Up
I’ve been curious why, when people here on the coast say they are travelling to Portland, that they are going “up to Portland.” Because I am over-educated and under-employed, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this curious figure of speech. On a map, Portland is very clearly southeast of Clatsop County. Like it or not, speakers of English speak of north as up, and south down. So why not say “down to Portland”?