You can do them as "day trips" especially if you aren't going to do long hikes or activities.

We did Columbia River Gorge, hiked 12 mile Eagle Creek there, then continued on the Fruit Loop and spent the night at Mount Hood Timberline Lodge. We enjoyed the Gorge and Hood both very much.

A lot of the places to stay at Cannon Beach have a two night min(at least I think they do). That is certainly enjoyable as well.

There is plenty to keep you busy to see and do in Portland though. You really can't go wrong, whereever you end up staying at. Don't miss Stumptown Roaster, Voodoo Donuts, Powells Bookstore and Rose Garden in Portland. The food there is nearly equal to SF, IMOP. It's great. We didn't do any of the winery's so can't coment on that.

Our favorite meal was at Toro Bravo. Enjoyed Mother's and Jakes too though.

Can we just get one hotel in Portland and drive out to these places during the days?

You could, but it would be a lot more enjoyable, in my opinion, to spend some of your nights in places such as Hood River, McMinnville, and Cannon Beach.

Plowing through Portland traffic to get to and from these places is the least enjoyable part of visiting Oregon. Greater Portland sprawls all over the place connected by two-lane roads dotted with stop lights.

HTTY

You might consider a night in McMinnville which is not too far from some of your wineries and the Evergreen Aviation Museum.
You can see the "Spruce Goose" there. From there you can travel Rt. 18 to hit US 101 just north of Lincoln City. Be sure to make a stop just north of Tillamook at the cheese factory.
Stop in Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock and in Seaside to see the Prom and the Lewis & Clark salt boiling spot.
Also stop to see the Astoria Column before taking US 30 back to Portland.
You should also consider a night in the town of Hood River with a view of the Columbia River.
The end of the TriMet red line is right outside baggage claim at PDX if you wanted to ride into the city to rent a car in the morning instead of at the airport.

Yes, all these places are easily done as day trips, but they are also really nice areas to stay, so it just depends on what you want to do. From Portland to Cannon Beach it takes about 90 minutes. From Portland down to the main wine area around Newberg/Dundee/McMinnville it is about 45 minutes. From Portland to Hood River is about an hour.

Cannon Beach is a beautiful town with so much to see. While many places have 2-3 night minimums in high season, we often get around that by calling and seeing where we can squeeze in a one night stay between others reservations. Course with living here, we are more flexible, but you get the idea. Definitely call around instead of checking availability on websites. If you do a day trip, do a loop by taking hwy 26 west out to Cannon Beach, then 101 south through Tillamook and then take hwy 6 east back towards Portland. It will meet back up with hwy 26. It is a nice route and very doable for a day.

As for the wineries and how much time to spend here (this is the area that I live), it just depends on how much you want to see. Do you have any idea how many wineries you want to try? One thing to be very mindful of is the police have a heavy presence here. Drinking and driving, but also for speeding. The main highway (99W) fluctuates between 25 and 55 quite a bit, so you have to really pay attention and the police do sit and wait for customers. There are also quite a few red light cameras in this area. There are over 200 wineries in this area alone, and there are many that are very good, but there are also quite a few that are not worth stopping for.

spiro, thanks you gave me a couple of recommendations in Portland I hadn't heard about before.

HTTY, I may expand my search for hotels beyond Portland just to save some time.

tomfuller, I'd never let a museum get in the way of drinking festivities but I bet we'd like that cheese rfactory. I'll add that to my list.

mms, I'm going to make a note of that Hwy 26 route. We'll probably spend two full days devoted to the wineries. I've heard that the cops are out in force looking for people speeding and driving while impaired. How do people deal with that? I heard there is a wine tour (anoseforwine.com maybe) that would solve the problem. Do you recommend anything like that?

Thanks for the responses.

Yyou can find much more reasonable accommodations at places such as the Surfrider, just south of Lincoln City at Depot Bay - than in crowded - Portlandite frequented Cannon Beach.

Just head from Portland to Lincoln City and then from there - south along prehaps the prettiest driving section of the Oregon Coast.

http://www.surfriderresort.com/

Thanks tomsd.

You're certnaily welcome and would love to hear your final plans/trip report.

Here is a page about what to see/do in and around Lincoln City and many think the drive from there down to Yachats and further south if the prettiest stretch of the Oregon Coast. http://www.google.com/search?q=watusi+tribe&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=fNfpT7DUMMa68AHWyJGRDA&sqi=2&ved=0CE8QsAQ&biw=1253&bih=660

Best and have a blast.

