Retro Swimwear Photos where taken prior to the awesome Back Fence PDXevent at Tour de Crape on June 19th. Back Fence PDX is an incredibly fun story telling event that occurs bi-monthly. Typically when I think of storytelling I think of bearded old men rocking on their front porch telling stories that make you say by-gosh. This is not Back Fence PDX, this event brings together a great variety of amateur, but mostly professional story tellers/writers who take turns telling very fresh, current stories. The hosts of this production Frayn and Melissa have very natural chemistry together, keeping the night moving forward, with a fun and smooth grace.
I have finally had a brief moment to post some of the Retro Swimwear pre-show shots - Popina Swim, Portland’s Bathing Suit Boutique participated in a half time Retro Swimsuit show, hopefully someone who attended can send those shots on to me - I would love to see them!
Chemical Free Sun Tan Lotion is featured at Popina Swim Portland’s Bathing Suit Boutique. All of the sun screens we offer are personally tested by Popina’s Designer, Pamela Levenson who has sensitive skin that is prone to rash in the sun. This discomfort has given Pamela the desire to seek out great chemical free tanning products that provide protection and are skin friendly. The additional benefit of our chemical free lotions is that they are great to use for your tropical trip for snorkeling or scuba diving, our products are safe for sensitive coral ecosystems.
Our featured sun screens are all made in the USA. Absolutely Natural, Badger Balm and Mexitan. We have the widest selection of chemical free sun tan lotions in Portland, Oregon!
Vintage Swimsuits everyone loves them, but they get old and they are not the most comfortable. I had the same frustration before I started my company, I loved the styles of the past but could not find just the suit for me, that was fun, flattering and fashionable. I have created an alternative to hitting the thrift store, Vintage Swimsuit style with modern construction and fabrics.
Retro Swimsuits are our specialty at Popina Swimwear. We have taken Vintage Swimsuit styles of the past and updated them using modern construction techniques and fabrics. The Retro Halter adds a simple boy cut leg to the traditional One Piece Halter to create a fun Pin Up Swimwear feel. At Popina our philosophy is that you don’t have to show it all to be sexy our Modest Swimwear is fun, flattering and fashionable.
I’ve never written fan mail before, but I had to let you know how
much my daughter loves the two swimsuits that arrived today. So
cute, so wearable! Our thanks for this great, fashionable alternative.
Belknap Hot Springs, is a great weekend get away, or a place you could easily spend a week checking out what in my mind what I thought Oregon would look like before I moved to Portland. Very lush, green, forested, simply beautiful. Belknap, an hour east of Eugene is a developed hot springs resort that is accessible to any budget. Belknap offers many lodging options ranging from hotel rooms in their main lodge to secluded camping spots by the McKenzie River and all points in between including RV spaces, and cabins ranging from single room to large enough to sleep 10-12.
First time I visited Belknap was in 1999, at the time I had just got engaged to my husband and we were undecided where to have our wedding, after touring the beautiful grounds of Belknap we knew this would be our spot.
Belknap features two hot pools, one is directly behind the main lodge adjacent to the McKenzie River, the other is the “upper” pool which is closer to the majority of the cabin sites and the upper gardens. The lower pool is definitely more scenic and worth the short walk if you are not staying in main lodge.
Lower pool pictured to the left, upper to the right.
There is a bridge that takes you across the McKenzie River to extensive gardens (this is where we got married). There is a Japanese garden, a Secret Garden with an amazing gravity fed fountain and a huge meadow area with an abundance of plantings. The story I heard is that the owner (ex-logger) loved Butchart Gardens in Victoria and that inspiration guided the development of the grounds and wanted to emulate the Butchart Gardens feel in Oregon. Across the clearing from the Japanese Tea House we planted a Hemlock Tree at our wedding (it should be about 10 feet tall by now). To check it out from the Tea House follow the path into the woods that cuts through the center of the grassy area, our tree is just to the right before the path takes you into the woods.
There is lots to do at Belknap, outside of vegging out by the hot springs. Outside of exploring the beautiful gardens, the McKenzie River Trail runs through Belknap. This trail is absolutely amazing. When you start on the trail you go along side road 126 for a little while, but you quickly tuck into the woods along side the amazing McKenzie. When the sun shines on the river you see the most amazing hues of green and blue.
Belknap is right around the corner from probably the most amazing scenic drive in America mile for mile the McKenzie Pass which starts off in the most lush of lush Oregon dominated by Douglass Fir, peaks out at the pass at a volcanic lava field where you can see 5-6 mountain peaks on a clear day and virtually no trees then slowly transitions to the drier climate of Central Oregon and Pines and drops you into Sisters a quaint Western feeling town.
