes. Fine with me! Just felt good to get out there. :) Thanks for running with me, ladies!
And with that, my Portland adventures are over! Thank you for the great times, Fitbloggin’. And a BIG thank you again to Reebok for sponsoring me for this conference. It was an honor to be there with them!
Time to get back down to work – lots of emails to catch up on and client work to do before the holiday later this week! And speaking of 4th of July – I did a guest post over on my friend Brittany’s blog with Healthy 4th of July BBQ recipes – check it out!
Looks like so much fun! I am actually going to be in Portland over the 4th—where was the Farmers Market you went to? Was it the PSU one?
Thanks Anne! :)
It was just the big famous farmer’s market – I honestly don’t know exactly where we were, lol. But if you ask anyone on the street they will know where it is. :)
Im so jealous of the trip, but it looked like it was a blast. I want to go next year for sure :) I also love farmers markets and I cant believe I havent been to one yet this summer!
Looks like such an amazing city. Would recommend holidaying there? It got the number 2 spot for top vegan restaurant spots in America! I was considering a New York trip..is going to Portland all the way from Ireland odd? :)
If vegan food is what you want then you will love Portland! But NYC would mean you had easier access to other cool cities.
Glad you got to finish the weekend off with the run! FUN. Great recap :)
Wish you guys had been able to join! Miss you :)
All the food looks good. After everyone’s Fitbloggin’ posts, it really makes me want to go to Portland (ok, Voodoo donuts might play a small part in that too ;) )!!
The 14th & U and Bloomingdale farmer’s markets in DC are actually both pretty big (well, relatively), especially at the height of summer. You never feel like you’re lacking in options, at least.
I will have to check them out – thanks for the tips!
I am just drooling over all of your food pictures, especially that last salad! The conference seems like such an amazing opportunity, dying to go one day!
That salad you had at dinner looks amazing. I make a similar one, but NEVER thought of adding a fried egg…genius! :)
I loved all the cheers we were getting from the 5k group as they were heading in! Really was such an incredible group of people. Hope to run with you again next year!
Agreed. Great meeting you! :)
I’m running the Portland Marathon in October. Can’t wait to try some of the restaurants you recommended!
Ooo how fun!! Enjoy it!
Portland looks like an absolutely awesome city to visit! My hubs went there earlier this year and said good things about it but definitely didn’t mention all of the tasty eateries ;) After reading everyone’s recap of Fitbloggin’ I’m definitely considering attending next year – I didn’t know about it before!
You guys have given me so many ideas on fun places to go next time I visit my grandpa in Portland! I’ve been there so many times and never been to that juice bar, donut shop, or taken a run! I’m soooo inspired!
You simply must do all 3! :) Enjoy!
My husband and I are headed to Noble Rot tonight after seeing a few of the FitBloggin’ bloggers post about it. Excited to check it out. Great to see you at the conference!
Enjoy it! Great views!
Great running with you too girl! I did use your ‘open-eyed’ pic in my post too ;) xo