First time to OR, last week in July
 

Okay -- first trip report here, for my first trip to Oregon.

Finally joined after lurking and reading for AGES. Asked some questions before the trip and got some really good advice.

Okay, so a friend and I travelled together from July 25th to August 1, 2009. Flew on Continental from Newark to Portland on a 7 am flight. Arrived on time after an uneventful flight and got our rental car and headed into downtown Portland to find our hotel.

Stayed at the Hotel deLuxe for one night. Very nice room, if on the small side (although not tiny, just small). Great service at the hotel. We were able to check in early, and then headed out.

We walked to the Farmers Market and loved it. I go to the Union Square Greenmarket in NYC on occasion, and while that is a great market, thought this one was much better. Wether I'd think that if I went on a regular basis, or I was in the moment, I don't know; but it was definitely a great market. We got some bread and pate and fruit and cheese for picnic lunches.

We then wandered down along the river and to the Saturday Market, where we found a couple crafty things to buy. Found that a place called (I think) Dan & Louis and had some oysters (they had a whole bunch and we got 2 of each -- don't recall right now which ones, but all were good -- of course, some better than others, but no duds) and a glass of wine. Made our way back to the hotel after and dropped our various purchases and headed out again -- walking to the International Rose Test Garden. We didn't know it was all uphill from the hotel. Not too bad, but not necessarily a "nice" walk either, given the 90-something degree heat. Rose Garden was great, although I think the flowers certainly would have been better if they hadn't been in the middle of a heat wave.

After that, wandered down toward and around the Pearl District. We found a McMenamin's bar that I don't recall the name of at the moment, but it was right across the street from the bicycle storage/sculpture. Had a really nice wheat beer -- Ruby Red, maybe? Then wandered some more and ended up at REI -- fantastic store. I got a bike jersey and another top (didn't realize it was going to be SO hot and didn't have more than 1 sleeveless [i.e., HOT-weather] top), and my friend found a great pair of hiking boots. Made our way back to the hotel again.

After cleaning up, we had a drink in the hotel bar -- good drinks, but a great bartender. Mike was his name, and he gave us some advice about when we were going to be in Cannon Beach, and some advice about some other parts of our trip. Then headed to our dinner reservations at LePigeon. Fantastic restaurant. Great food. Really interesting flavor combinations. Great wine. Sorry I don't recall details a month and a half after getting home.

Not too late after dinner (maybe 10:00?), but we had started the day at about 4:30 east coast time and were going going going all day, so we just headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Day two next.

Okay, day two.

We had planned on spending Sunday morning doing more in Portland, but were told by folks here that "you can't come to Oregon and not see the Columbia River Gorge", so we got up early and were on the road by about 8 am to the Gorge. We went to Multnomah Falls, Wakheena Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and LaTourrell Falls, and Vista House. The folks who encouraged us to go there were so right. They were all amazing! Gorgeous falls and great hikes, and the views from Vista House were fabulous. It was a hot day, but not really bad at all because we got started early and were in the shade from trees and coolness of the falls this morning.

Then we headed back to (through) Portland to McMinnville for two nights at the Hotel Oregon. Very nice hotel -- quirky, interesting rooms, huge room (one its own and certainly compared to our room in Portland). Couldn't check in at around 1:00 when we got there, but they kept our bags and we changed in the restroom and JUST made the shuttle to the Passport to Pinot event at Linbrook College as the end of the IPNC weekend. It was outside and it was hot -- hotter than the day before in Portland -- I figure upper 90's. But at least there were tents and lots of trees so again, not awful. Great event, with fabulous wines and great food. Went to dinner that night at La Rambla with folks we met at the event. Honestly a bit less than sober as a result of all the wines tasted, so don't recall details about dinner. I know we had calamari and several other things and paella to finish the evening; and all was very tasty. I'm a little disappointed in myself for not staying more sober, but I was on vacation and not driving, and such is life.

Day three next.

Day three.

We wandered around McMinnville (I should say we wandered just up and down the main street) in the morning and ended up having breakfast at the hotel (honestly didn't notice any other places for a full breakfast). We sat outside, which was nice; and food was good, but service was fairly lousy. All we had was omelettes, and it took ages to get our food. Seemed like they had forgotten about us.

Headed out to tasting rooms around 10:30 or 11:00.

First place we went to was the Museum that houses the Spruce Goose. Very cool museum. I really am amazed by aircraft. The Spruce goose was amazing. You know it's huge, but when you see it, you realize it's HUGE. Visited the tasting room there -- serviceable but nothing spectacular wines. Very nice non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice, though.