We were in the Willamette Valley last October and I actually don't recall seeing a single police car. I'm not saying it's OK to drink and drive, far from it, only that the police presence did not seem excessive to me. Speed limits fluctuate a lot out there, so keep an eye on those, too. And have fun! They make some spectacular wine out there.

Oops. That was a prior paste about a tall tribe in Africa.

Here is what I meant to post about the area in and around/south of Lincoln City, and many think the drive from there south to Yachats and beyond is the prettiest section of the Oregon Coast - and check out the lighthouses too.

http://baywoodshores.com/lincoln-city-oregon.html

Here is one lighthouse - the tallest? - and there are others from the old days when they guided ships/warned of dangers.

http://www.yaquinalights.org/

And here is a page on the whole Oregon Coast. If you drove from Lincoln City down to Florence - you could cut over/east to Eugene (an hour) and then back to Portland from there - via I-5 - in about two and a half hours.

http://visittheoregoncoast.com/

Also - as for wine tasting - there are several good wineries outside Eugene - toward the coast - such as Kings Estate - which is the biggest - Sweet Cheeks (always loved that name and they make good vino) , and Hinman-Silvan Ridge - which has a nice outside seating/picnic area overlooking the vineyards, where we had a great lunch. http://www.planeteugene.com/wineries.htm

Of course I am partial to Eugene as I went to Grad school at the University of Oregon and loved it.

Back then, 1970 - being "poor" Grad students - for a big treat - on a Saturday afternoon - several of us would drive over to Florence (gas was cheap) - and buy a crab, a loaf of sourdough bread, a six pack of beer or a bottle of inexpensive wine - and go to the beach and make a fire and have a good ole time.

Heck - I would pay a fair amount just to do that now.

Tomsd, I was prepared to call off the Oregon trip based on the initial link you posted of the Watsubi tribe, presumably native to the Willamette Valley, and a tribe that may or may not be cannibalistic (but perhaps not altogether riskier than the potential deliverance-type encounters we face daily here in the South). But thanks for the clarification. I'm happy to report- The trip is back on.

I hear Eugene is a great place to go to school. In my next life, I'm going to do such things differently.

Newbe, thanks for the input. When I go wine tasting (Napa and Sonoma in the past), I usually take it easy and limit myself to small samples at each location. Plus, since we're going for two days, my wife and I can alternate the days on which we limit ourselves. We may just do it that way.

Ptsk, we've always done wine tasting as you describe--drive ourselves, take it easy, spit if you must, stay safe. (We usually share a taste, too, which allows us a wider sample.) And stop for lunch! We liked to pick up sandwiches at the Red Hills Market in Dundee and have those in the car in case we needed a break out in the fields somewhere.

A winery close to Eugene that you don't hear about very often is Sarvers

http://sarverwinery.com/

Beautiful setting, pretty good wines, fun events in the summer- so if you are in the Eugene area consider a stop here.

Eugene is a fun place this week ( other than its cold and rainy) with the Olympic trials going on- heading down there in a little bit to rub shoulders with athletes and fans from all around the world.

Ptsk--DH and I just decide which one of us will be the designated driver. If you both want to taste though, then definitely go with a tour. Fred, who owns A Nose For Wine, is a great guy and very well regarded here in the wine region. His clients love him and he has quite a few that come back year after year and will only use him after using others. The best thing is that he takes you to the better wineries, often times that being the smaller one and by appt only. So you get a MUCH better experience!

I agree, Stumptown makes great coffee. You can find them all over, so you don't need to limit yourself to one location, which is nice.

Lincoln City and Depoe Bay are too far for a day trip considering your short amount of time, IMO. Also, neither of those locations are near as scenic as around Cannon Beach/Ecola State Park. For some reason Tomsd has an issue with Portlanders and Cannon Beach, but there is a reason CB is very popular with people from all over the world. A couple months ago we ran into a group of National Geographic photographers there, FWIW.

As for places to stay, what is your budget? If you want recommendations for Hood River and McMinnville area too, just let me know.

Overall I think your trip looks really good. You have a short time frame and you are making the most of it, IMO.

NewbE--Most people that live in this area refer to the police as the gestapo for a reason

LOL mms. Just ask others where the most beautiful part/drive along the Oregon coast is - and they will agree that it's from Lincoln City down to Yachats and on south to Florence.

