Vancouver, WA

Imagine this romantic date: Strolling the streets of Northwest Portland, holding hands while window shopping. Stopping for flowers outside the City Market, and then enjoying a meal at a cozy Mexican hot spot. Later, a short drive or streetcar-ride away the Portland Aerial Tram whisks you up to the top of Marquam hill, treating you to a picturesque view spanning from downtown, across the river and all the way to Mt. Hood.

That’s how it could be, and it would be lovely. It also makes for a fun way to spend an afternoon with my husband and our three kids.

We started out thinking we’d take the kids out to a late lunch at Taste of Mexico, a Mexican restaurant at 716 Northwest 21st Avenue, between Irving and Johnson streets. We found this little restaurant on another one of our favorite websites, www.restaurant.com, where you can also purchase printable bargain gift certificates. Taste of Mexico sports a few outdoor tables and intimate but not overly fancy indoor seating as well. The online menus sounded appetizing, and in the end we agreed, the food was excellent and the presentation beautiful. However, the service took forever. (Mind you, our youngest is two and we were foregoing naptime in lieu of lunch. Call us crazy.) An hour ticked by and we continued to wait for our food and nibble on a tiny plate of neatly arranged chips with a drizzle of bean dip. Meanwhile we watched as three other diners who arrived after us were served before us! We tried to be patient, figuring one of our orders must be holding the rest up. We smiled and politely asked, “How much longer?” Finally the food arrived and, thankfully, it was worth the wait. (Try the shredded beef quesadilla. My son did and I could have eaten half of his, it was so good.) Just be warned: don’t arrived starved or with a tired toddler.

Across the street and situated prettily on the corner is the City Market with its sidewalk display of blooming flowers. I would have liked to buy a bunch, but now with lunch having turned into an early dinner, we had to high-tail it to Southwest Macadam Avenue and the South Waterfront area to catch the tram if we were going to do it at all. Good thing we hurried too. Next time we’ll check out www.portlandtram.org for the tram’s operating hours (you’ll find directions and maps here too). As luck would have it, we caught the very last tram to head up the hill for the day. Unfortunately, there would be no return tram that night. No worries, according to the helpful tram operator. He assured us there would be a city bus that could take us into downtown, from which we could then “probably” find a streetcar that would take us back to the tram site below and back to our car.

Again, this tram operator was very helpful and friendly, but he most assuredly does not have kids. Try taking your three tired ones up the hill to then find a bus to find a trolley to find the car…you get the idea. The fact that the Portland Streetcar and Willamette Trolley do go right up to the South Waterfront is good to know…for another day.

So, what did we do? Well, I’m the one who wanted to write about this Tram ride so I must get to go on it, right? Wrong. While my husband saw the bus to streetcar alterative as an adventure, the ever-practical mom in me said, “You take the kids up on the Tram. I’ll drive the car and meet you there.” Thus, after waving happy goodbyes to my brood, I scooted back to ye olde minivan and navigated the confusing streets up the hill to OHSU. I found them. They had a great time. They took some great pictures. Now I just need to plan it better for another day so I too can experience this grand three-minute aerial trip. Yes, it’s short, but at least it’s usually “round-trip.”

Check out the OHSU Tram at www.portlandtram.org. Fares are $4 per person; kids six and under are free. This website will give you directions, the tram schedule, streetcar schedules and more.

To get to Taste of Mexico from Vancouver, follow I-5 south, merge onto I-405 south and take exit 2B toward Everett Street. Stay straight onto Northwest 16th and then turn right on Flanders, right on 17th, left on Glisan and right again on 21st. You’ll see the restaurant on your right and City Market on the corner at Johnson on your left.