Where else did we go? First place was our favorite: Sokol Blosser. Only wine we didn't like was a red blend (again, sorry I don't remember the name, but we saw it on a lot of wine lists during the rest of the week; and it started with an M). We think if they hadn't poured it after an amazing pinot noir, we probably would have liked it. The aforementioned PN was wonderful as was a white blend called Evolution, and a dessert Riesling.

Next was Domaine Serene. Really liked the high end PN's there, but not $85 a bottle worth.

Also went to Chehalem -- very much liked that -- got a couple of whites and a Pinot.

Will be back and finish Day 3 in a bit.

Day 3 continued.

Okay, went and got my guidebook and receipts and brochures and such, so should have some more details on stuff I don't thoroughly remember.

Museum with the Spruce Goose was the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum.

Totally wrong about Domaine Serene. We didn't actually go there -- it was Archery Summit.

Went to Rex Hill, and Carlton Winemaker's Studio -- had met Mr. Hammacher at the IPNC and loved the wine he poured then. Bought a bottle of his eponymous wine and another one he made but for another winery. Also visited Anne Amie.

Today was the hottest we experienced -- 106 degrees, and the a/c in the car was not the greatest. It kept us from being uncomfortable, but it didn't keep us comfortable. Luckily, all the tasting rooms were air conditioned. :-)

By the end of the day, we were a bit wined out, so to speak, after the tasting event the day before and the tasting room visits today. As a result, we just went down the street from our hotel to the Golden Valley Brewery for dinner. We did an appetizer of Cajun oysters and a salad for dinner. Again, to bed early.

Day 4, heading to the Coast, to come in a couple of days -- can't post tomorrow night.

G'night.

Nice report! A few comments:

<i>We wandered around McMinnville (I should say we wandered just up and down the main street)</i>

Yep - not much more to the town beyond 3rd Street, but it is a cool little strip, no? Linfield College has a tiny campus next door you could have also wandered around on, but it's not particularly amazing or anything.

<i>We sat outside, which was nice; and food was good, but service was fairly lousy. All we had was omelettes, and it took ages to get our food. Seemed like they had forgotten about us.</i>

Nope, they didn't forget - that's just McMenamins! They are widely known in Oregon for their lousy, slow service, at almost all of them. I still recommend Oregon visitors check out a McMenamins despite the service, because it's a unique Oregon experience and generally the food is decent. Usually their burgers are quite good. (The service at the McMenamins near my house, on NE 15th and Broadway in Portland, is actually a bit better than the average for the chain.)

I've walked by the Hotel Oregon a few times, but the McMenamins Edgefield out in Troutdale (edge of the Gorge) is really an amazing place to visit, just for the scenery inside and out. Next time...but the service may not be any faster there!!!

Sounds like a nice trip. Too bad you missed the absolute best place for breakfast in McMinnville...it is less than a block from La Rambla and is the Wildwood Cafe. You did hit some really good places though, including La Rambla. Too bad I wasn't with you, for some reason I have never had bad service at McMenamins:)

Well, Andrew, we saw a little bit of Linfield College at the IPNC Passport to Pinot tasting event., as it took place there Granted, we really didn't particularly pay attention to the campus, as we were more focussed on the Pinot Noir and the food and talking to the winemakers. I do recall briefly noticing that it was a nice looking campus, though.

And mms, we did miss Wildwood Cafe. Even if we did have lousy service for our breakfast at Hotel Oregon, at least it did taste good. Oh well, if I ever return (sure hope so, but there are so many places in the world to see, you never know -- I don't get back tot too many places), I'll make sure I go to the Wildwood. Either that, or make sure you join me at McMenamins to make sure I got good service. :-)

Need more time than I have tonight to put together day 4 and later -- more to come....

Nice trip, cab. I've never been to McMinnville, never even considered it. Guess it's time to amble down that way.

Thanks for reporting. Looking forward to the finale!

McMenamins Edgefield has good food, great service and friendly staff. We ate there twice and loved it. I wish we could have stayed there too but they were full. It's the only McMenamins we tried so can't comment on the others.
We are of course Europeans so are used to waiting for our food, and enjoy a pause between courses, which is what we go there - it felt very European all together.

