That Portland Life

Portland Lifestyle and Real Estate

Contact Us!

Portland family

Splash Pads

by Leave a Comment

Summer is in full swing, and and we are so excited about this weather! Still, it can be too hot without some relief from the water. Sometimes we don’t have enough time for a full-on beach day or river adventure, so what’s the next best thing? Splash Pads!! This week we sought out Portland’s best splash pads.  The season runs from June 14th – September 6th, and all of these pads are open from 10 am until 8 pm. Parks Sorted by area then alphabetically.

N Portland

Columbia Park and Annex

N Lombard st and N Woolsey Ave

Interactive water feature and play area plus a nature park with Mature trees.

Dawson Park

N Stanton Street and Williams Avenue 

New playground, picnic tables, and a splash pad with 12 historical story boulders

Farragut Park

N Kerby Avenue and Farragut Street

Huge Park remodel started in 2021 saw a new play structure, splash pad, bathroom and basketball court.

Kenton Park

kenton Park

8417 N Brandon Avenue 

Playground, splash pad, soccer field, basketball court.

Northgate Park

northgate park

N Geneva Avenue and Fessenden Street

Playground, baseball field, soccer field, splash pad, tennis court.

Peninsula Park

700 N Rosa Parks Way Portland OR 97217

Rose garden, playground, fountain and splash pad, picnic areas, horseshoe pit and more.

Pier Park

N Lombard Street and Bruce Avenue 

Splash pad, playground, disc golf, skate park, baseball field, soccer field, basketball court.

NE Portland

Fernhill Park

NE 37th Avenue and Ainsworth

Grassy park, splash area, playground and a nature patch.

Gateway Discovery Park

10520 NE Halsey Street

One of Portland’s newest parks with a splash pad, skate park, and nature play area.

Irving Park

NE 7th Avenue and Fremont Street

Playground, splash pad, tennis courts, basketball courts, nature patch.

Khunamokwst Park

5200 NE Alberta St Portland OR 97218

Interactive water feature and play area plus a traditional children’s playground and an innovative “nature play” area with boulders to climb on and a slide on a hillside.

Woodlawn Park

NE 13th Ave & Dekum St Portland OR 972

Park and Splash pad.

SE Portland

Colonel Summers Park

SE 17th Ave & Taylor St Portland OR 97214

Splash pad, playground, and enclosed picnic pavilion.

Earl Boyles Park

SE 107th Avenue and Francis Street 

Splash pad, playground, horseshoe pit, volleyball court.

Essex Park

SE 79th Avenue and Center Street 

Splash pad, playground, baseball field, tennis court, basketball court.

Raymond Park

SE 118th Avenue and Raymond Street 

Splash pad, playground, horseshoe pit, basketball court.

SW Portland

Elizabeth Caruthers Park

3332 SW Spring Garden St Portland OR 97219

Interactive water feature at this nature-themed playground with a signature lookout tower.

Spring Garden Park

3332 SW Spring Garden St Portland OR 97219

Interactive water feature at this nature-themed playground with a signature lookout tower.

If you’re looking for somewhere to hang out for a couple of hours with the family, or if you just want to relax the day away while cooling off, any of these splash pads will have what you’re looking for. So next time you’re trying to beat the heat, look no further! If you prefer to check out one of our interactive fountains, you can find those HERE We also have plenty of Portland Favorites on our blog Here. 

PaaDee

by Leave a Comment

Hot Spot of the week for pick-up/delivery this week is delicious modern Thai spot Paadee! They are rocking out a great family-style dinner to go for $49. This is a fantastic option when you are sick of the sight of your kitchen, but want a tasty and well-rounded meal. Check out the menu and order here.

PaaDee takeout on Instagram

Their set menu consists of 4 starters/mains plus jasmine and sticky rice on the side. Dungeness Crab fried rice was one, which had wonderfully plump morsels of our fave NW crustacean. The Som Tum Thai papaya salad had the perfect level of spice for our crew, plenty of heat without eradicating our tastebuds! The Ba Me Pitsanulok was a nice brothy offering. Plus, they smartly packaged the noodles and pork belly separately to avoid any potential sogginess. Finally, there was my personal favorite, the Gai Grop Sam Yan. This was a crispy chicken dish with cashew, scallion, and dried chili. Somehow even as a takeout dish, the chicken was so crispy and crunchy and delectable!

As there weren’t any boozy takeout options, I made my own favorite home cocktail which was actually perfect with the meal. 1 1/2 oz gin, 1 oz Aperol, .5 oz blood orange, 2 dashes Angostura bitters all shaken and strained into a rocks glass and then filled to the top with Brut Champagne or Cava. A nice non-alcoholic pairing that is my Thai go-to is one of the Som drinking vinegars with soda water.

If you’re family are heartier eaters, I would recommend ordering a few add-ons from the wonderful PaaDee takeout menu!

What has been your favorite Portland takeout recently? Let us know in the comments!

Donuts

by Leave a Comment

Once upon a time, Portland became famous for our donuts. We won’t name names, but the bright pink box can be seen on many flights out of PDX and in the hands of a multitude of excited tourists. We are here to give you the inside scoop: Those are NOT Portland’s best. They aren’t even close. They are more of a novelty item and we get why people want to bring them home to loved ones who have seen them on food tourism shows, but they aren’t the most delicious. So, if you are looking for just a damn fine donut or even an exotic new experience read below to see our picks for the top donuts in the city!

Blue Star

This upmarket brioche-donut bakery features creative flavors & organic, locally sourced ingredients. Various Locations. More info here.

Doe Donuts

Small, wood-lined shop offering handcrafted vegan donuts in classic & creative flavors. 4110 NE Sandy Blvd More info here.

Delicious Donuts

This unpretentious pit stop for donuts & coffee also serves breakfast sandwiches & burgers. 12 SE Grand Ave More info here.

Pip’s Original Doughnuts and Chai

This hip, casual coffee cafe specializes in fried-to-order mini-donuts, chai & espresso drinks. 4759 NE Fremont St More info here.

Heavenly Donuts Bakery

This mom n pop shop specializes in the classics: glazed, twist, bear claws and more. 504 NE 102nd Ave & 1915 N Lombard St. More info here.

There are so many other delicious spots in Portland, and we do recognize that this can be quite the contentious topic. So, we would love to hear your opinions! What do you think is the best donut in Portland? Let us know the shop and which one is your favorite, and we’ll go have a taste! (Twist our arms… 😉 )