Maxim Travels to Portland, OR: Wood Village

Jetlag never used to be a problem for me. In fact, I’m infamous amongst my friends and travel buddies for falling asleep anywhere and everywhere, especially on buses, cars and trains. During my first night in Spain, home to Maxim Hygiene’s manufacturing facilities, I was not able to sleep a wink. I tried everything; watched a movie, read a book, took a warm shower, and BBM’d with GreenQueenJB who recommended I count in multiples of three. So, here I am to not only tell you about my current trip to Spain but my trip to Portland, Oregon two weeks ago that I’ve been excited to tell you about. I really wanted to write from Portland while I was there and on cloud nine, but I was having way too much fun in the glorious city to take the time to do so. I even drove a ways to the largest independent bookstore in the U.S., Powell’s, to get cozy and start writing but then of course I got lost in life and the extravagance of the bookstore. So, tonight, from Spain, I will transport myself over 4,000 miles back to Portland to tell you about Portland and then maybe during my next travels, transport myself back to Spain to tell you about my travels here.

I know my NY pride definitely shined through in my last entry, but of course as you might know from your studies of Greek mythology and the oh so powerful word, hubris, pride always leads to challenges and eventual downfall. My downfall occurred about 20 miles east of the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon, driving through Wood Village, a city true to its name is that it has some of the most beautiful trees I’ve ever seen. Driving through Mt.Hood up to the Timberline Lodge I crossed fir tree lined roads that left me mesmerized and thinking how and why do Hollywood’s palm tree lined roads get more attention than this! Minutes before I was feeling sad about not having my “dharma bum” traveling partner from my previous Maxim travels, but then I got lost in the deep green colors of the monster size trees and thoughts about how old they can be.

I have this inexplicable love for trees that transcends that of any treehugger you might know. Maxim Hygiene’s most highlighted product benefit is the irritation free factor, but my true secret love for the product is that it is wood pulp free, saving trees and forests from unnecessary and unsustainable pulping processes. As you can read more about on our website, what looks like cotton in the absorbent core of some other sanitary pads is usually chemically processed wood derived from trees. Although, I love hearing from women who have found relief from irritation with our products, deep down inside I get the most satisfaction from knowing that our products are protecting the rights of trees by preventing deforestation. In fact, I love this feature so much so that when we were redesigning our website, my first design concept revolved around images of a field of tampon and pad products sprouting into trees. That was shot down quickly.

Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there but the thought of trees tends to do that to me. Wood Village was just the start of my adventures in Portland, making it one of my new top favorite cities in the U.S. In addition to the places already mentioned, I also enjoyed visiting the People’s Food Coop and Alberta Coop, dining at Biwa, and sippin’ on some local coffee at Stumptown Café. Let us know where your favorite hot spots are in Portland so we can put it on our list for our next hopeful visit! Also, let me know if you have any natural remedies for jet lag!