Looking forward to reading more of your report - bringing back memories for me, and reminding me of the things we didn't get to see - all the more reason for another trip :).

pdx--You haven't been to Mac? I personally love the town. Definitely allow most of a day. I am down there a lot...used to go weekly...so if you want suggestions, just ask:)

mms - recommend a restaurant or two for dinner and I'll get my hubby to drive down for a little getaway dinner some afternoon-evening. we can wander around and check it out, see what's up.

pdx--Ok, where to start...there are a lot of good places down there! La Rambla, Bistro Maison, Orchards and Nick's are all right smack in the heart of downtown and all are very good. In the back of Orchards is Honest Chocolates, which is very good. HC has another new location in Newberg, BTW. If you want ultra casual then head to Alf's for burgers and shakes. Alf's is right next to Linfield, on hwy99w. Just stay away from Sage...ick!!!

Thanks, mms. I'll start planning a nice afternoon-evening outing. Date night ♥!

Thanks for posting Cab! I'm glad you had a chance to eat at Le Pigeon. It is one of my favorites. My daughter was married at McMenamins/Edgefield in Troutdale. It is a great hotel. However, the rooms are not air conditioned so with the hot weather you had it was better to stay somewhere where they do have AC.

LePigeon was great! While, as I said, I don't recall the details of what we had at this point, I do recall that it was fantastic. My friend and I were both blown away by the food. And since we were only in the Portland area one night, and the Gorge one morning, we didn't even consider the McMenamins Edgefield. Since the 2 hottest days of our trip were the two in McMinnville, we were rather glad the McMenamins Hotel Oregon did have a/c. :-)

Okay, day 4 here, Tuesday, July 28th.

We checked out and headed West, then South toward our hotel in Yachats for the next two days, Overleaf Lodge. En route, we stopped off in Depoe Bay. Gorgeous! Definitely not the Jersey Shore. Saw a whale and some dolphins off the coast here. Back on the road, and stopped at Cape Foulweather. Drove South some more and stopped at Yaquina Head. Wandered down to the tidepools and into the Interpretive Center. Unfortunately, didn't get into the lighthouse, as the wait was about half an hour and we just weren't willing to wait.

Back on the road again, and the next stop was Nye Beach -- wandered around a bit, then had lunch at the Chowder Bowl there -- not the world's greatest chowder, but probably top 5. :-) After lunch, we walked over to the Bayfront in Newport and wandered around there for a bit. Saw (and heard -- goodness, they are loud!) some sea lions and/or seals on the docks.

Finally, headed to Yachats. Loved the Overleaf! Great big room, with a cozy gas fireplace. ground floor room, with a little deck outside. We settled in a bit and then went for a walk along the beach. We went South on our walk and ended up at the Adobe for a drink. Nice, friendly bartender; great view out the windows. We were thinking about dinner there for the next night, based on the view and the girl at the Overleaf check-in's recommendation for the food. However, when we looked over the menu, it really didn't thrill us. Ended up at a great restaurant the next night, details about which I'll get into on Day 5 of the report. Anyway, had a couple tasty cocktails, chatted with the bartender and another patron, and had a nice time.

Walked back to our hotel, freshened up, and headed to dinner. Another recommendation from the girl at check-in: the Drift Inn. Nothing super-special, but a friendly, casual atmosphere, with a duo playing music, and tasty food. My friend and I both ended up with the same thing -- a crab-crusted fish -- quite tasty. Ended the evening at the bar across the street -- okay, but seemed very much like a locals' place. My friend had a blast; I had an okay time.

Day 5 soon...

Day 5

We headed south from Yachats and drove down past Florence and took a dune buggy ride with Sand Dunes Frontier. What a blast! We could have driven the buggy ourselves -- thank God we didn't! Let the folks who know what they're doing do it. Seemed like we might tip any number of times (probably would have if we had been driving) but our driver knew what he was doing, and where he was going. Also, everything looked the same to us -- have no clue how we would have found our way back if we had been at the wheel.

Next drove further south to Reedsport and the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. While there is no guarantee you will see elk, and we don't know how often people do or do not see them, but we were lucky enough to see a reasonable sized group of elk. Pretty cool!

Turned around and headed back north, to the Sea Lion Caves. I liked the views from outside the cave a lot better than inside. It was dark and crowded and smelly and we were not particularly close to the sea lions. Wouldn't say I'm disappointed I went, but don't know that I'd recommend it to folks.

Next was Heceta Head Lighthouse. It was a bit foggy, so couldn't see distant views, but a nice lighthouse and a decent hike up to it.

