Every city has a fringe, but Portland maintains an unusually visible odd streak. From a fiercely independent music scene to clowns riding tall bikes and marching bands on stilts, Portland prides itself on its quirky nature. Here are a few of the annual festivals that give the Rose City its unique atmosphere.

There's something different about San Francisco, and I'm not just talking about its Victorian architecture, its cable cars or the fact that the Golden Gate Bridge is painted orange. If anything, these are the end results of something that runs much deeper through the city's seven by seven mile area: its eccentric spirit.

Most residents of Portland couldn’t tell you the best coffee in St. John’s. In fact, the old working-class neighborhood at the mouth of the Columbia feels like its own small town. Edged at the confluence of two rivers and popular with students from nearby University of Portland, St. John’s has a sleepy, uncommercial, workaday feel. Discovering this old Portland community can provide a day of active fun for the whole family.

2009 Travel Writing Contest
  2nd PLACE WINNER

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we only borrow it from our children”.

As a resident of Portland, Oregon I have no excuse that I have never visited Seattle. I have always wanted to go but have never taken the time to plan the trip. Having only lived in the Pacific Northwest for four years I guess it’s reasonable, but I am embarrassed to admit it.

As a child, Savina Darzes would wander down to the San Francisco wharf near the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory. The scent of chocolate wafted over the piers, mixing with sea salt and the noise of the docks. Little wonder that when Ms. Darzes grew up and moved to Portland, she organized a gourmet twist on the old-fashioned sightseeing tour with the Portland Chocolate Walking and Tasting Tours.