Four 60ish female college friends and I are planning a reunion trip to Oregon, where one of my friends has recently moved, on May 12-19. Our tentative itinerary:
Wed: Fly into Portland (everyone arriving by 2:30), pick up our rental car and drive to a cabin (owned by a relative) in White Salmon, WA, (across the river from Hood River, OR) for 3 nights. While there, we will explore the Mt. Hood, Hood River area. Any suggestions in this area?
Sat: Drive back along the Gorge, checking out various sights such as Multnomah Falls and on to the Oregon Coast for two nights. Haven't decided exactly where we should stay. Noticed some good reviews of Cannon Beach, and would like suggestions of where to stay and what to do in this area. What about the cheese factory in Tillamook?
Mon: Drive back to Portland for two nights before flying out Wed. morning. Again--suggestions on where to stay and sights to see would be appreciated.
Any comments on the overall itinerary? We would be looking for mid-range hotels that could accommodate the 5 of us in 2 rooms max.
Kami

Make sure, when you explore the Columbia River Gorge, that you get off I-84 BEFORE (east of) Multnomah Falls - sorry, forget which exit - and drive back up toward Portland along the Historic Columbia River Highway. If you get off AT the Multnomah Falls exit from I-84, you can't go anywhere along the Gorge from there, only to the falls or right back on I-84. The Historic Highway takes you through the woods and numerous other waterfalls (as well as Multnomah Falls) and great views on the way back to Portland (you can re-join I-84 at Corbett or Troutdale).

In Troutdale, you might stop at the McMenamins Edgefield, a mini-resort built on an old property that was once a "poor farm" and nursing home but was renovated and now a complex of restaurants, golf course, winery, etc. The main building has cool murals and pictures hanging in its halls (it also has European-style hotel rooms). You can walk around and get a free tour, some days. A great place to stop for a drink or a meal after touring the Gorge.

Remember that May in western Oregon doesn't automatically mean sunshine; we still get rain sometimes through June. So bring an umbrella and hope for good weather!

In Portland, I like to use Priceline for good deals on hotels. Bid for at least a 3-star hotel in the downtown zone (more likely to have to pay $20/night for parking though) or the Convention Center-Lloyd Center zone (free MAX train into downtown; cheaper parking probably than downtown hotels). With five people in two rooms, though, you can't 100% guarantee you'll get rooms with two beds with Priceline. But the prices can be super cheap compared to what you'd get on your own anyway - sometimes $60 or less per night for a room. Priceline has a no change/no-cancel policy on rooms booked with their "Name Your Own Price" however.

Alternately, look on the website www.travelportland.com for hotel deals certain times of the year.

Cheese Factory is interesting, if you want to know the process and see the huge volume of cheese produced. There is an interesting Air Museum in Tillmook with lots of WW II era aircraft on display.
Other ideas along the coast include visiting Ft. Clatsop near Astoria and the Lewis and Clark Center a few miles away across the river.
Also for a bit of whimsy, the National Kit Museum and Hall of Fame are in nearby Long Beach, WA.
If you don't want to go to the coast, the Oregon wine country is centered around McMinnville, Dundee and New3berg.

Hood River is probably best known as one of the country's (world's?) windsurfing capitals. Any of you into that? ;-) Otherwise, there is hiking and sightseeing in the Gorge and on Mt Hood. Timberline Lodge and Bonneville Dam are a couple not-so-obvious attractions that might interest your group. Then there's wine! Lots of boutique wineries making some very good wine in that area.

Cannon Beach is the obvious (and best, IMO) choice for the coast. But because it's so popular, lodging rates are generally high. For beachfront accommodations, check out Surfsand Resort, Ocean Lodge, Schooner's Cove Inn, Hallmark Resort, and Land's End. In that order. On the other hand, you might be perfectly happy in something like Blue Gull Inn or Ecola Creek Lodge. But I'd suggest an ocean/beach view if it fits in the budget. In addition to the beach, and the many nice shops and galleries in town, schedule some time for Ecola State Park, a few miles north. Beautiful scenery there. Also, check to see if there's a performance at the Coaster Theater. Between Tillamook with its cheese factory and Astoria, I think you'd find Astoria more interesting. The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center boom_boom mentions is in Cape Disappointment State Park, outside of Ilwaco, WA, and is well worth a visit for that and other reasons.

Middle of May is a bit early for roses to be in bloom, but you might go up to the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park anyway. If there aren't any roses, walk across the street to the Japanese Gardens, which are beautiful at any time of year. Same with the Classical Chinese Gardens. Then there's Powell's Books, where you can literally and figuratively lose yourselves for hours. In terms of accommodations, I'm thinking you all might like Inn at Northrup Station, both for its retro style and location, which is on the streetcar line between two of Portland's popular shopping and dining districts.

While you're in White Salmon, take a drive up the river (WA side) to Maryhill Museum (near the junction with US 97) - fascinating exhibits. Don't miss the Théâtre de la Mode fashion mannequins from post-war Paris - fascinating.

www.maryhillmuseum.org

Thank you all so much for the GREAT suggestions! Now, we just have to make some choices among the many good options.
Wind-surfing will definitely be at the top of the list, though!
Kami

You might want to check out the Maryhill Winery too - wine tasting, great views of the river, they do have a lunch room but not sure if open all year

http://www.maryhillwinery.com/

Hi, I'm Laurie's daughter. Here's what I recommend. Definitely up to Timberline Lodge for brunch and out to a few wineries around the Hood River area. I think you guys would like kiteboarding better than windsurfing - so put that on the list. Lots of good dining and shopping in Hood River. You can drive up to Trout Lake for huckleberry smoothies and views of Mt Adams. I wouldn't miss Mt St Helens - going up the actual visitor centers will take ~3 hrs but it's worth it and you can stop and see movies of the eruption. You can then drive over towards the coast and cross the 3 mile long bridge at Astoria over the Columbia River delta. The maritime museum in Astoria is supposed to be good. My friend also recommended Cannon Beach. Then back to Portland on hwy 26. It's a nice loop. However, last time we did this in May, we had all weather - snow on St Helens, rain, sunshine, wind in the gorge, even hail.

HI--is it Lisa? We are really looking forward to this trip. Thank you so much for your offer of the cabin! Your suggestions are great. Have you visited the maryhill Winery? The Mt. St Helens trip sounds interesting, but would involve more than 7 hours driving in one day, and that might be more than we want to attempt. Another possibility is a day trip to Mt St Helens from the cabin & back. I visited the mountain once when I was about 10--long before the eruption. My grandmother lived in Longview, WA, and I spent many vacations there. Well, we can decide on those specifics later. Can't you just picture all of us kiteboarding? I just made reservations in Cannon Beach at the Lands End Motel.
Now, to decide on something in Portland. We're thinking of the Mark Spencer Hotel.