Back to Yachats and lunch at Luna Sea Fish House. Very tasty grilled scallops and chips.

Then back a little south again to Cape Perpetua. Wow! Spent several hours there. Hiked up the Saint Perpetua Trail to the top -- gorgeous views. Hiked down and then to the water to see the tidepools and spouting horn. Can watch the water for quite a while, it's so fascinating.

After a little relaxation and cleanup in our room, dinner that night was at the Yachats River House. Fabulous meal! I had a squid appetizer salad that was great and my friend had a rich, earthy mushroom pate. We both had the tandoori salmon for our mains. Also really great!

Day six, we head north...

Sounds like a wonderful time, we have been on the Oregon Coast in Seaside for awhile, we love Coastal Living! ***kim*** ((#))

Okay, so we checked out and headed north. We just drove without stopping for a while since we had driven down the same US 101 the other day that we were driving up today. We took the First place we stopped was Pacific City to see the Haystack Rock there -- but it was so hazy, we saw nothing, or so we thought. We continued on to Cape Kiwanda -- and there we believe we did see Haystack Rock -- I think our guide book pretty much was talking about driving south, but we were going north, so where we thought it should be, there was nothing. when we did see it, it was pretty impressive, as were the dory boats coming in and essentially skidding up on the beach.

Next we stopped at not exactly Cape Lookout State Park, but just along the road near there for the views. Gorgeous! And we continue on...

... to Cape Meares. More gorgeous views. We also saw the Octopus Tree here -- really interesting (funny) looking.

Next we figured we'd head to Tillamook and tour the cheese factory and get some along with some bread for lunch. Now, we hit Blue Heron Cheese Company first. I had heard from several outlets that it was basically a tourist trap and not worth time, but my friend wanted to go once she heard that they supposed specialize in brie. I do have to agree that it is a major tourist trap, but I will say that we tasted several of the different bries they had and enjoyed the smoked one enough to buy it. We also did a wine tasting here as well. If I'm remembering correctly, I think you got 4 tastes for $2. Again, most of the wines were very ordinary. But there was one Pinot Gris that was quite good, and they had it chilled, so it would go with our cheese for lunch.

On to Tillamook Cheese Factory. Oh my, this place is huge. And mobbed. It is also most definitely a worthwhile place to stop. We did not do any official tour (we were too hungry at this point for lunch, as it was around 2:00), but we walked through the "observatory hallway" and looked over the production operations, tasted what was available, decided what we liked (medium and extra sharp cheddars were our favorites of what we had), bought a package (very reasonably-priced -- if I remember correctly, it was $3.99 a pound, and I just bought some last week here in NJ for $9.99 a pound), and headed out to find someplace for our picnic lunch. We ended up stopping just somewhere on the side of the road north of Garibaldi, I think, where we saw a picnic table and could look out onto the water. It may even have been as far as Nehalem. We were hungry before we left Tillamook, so by the time we found a place to stop, we were REALLY hungry. Our cheese and bread and wine picnic tasted great.

Then we made our way to Cannon Beach where we were spending our last two nights. We stopped at one more scenic viewpoint on the way: one of the side-of-the road lookouts at the top of Neahkahnie Mountain. Are there any bad viewpoints along the Oregon Coast? We sure didn't find any.

We got to the Ecola Creek Lodge late afternoon, checked in, and wandered through the town of Cannon Beach. Very cute hotel, very homey, our room was essentially two big bedrooms, with a bathroom. The hotel is a about a quarter-mile walk from "downtown." We wandered around the two main streets for a bit, heading into some of the shops and just meandering around.

Headed back and got cleaned up and ready for dinner. Because of our late lunch, we made late reservations for dinner -- something like 8:30 at a place that the bartender at the Hotel deLuxe had recommended but that we hadn't heard anything about either here or on Chowhound or in the guidebook I had (Moon Handbooks' Oregon): JP's. We were a little unsure since we hadn't heard anything about it elsewhere, but we stopped off someplace for a drink beforehand (I don't recall the name of it, and it isn't mentioned in the guidebook) and started chatting with someone at the bar. Turns out he owns Webb's Scenic Surf Motel and also thoroughly recommended JP's. Well, when we had dinner, we were not at all disappointed. Sophisticated food in a nice setting with really friendly service. Again, the problem with my taking so long to do this trip report and not taking great notes has me forgetting exactly what we had -- no recollection of the appetizers but we both had, I'm pretty sure, salmon cordon bleu for our mains. Wow! Yes, it was rich, but not ridiculously so that we were in a food coma. :-) We shared a special dessert that had lime and chili and chocolate in it (we were full enough that we weren't ready for it then, and they offered to send it back to our room with us as take-out). Also seriously tasty.

