It's a four-hour flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Portland's PDX, and the young woman sitting next to me on the Spirit Airlines service embodies the familiar flight of "different" people to the trendy West Coast. "Do you live in Portland?" I ask. "From today I do. I'm moving there now. Cool, isn't it?"
“You’re moving there and you’ve never been there?” “Nope.” Did she not think to go there first? “I don’t know. Save on a trip. I’ve Skyped with my new flatmate from Craigslist.” She asks me what kind of music I like, before handing me one of her headphones, connected to iTunes on an old laptop; it’s from the 1990s. After a few polite minutes, I hand it back. If nothing else, the brilliant IFC series Portlandia, with its opening song lines – “The dream of the 90s is alive in Portland” – has prepared me for times such as this.
And also for moments such as this at the Ace Hotel, the HQ of the hipster hotel group with the feel of a Victorian boarding house. A friend meets me in the lobby, and asks a seemingly intellectual-looking man sitting nearby if he can take our photo. The man, who had looked nice, visibly recoils, before saying witheringly: "Oh, I don't do... photos. But I'm sure one of the nice people here will take a picture for you." "Do you think you're too cool to take photos?" I say; he looks surprised. "Why do you think they built this place?" my friend adds. The man retreats back into his newspaper, then disappears.
On a Best of Portland Walking Tour, my guide is Alexis, a Washington State native who has been here 10 years. She also teaches Zumba and is a cabaret dancer. "This feels like the right place for me right now. Not forever, but for a while," she says. Judging by the large number of homeless people on the streets, she's not the only one. Alexis whips through a bit of background on Portland's past as a Union Pacific Railroad town to its present-day exports of apparel (it's the home of Nike), technology and wheat, and the current trend of city-centre food carts (there are more than 600, though quality varies. There's no sales tax and it's "the least-churchgoing city in the US".
We make a stop at the Portland Building, home of the Portlandia statue, which is inspired by the city's seal and is the second-largest hammered copper statue in the country, after the Statue of Liberty. We then pass the Heathman Hotel, a 1920s structure that's mentioned in 50 Shades of Grey and sits next to the distinctive Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. I have already spent two hours in the nearby Portland Art Museum, which has an interesting collection of native American art, including stone sculptures from the nearby Columbia Valley, and a surprising collection of Iranian ceramics. Alexis says that the two most-visited attractions in town are Voodoo Doughnut, a doughnut shop that featured on Anthony Bourdain's travel show No Reservations; and Powell's City of Books, a great bookshop that I visit separately.
The most interesting part of the tour relates to the city’s boom years in the 1900s, when it was a hub for the timber trade and one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. “Portland is known as Stumptown because of all the trees that were cut down”, says Alexis. “The Oregon Trail came along the Columbia River with otter fur and other commodities sent to Russia by ship.”
After the city staged its first and only world’s fair with the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition, Alexis says, “Portland tripled in size. Seattle was 30 years behind.” Now, again, the population of the entire Northwest Coast is growing fast and is expected to double or triple in the next few decades.
“Capitalism brought us a more walkable city,” Alexis continues, describing how in 1845, Portland’s small downtown grid system was developed by Thomas Brown because of its proximity to the Willamette River. “The blocks are only 200 feet by 200 feet, giving us more corners and smaller streets.” Many of the brick buildings’ cast-iron frames – an anti-fire measure – are still visible, and hold up favourably against the bland 1980s business district.
I’m keen to explore areas outside the city, so I take off the next day in a car rented via an informal car-share service with my guide Heidi, who was born in South Carolina, grew up in Wyoming, has mixed European ancestry and moved to Oregon in 2002. A keen mountain biker, Heidi says that despite the Northwest’s famously wet weather, “we recreate all year round; you just have to plan for being wet for part of it.”
Fortunately, the day ahead of us is dry and sunny, and the peak of Mount Hood, a dormant volcano, is clearly visible. There seems to be little traffic in Portland, and the wide road bridges invite escape. It takes less than an hour to get to the scenic southern foothills, and we stop for a short walk in the Mount Hood National Forest from the Wildwood Recreation Site. The old-growth maple, fir and cedar trees are covered in luminous green moss, and a bridge crosses the Salmon River. I gulp in as much of the clean, clear air as I can before it's time to carry on to take in the view from the Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark that lies on the Pacific Crest Trail, the long-distance hiking route made famous in Cheryl Strayed's novel Wild. "We're the grandest stop from Mexico to Canada," says a staff member. If the mere sight of hundreds of square kilometres of thick pine forest and hanging lakes, all the way to the Cascade Range in the south, is uplifting, it's obvious that an extended hike here would work wonders.
Driving north, we descend through the forest and part of the Hood River County Fruit Loop, a 50-kilometre guided tour route past pear, cherry and apple orchards. To soak in a fraction of the bucolic atmosphere, we stop at Draper Girls Country Farm and buy some fresh, unpasteurised apple juice and a bag of peaches. Then it's down to the small town of Hood River on the Columbia River, before driving along the Historic Columbia River Highway, stopping at the Bridge of the Gods, Multnomah Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.
The great thing about these attractions is that they can all be stops on a whirlwind tour, or the starting point for walks into the wilderness. Sadly, ours is the former, though we also manage a stop at Eastwind Drive-In, a great retro soft-serve ice cream cafe at Cascade Locks. We watch the sunset at Vista House, a 1917 travellers' rest stop with a spectacular view of the vast river valley, before the slow return to civilisation – the scenic farmsteads in Corbett and Springdale look idyllic as we pass by.
Our final stop is at the Black Rabbit Restaurant & Bar, in an old poorhouse in Troutdale. Organic salads, hamachi ceviche, free-range roast chicken and local grilled salmon finish off a day trip that has taken me from urban geeks to trout-fishing hillbillies – and I'm converted. We slip back into Portland from the east, cruising the arty, low-rise residential districts clustered around the streets of Alberta, Hawthorne and Mississippi. I look at property prices and think: Yes, I could live here, too.
rbehan@thenational.ae
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 0
Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90 4')
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
MATCH INFO
Bayern Munich 2 Borussia Monchengladbach 1
Bayern: Zirkzee (26'), Goretzka (86')
Gladbach: Pavard (37' og)
Man of the Match: Breel Embolo (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
New Zealand squad
Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
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Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 1 (Cantwell 75') Manchester United 2 (Aghalo 51' 118') After extra time.
Man of the match Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Results
Stage three:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s
General Classification:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets