Salt Lake City Airport (SLC)

Portland International Airport (PDX)

Although I’ve lived in Salt Lake City for more years of my life, I still consider Portland home. For my birthday this year, my husband let me take a solo trip home.

Some people consider airports a necessary evil, but I happen to like most airports. Especially SLC and PDX. SLC is in major need of a makeover (and will be completely redone over the next decade). PDX is clean, modern, and spacious…with lots of natural light. There’s free wifi and places to recycle. There’s lots of shopping and dining options. SLC isn’t far behind, but PDX comes in second in my personal airport rankings, after Detroit (DTW).

The main catalyst was because Muse, one of my favorite bands, was coming to Portland within a week of my birthday. Muse isn’t going to Salt Lake City on their current tour, so I have been looking into options for other cities for a few months. We had tried to arrange our London trip to coincide with Muse performing at the O2, but we missed it by 2 days. I’ve been wanting to see them perform live again since 2010. I adore their latest album “The 2nd Law,” so I’m so glad to be seeing them perform tonight.

And now, a song for my city: “My Portland” from Portlandia

“When I see the sunlight glint upon your bridges, it makes me think of all the times that you and I have been together. You are my darling, girl. My beauty! My Portland!”