Can I shop there at the airport without a plane ticket ? I was always curious as to where everything was located . Like can I park and go in and shop as if I was at the mall , basically lol . I have never flown or really been in an airport before 🤣

Yes you could but parking cost a lot and will have to go threw the TSA check point

I have used the PDX airport 4 times in the last 8 months... TSA does not ask to see you tickets. They only want to see that your ID matches and that you're not bringing any restricted items into the airport. SO! That tells me that the answer to your question is ... YES, you can shop at the airport without a Ticket. But, I see it as, "My wife can wait with me at the gate until the plane leaves" ... She won't do it, but it was nice to realize that the option was there. OH! To spin it a different way!... You could be waiting for a special flight to arrive and be RIGHT there at the gate to great your special human ;-) Happy Airport exploring!

Remember you have to pay to park and everything in the airport has fees built into the price to support the "Port of Portland "

Most airports, I'm not sure. This airport, yes! Maybe not right now because of ongoing construction (I'm not really sure), but typically yes!