And I don't hate Cannon Beach - it's ok - and it does have good salt water taffy - but it is just jammed at times.

To me - it's just too much of a tourist trap - where you have to overpay for accommodations and for meals even after waiting in line (since it's so accessible to Portland) - and if you're being honest - you will admit that.

And while Portland is a hip city, with good restaurants/entertainment - (if you like grunge music /nice parks/paths areas along the rivers - and our favorites - the Rose Garden/Japanese Tea Garden/Zoo in Washington Park - http://washingtonparkpdx.org/ it's still a city/dense urban area - and I think first time visitors to Oregon should maximize their time in the beautiful Oregon countryside and along the Ocean or at one of the many beautiful blue Lakes in Oregon.

Since you are arriving east of Portland at the airport - suggest you drive out the Gorge (assuming you have daylight left) - visit some of the waterfalls - Multnomah being the highest - and you can look up through the glass roof in their dining room - http://www.multnomahfallslodge.com/ .

You could continue on a bit and also explore some of the wineries around Hood River - maybe staying in a B & B around there and/or in the Hood River Valley (http://www.winesnw.com/gorgemap.html - and http://hoodriverlodging.com/ - and http://hoodriverlodging.com/hood-river-valley/attractions-map/

although some think the wineries in the greater Willamette Valley are the best) -

OR continue on up hiway 35 to our favorite on the slopes of Mt. Hood - Timberline Lodge. http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

Hike, bike, just enjoy the great outdoors and then make your way over to the Oregon Coast - which again, I think is the prettiest from Lincoln City down to Florence, and maybe then take in some wineries outside of Eugene.

You could spend a night saouth of Lincoln City - at around Depot Bay - which has a beautiful beach to explore - and then the next day - drive down the Oregon Coast - and eventually make your way over to stay near Eugene somewhere, and from there - you can make it back to the Portland Airport in 3 hours the next day - assuming you don't have an early morning flight.

LOL - Ptsk. I grew up with Native Americans/Indians - so a Watsui tribe wouldn't scare moi (he says bravely as he inches away from the encounter.

BTW - I have friends and high school classmates who live in Portland - and it's a nice - beautiful city - and I do like it - but agian - it's a city - so why hang around there when you can see so much more outside of there.

And Uno Mas - there are waaaaaay too many people in Cannon Beach during the summer - when you could easily go someplace else with fewer people, and prettier coastline to boot.

Tomsd--You mentioned Lincoln City and Depoe Bay...those are not scenic IMO. Yet now you mention further south, which I agree is scenic. As for CB, when is the last time you were there? On summer weekends it does get busy, but no more so than Lincoln City. During the week it is pretty nice, I think. As for what to do in Oregon, it all depends on ones interests. I love the outdoors and would rather backpack than go to a museum, but that isn't for everyone and we need to see what a poster is interested in doing.

Very good input.

Tomsd, we get in early afternoon on a Tuesday so we should have time to take a drive. I think I will take the drive out to the Gorge on that date to get the trip started.


newbe, I have the Red Hills Market on my list. It reminds, me, I believe, of some really good places in Napa and Sonoma to take a break and grab some lunch.

Sumbum, I have a list of 34 wineries from the various comments on this site. We obviously won't go to all of them, but I've added your recommendation to the list. Better to have too many than not enough.

mms, as for our budget, my philosophy, if not my wife's, is to save money on a day to day basis and then go on nice trips periodically with no budget. So, I really don't have one. Knowing my wife and the state of our wine refrigerator, i expect most of my money will go towards bottles of wine to bring or ship back. I like to eat at nice restaurants so that will be a significant part of it as well. As for hotels, I usually spend less on those just because we don't spend much time there. Location is more important than something really nice or a hotel with nice amenities. I'm not looking for the Motel 6 but I'd take a nice hotel in a convenient location over a more expensive hotel that is nicer. That being said, if there are some hotels that are great because of the views, proximity to wineries or waterfalls, great restaurant inside, etc., I'd consider that. Outside of Portland, I have the Allison Inn and the Chehalem Inn hotel on the list.

Thanks again.

We stayed at the Allison--it's great! And the Jory restaurant is wonderful. It has extensive spa facilities, too, although we did not make use of them.

On another note, do you know about starting a shipper to check at the airport? I assume most dedicated oenophiles do

Red Hills Market is very good.