Also make sure to check out Clear Lake where you can rent boats…..
And Sahalie Falls right up the road for an amazing double water fall hike.
Enjoy your trip and be sure to rub our tree for good luck!
Popina Swimwear will be having a Retro Swimwear fashion show at Thatch Tiki Bar Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30 pm.
Thatch Tiki Bar is a one of a kind, world class Tiki Bar. Walking through it’s unassuming entrance you are transported to a hut in the South Pacific. Can you think of a more perfect place for a Retro Swimwear Fashion Show?
In celebration of this fun event, Thatch Tiki Bar will be offering happy hour drink specials all night long! So come early, we are expecting a crowd!
Popina Swimwear’s, Portland Swimsuit Shop is proud to carry Sunsets Swimwear. Sunsets is owned by the Stager family and is based in Torrance, California. Designer Kathy Stager has grown her company over the last 10 years and is routinelly featured in National magazines.
At our shop, if you care to do so you can mix and match Sunsets tops or bottoms with Popina, Swim Swim Systems, Le Tarte, L*Space or any of our other many brands. Sunsets greatest strength is their underwire tops, they do a great job of providing support and looking great.
Below is a clip from the Sunset’s Swimwear 2008 line, most of these styles are available in our shop.
Bagby Hot Springs is the closest outdoor, forested, hot spring to Portland, approximately an hour and a half drive from the big city. This is a bathing suit optional hot spring.
I typically consider hot springs in two general categories, primitive and developed. Both have their place and time and both styles have degrees of success in their execution. In order for a hot spring pool to be formed there is typically some human intervention involved ranging from diversion of cold stream water with hot spring water contained by rocks and sand to form a pool to digging out a swimming pool sized hole, lining that hole with concrete.
Bagby is the most developed, primitive hot spring I have visited and it is executed beautifully. It is as if the professor from Gilligan’s Island wanted to install a spa for the Howell’s this is what it might look like.
The setting is quintessential West of the Cascades Oregon, located in the Mount Hood National Forest. The hike to the hot springs is a moderate mile and half through old growth forest. The hike is mostly level, once you get close to the end of the hike there is a decent uphill grade, so you will know you are getting close once you start climbing up hill.
Friends of Bagby accepts donations from visitors at a collection box at the entrance, it is unbelievable that there is not a fee to visit Bagby, please suck it up and donate what you can afford to help support Friends of Bagby who maintain the site as volunteers.
Driving Directions: From Estacada, drive south on Highway 224 for about forty miles. Watch for a sign indicating Bagby. The sign leads to Forest Service Road 63. Then watch for Forest Service Road 70. Turn onto Road 70 and go about ten miles to the parking area and trail-head. The last three miles are the hardest as the road turns to gravel and becomes very narrow. From the parking area, signs point to the 1.5 mile trail. The trail can be slippery in the spring, so wear shoes or boots with good traction. One additional word of guidance: Near the end of the trail you will come to an unmarked split in the trail. Go left over the bridge. The hot springs is directly ahead.
Summer never really feels like it has arrived until you can jump in the pool and swim. Right down the street from Popina Swim & Sport is the ultimate community pool, Grant Pool. Grant Pool is open to the public and is adjacent to Grant High School in Northeast Portland. The City of Portland offers swim lessons for children lead by pool lifeguards, many who are Grant High School students. Be sure to check the swim schedule before you go to be sure it is an appropriate time to go for what you are looking to do. Depending on the time of day there is anywhere from 1-6 lanes of lap swimming open if you are looking for a work out. The lanes can get crowded some times and I have definitely experienced some lane range, from swimmers who are either too slow or too fast for others in a shared lane, but if you time it right (a good time to go is close to the end of a lap swimming session) the lanes are less crowded, realistically best you can ever hope for is sharing a lap swimming lane with just one person. My best recommendation is to allow time to chill out in a lounge chair with a book and wait till a lane thins out a bit. It seems like an unwritten law that everyone seems to get the idea to swim at the same time you do, so let them go first!
Every day has the fun party quality of the employee pool hour from Caddyshack where kids can bring their favorite floatation device, participate in a swim lesson, go down the slide and sometimes even jump off the lifeguard chair.
Save some room for a slushy from the concession stand. The opening day for Grant Pool is June 16!
General Admission Fees
$3.25 - age 18 & up
$2.00 - age 3-17
Free - age 2 & under (with parent)
Bagby Hot Springs is the closest outdoor, forested, hot spring to Portland, approximately an hour and a half drive from the big city. This is a 