Last full day next (I'll try not to take too long to get it done -- I know how frustrating it is when you're reading a report and there are long gaps between posts -- but everyday life does find a way of getting in the way).

Thanks for posting. We love Oregon and have lots of favorite spots. Your post brought back many fond memories of several past visits and made me wish I'd posted trip reports from them.

Okay, I'm back, and without too long a break between my last post and this one.

Day 7

Headed to Astoria this day. We stopped on the way in Seaside. We had heard about a really good restaurant (Yummy Wine Bar and Bistro) and thought we would have dinner there tonight and figured we'd do a drive-by and find it early on before the town got going. Well, we didn't find it that morning (although when we went later for dinner, we wondered how we missed it in the morning) -- we did drive/wander about a little and were not impressed -- the only place we felt reminded us of the Jersey Shore. Now, the Shore is great, but it is fairly commercial and not, for the most part, a gorgeous coastline. I will admit that we didn't spend any real amount of time there, so may easily missed the greater charms of the town; but it didn't do a whole lot for us.

Next stop was Fort Clatsop. Very interesting! I thought it would be much bigger than it was. The rangers are so knowledgeable -- it seemed like they could go on for hours about Lewis & Clark. Idefinitely recommend a stop here.

So coming to Astoria, we made our first stop at the Astoria Column. Really beautiful building with the friezes all over the outside. And the views from the top were spectacular.

So then we headed into town and walked around all over the place. All along the river, took a ton of pictures of the bridge, lunch at Baked Alaska (very tasty marinated mushroom and fennel salad and a half dozen Willapa Bay oysters -- I just had them raw on the halfshell, although the menu preparation was actually to broil them with shallots, butter, and fresh basil -- even better than the food, though, was the view: looking out on the river, it almost seemed like we were on a boat), walking along the streets in from the river, and a visit to Flavel House. That's another place I'd recommend -- very interesting story (and home) of the first millionaire of the town and all he did for the town.

At this point, we head back to our car parked by the river and it's the first chance I get to taste Tillamook ice cream (wasn't really hungry for it, but couldn't leave the state the next day without having tried it) -- don't recall the flavor I had, but it was very good.

So we head back to Cannon Beach and spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach. We found a spot near the north end of the beach and while my friend just relaxed and read, I walked down to Haystack Rock. Very nice walk and very impressive rock, for not only its size but everything going on around it -- all the birds and the tidepools and the people and folks flying kites. Just a great afternoon. After I got back to the other end of the beach, we just relaxed there for a bit longer, then headed to the hotel to get ready for dinner at the aforementioned Yummy.

Great restaurant. I had a flight of rose wines with my salad -- really nice mixed green salad with goat cheese and nuts and peaches, then an OR Pinot Noir with my main course -- got the fish of the day, simply prepared in parchment with capers. Excellent service, wines, food, and atmosphere. Definitely gets a recommendation.

Next day, August 1st, we headed back to Portland to the airport to turn in the car and come home. Stopped along the way for breakfast at a place called Shari's that we had seen pretty much all over the place. Nothing amazing, but tasty omelettes with very good hash browns (my friend had the stuffed ones, which I tasted -- while they were very good, the cheese and such they were stuffed with would have been over the top for me). No problems turning the car in, no flight delays, and we were home at about 9:30 that night.

I would go back again in a heartbeat -- was not really disappointed with anything, and there is so much that I still didn't see. (Of course, there are only three places I've been that I have no real interest in returning to; but I rarely get back to the places I would go back to -- so many places till to see in this world.)

Hope folks enjoyed the report.

Absolutely loved it and think you write a terrific trip report. You missed the maritime museum though. Great story about the Coast Guard patrol boat.
You must have written a nice diary to keep all these memories so fresh from August until October. I wish I would do that.

Thanks, PDX. And yes, I know I missed seeing a whole bunch of things. If I'm lucky, I'll have another chance at some point to get back and see some of what I missed. And no, I didn't keep any sort of diary -- I do remember a lot of what we did -- that sort of stuff sticks in my mind; but I mostly recreated the trip by looking through my guidebook (I highlighted before the trip the various things I wanted to do, and thought I'd reasonably be able to fit in, and luckily was able to get to most of that) and some of the receipts/brochures I saved.