For hotels in Portland, there are so many that are good. Even though we live so close, we stay overnight for special events and our go-to place is the Monaco. Nice hotel, perfect location, and the staff are friendly and helpful.

Around the wine country, the Allison is the newest, but I don't like the location. It sits in the industrial area and except for its own vineyard, there are no views. The spa is terrific though and I am a regular there Chehalem Ridge B&B has the best views!!! Not as luxurious of a place as the Allison, but after a day of tasting, sitting on those chairs on the deck just cannot be beat. Another option would be in Dundee at the Inn at Red Hills. We have stayed there and the rooms are very nice, and the new restaurant just opened. There is a beautiful patio area for nice days. The only drawback is that it is located right on hwy99 so you would hear traffic around 4pm when the road is the busiest. It is not busy at night though so that wouldn't be an issue.

newbe, we know how to drink it, but we're not as good at shipping it. We haven't been on a wine trip since 2003 in Italy and then we just loaded up our suitcases like rookies.

Ptsk--The wineries will ship for you if you need. There is also a UPS store in Newberg that will do it. That store is next to the big Fred Meyer on the north end, so if you don't have the wineries ship, you can do it here.

mms, those hotel recommendations are helpful.

Ptsk--I was thinking more about the hotels. Chehalem Ridge would be my first choice. The place is very nice, but the location is just amazing. We watched as it was being built (our dog kennel was just up the road) and they did such a great job with it. They are well known here that they want to make their guests trip the best it can be. Personal touches, etc.

mms, I was leaning towards the Allison Inn based on other comments, but we're going to try the Chehalem Inn instead. Maybe two nights in Portland doing other stuff and two nights at the Chehalem Inn as home base for the wine tasting days.

Ptsk--I think that is a perfect plan

I was in Cannon Beach about 3 years ago - to look at possibly buying/brokering a hotel deal - and it was mobbed. In the summer - and mobbed. People waiting over an hour for breakfast.

Lincoln City can get busy too - but I am talking about staying a little south of Lincoln City at Depoe Bay.

And no idea how your vision is these days - but Depoe Bay is one of the most scenic places I have ever seen. Again - see this page for the Surfrider, and also see Salisan for a more upscle place but not right on the Ocean. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g51838-d95967-Reviews-Surfrider_Resort-Depoe_Bay_Oregon.html

Here is the Salisan - South of Lincoln City - which used to be the most upscale place on the Coast. http://www.salishan.com/

Are you going to spend all your time around Portland? A huge mistake IMO.

And what to do in the area around Salishan/Depoe Bay: http://www.salishan.com/what-to-do/attractions/

Yes, several decades ago Salishan was the place to go. Went there a lot in the 80's. Now I wouldn't bother as there are so many other places that are much better, IMO. Especially since its across the highway from the beach.

Depoe Bay just doesn't do it for me.

Ahhh - mon dieu: Several decades ago is a bit out of sync don't you think?. A friend of mine who owned a gourmet restaurant down here in SoCal/with a french chef/minority partner from Lyon - told me he was at Salisan - what - 5 years ago - and it was manifique.

True - reports are that it may not reign supreme anymore - but it's still a marvelous place to chill for a couple of days - especially as a base to explore the Oregon Coast. If one golfs - that's a huge bonus.

In any event - my main point is for a first time visitor to spend all one's time around the Portland/burbs area is a major, major dis-service to seeing what incredible great beauty Oregon has to offer - and also - for us jaundiced ones alike.

Tomsd--Yes, I meant several decades. They have had lots of offers on Groupon and even at those rates I wouldn't bother with it. That's just me though.

Well, you B Da current native - but just giving you what my friend said - and he is a world traveler/gourmand.

I drove in there about 5? years ago and checked out the rooms, etc, and thought it was still a pretty fine resort. We heard it might be for sale - and I talked to the owners - but didn't get any further than that.

But uno mas: No importanto - if the visitors just hang out in the greater Portland area. I don't really care if they go to Cannon Beach or Timerline - or Eugene, or wherever - but get the frick out of Portland for a couple days.

