I just came back from a terrific weekend in Portland, where I attended Vida Vegan Con, a vegan conference. Over 300 vegan bloggers spent three days in Rose City. Most of our days were in the Portland Art Museum conference rooms. Evenings were a mix of events–from vegan bars to a gala and auction. It’s impossible to sum up such a rich event in a simple post, but I hope to give you a glimpse of what went on.

I drove down to Portland on Thursday and headed straight to Herbivore Clothing for shirts, a poster, jewelry, and stickers. Other bloggers were in the shop too, and I was so excited to be part of the action.

A bunch of bloggers met at The White Owl Social Club. I walked in around 4:30 pm and the place was abuzz. The White Owl isn’t all-vegan, but the menu had vegan items, including the special of the day: The Greatest American Gyro. Yum!

After happy hour, I went to see a screening of the first episode of The Intrepid Herbivore’s first travel show. If you’d like to see a vegan-themed travel show on TV, go “like” them on Facebook so producers know that there’s a fan base for this type of show. The episode was great! Host Sadie is funny, lively, and teaches viewers where to go for vegan food and cooking classes, and how to be an ethical traveler. Show One focused on Thailand.

Instead of paying for a hotel, I booked a room in a private home through airbnb. I took a gamble–and it paid off. My host sounded great in her profile and was as busy as I was. We never actually met! We were both gone all the time.

She came home later than I did and I left before she got up. It was a perfect arrangement. I had a clean, quiet place to sleep, shower, and keep my things, and I saved a bunch of money.

The first night, I had to find the key she’d hidden. Then I checked in, settled down for a moment, and went out to meet up with my friend from Seattle Vegan Score. We went to a vegan bar, The Sweet Hereafter, for a drink and to get acquainted with some of the other bloggers we’d be seeing at the conference.

I had a fun day–and the conference hadn’t even started. I learned that Portland has a thriving vegan community. I’ll share more with you soon.