Ptsk, mms is right, the wineries will ship wine for you, and you can take cases to the UPS store, too. The trick, though, at least IMO, is to get a shipper from the first winery you visit: some charge a few bucks, most will give it to you with purchase. That way, you can put onesies and twosies that you buy along the way into the shipper as you go. By the end of your trip, it will be full (or, if you're us, more than full and you will require a second shipper), and then you tape it up and check it with your luggage at the airport. Depending on where you live, that may well be cheaper than UPS--it is for us. Or, if you prefer, you can take your shipper to UPS, but that's an extra stop that might eat into your tasting time. (Also, here in FL, it's actually illegal to send wine via the mails if you are not an alcohol distributor, so I honestly didn't realize you could do that in OR.)

I guess I think this idea is genius because we don't always want a case or even a half-case of something, and getting a half-dozen wineries to ship a couple bottles each is a waste of money--which, of course, could be better spent on wine. I know you are sensing a theme here!

NewbE--Your post reminded me of a group we ran into at a winery. They were on a tour with A Nose For Wine and loved the place we were at all. So much so that they bought 17 CASES of wine at that winery alone and had them ship it back home to Texas.

17?? Wow! We thought the wheels had come off when we shipped a total of 6 from Sonoma. On the other hand, I can relate to living in a wineless region--don't let anyone talk to you about Florida wine--and becoming irrationally exuberant, therefore, when visiting the land(s) of plenty

Holy going crazy for wine: Here - you can buy just about what you want at your local grocery store - fairly reasonably - and if you want something extra special - go to Beverages and More or a similiar place. http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=33715

Guess WE B Lucky.

NewbE--Yes, these people were serious, lol! They bought a few cases at other wineries earlier in the day, but loved this one (Seufert), which is one of our all time favorites as well.

Tomsd--Many wineries here do not distrubute, or it is very limited, so you won't find many of them at BevMo.

Newbe, I'm in Florida as well. My dad bought that St. Augustine wine once. it was brutal. I'm going to pick up a shipper or two and load up. Thanks for the shipping suggestions.

Tomsd, the plan, which is still evolving, is to stay two nights in Portland but spend most of those days outside of Portland and just come bacjk at the end of the day or night. The other two days will be spent in the Willamette Valley where we'll be spending the night at the Chehalem Ridge or Red Hills Inn.

mms, thanks.

Anyone familiar with the Lobenhaus bed and Breakfast in Carlton?

Also, apparently there is something called the International Pinot Noir Celebration the weekend in July we are going. Does this have any effect on the wineries being open for regular tastings? Thanks.

Oregon does have very good Pinots - especially the Noir - but you can pretty much get everything else here in Cal.

Golly Miss Molly: To think back in 1970 - for our MBA thesis -at U of O - one of the subjects was the emerging Oregon Wine Industry, which I sadly didn't get. Wound up doing a study for purchasing uew equipment for a sawdust factory by Corvallis - but the owner was a very nice gentleman and seeped to appreciate our recommendation - which was the new equipment cost did not justify/pay for the projected increase in productivity.

And Ptsk: Both of those resorts are in/by Newburg/Dundee -which I basically consider a suburb of Portland. Hope you get further down/into the Williamette Valley - or zip over to the Coast while you are there.

I think the Pinot Noir Celebration just means bigger crowds but wineries will be open for tasting.
Domaine Chandon is a favorite of mine

Ptsk--I am not familiar with that inn, but Carlton is a great little town. The downtown is about 2 blocks long, but chuck full of great little tasting rooms/restaurants/etc. It is also very close to McMinnville and Newberg, so easy to get around to the various wineries for tasting. The IPNC does draw some big crowds, so I would book lodging asap, but as for visiting wineries that will not be an issue. Traffic will be heavier, so just keep that in mind.

oops- Domaine Chandon is not in Oregon- had a senior moment - and now I can't even think of the name of the winery I wanted to suggest-

I will have to think on it for a bit.

Doaine Drouhin is the winery I meant to suggest in previous post- at least I had the Domaine part right.

Sunbum--That is a good one, I agree.

Great, things are shaping up pretty well. I'll report back after the trip.

I just came back from McMinnville and Cannon beach and would highly recommend both places for a relaxing winetasting trip. I haven't read all the responses here, but day trips from Portland would be too inconvenient, IMHO.

Tentek--Why? It is less than an hour between Portland and McMinnville, and 90 minutes between Portland and Cannon Beach.

Traffic on 99W is so bad. I also think if you are going to Portland for Portland only, then it makes sense to stay there. Cannon Beach is charming in the morning and late at night when day visitors are gone.

LOL. Another one who notes how crowded Cannon Beach can be. That's why I like just south of Lincoln City - Depoe Bay, etc.

Tentek--I live in this area and drive on 99 almost every single day, and it CAN get bad, but its like the other roads around here and pretty much only at rush hour.

It's funny, mms, when you posted that the drive from Portland to Mac is 45 minutes, I thought "No way!', because it felt longer to me. I don't know if traffic was the issue or not, so this is certainly not a scientific observation. But I also think that it's best to stay in the Valley for wine tasting if at all possible. There can be a lot of driving between wineries, depending on the ones you choose, and, for me, a drive back to Portland at the end of the day would be tedious.

However, the Willamette Valley is so wonderful that if the only way a visitor can swing it is to stay in Portland and "commute", so be it--it should not be missed!

NewbE--You are right, it feels longer which I think is because of the speed variations, but it rarely takes us more than 45 to go between Portland and Newberg/Dundee. Mac adds on another 15. I agree too that if one can stay down here, it is more relaxing and enjoyable. We live down here and make all these drives daily, so know it all to a "T"

"However, the Willamette Valley is so wonderful that if the only way a visitor can swing it is to stay in Portland and "commute", so be it--it should not be missed!"

This may come as a bit of a shock to some people who live in Portland - but the Williamette Valley extends well over 100 miles south of Portland - to down past Eugene:

see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willamette_Valley

Tomsd, you're right, of course. As first-time visitors to the area last year, we stayed in the northern parts of the valley; when we return this fall (fingers crossed), we may expand our horizons.

Newbe - hope yo do. Oregon has a lot of beauitful things to see/experience.

NewbE--I thought of something. What route did you take? You mentioned 99, but how far up did you take it?

Ptsk--Thank you so much for initiating this post - I'm collecting a lot of great ideas for an Oregon trip we are planning to the area in early September. Please do post your trip summary! When in July will you be traveling?

I wanted to make sure I came back and made some comments after the trip. We went for 5 days at the end of July.

First, I should note that almost all of my research was done here going through the various discussions about Oregon. My wife did some extra research on hotels and I ran a couple of google searches on restaurants. However, the information we received here was very good. You really can plan a nice trip with this website alone. Someone at Fodor's should feel free to contact me for my promotional fee.

We got in on a Tuesday and drove west to the coast. The coast was very nice and we stopped at several places along the way to see some nice views and take some pictures. If you haven't seen the Oregon coastline, I recommend doing this. We stayed in Portland that night at the Hotel DeLuxe. The rooms are small but I didn't care. It was nice and in a good location. The next day we went to Multnomah Falls. We enjoyed that a lot- a great combination of good exercise with the hiking, great views and nice waterfalls. We'd definitely do this again if/when we go back.

The next three days were spent in the wine country. This is where my wife likes to be. It was a lot of fun. We went to a lot of wineries and had good experiences at just about all of them. I won't rehash where we went because we got out recommendations from other discussions on this site. I will say that the Oregon wine country is very nice like Napa but not nearly as crowded. The people were generally nicer as well. We bought 12 bottles, bought a box to put all 12 of them in at one of the wineries and checked it on the plane. It was easy.

The highlights:

The weather couldn't have been better, especially coming from Florida where the weather couldn't be any worse for 4 months out of the year. It was hard to believe I was spending the day in high 70 weather with very little humidity.

The wine country really was nice and a better experience than places we've been in California.

The Multnomah Falls was a great experience because we both like hiking and natural attractions and this had both. We liked the Rose Garden as well.

As for restaurants, my favorites was probably Tasty N Sons. We went there for breakfast on Thursday. Great menu. For dinner, Paley's Place was very good. The Joel Palmer House in the wine country was outstanding. On our last night in Portland, we went to The Screen Door. I've lived in the South most of my life; that's the best southern food I can remember having.

The only thing we did that was a waste of time in my opinion was the cheese factory at Tillamook (I think). They weren't making any cheese there so maybe that's the attraction but I don't see the attraction regardless.

Overall, it was a very good trip and everyone here was very helpful with their ideas. I'd love to move to the Northwest and maybe I will some day. Until then, we hope to go back within a year or two.

If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask. Thanks.

Sorry that they were not actively making cheese when you stopped at the cheese factory. I bought some Tillamook cheese this morning at the grocery store.
Did you at least sample some of the wares?
I like the curds there which I can rarely get from my store.