Oregon trip (Portland and coast) - long
Jul 13th, 2015, 03:55 PM
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Oregon trip (Portland and coast) - long
Husband and I just spent 9 days in Oregon. It was our first trip to the state. We arrived at Portland airport on Thursday night, July 2nd. In Portland we stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown. We paid just under $300 per night for our room, including taxes. Valet parking was an extra $35 per night. Because I'm an HHonors member, I got to check in and choose my room in advance, which was pretty cool and I got the room I chose. We were on the sixth floor and heard very little street noise. Our 2 room suite was very comfortable and the breakfast was good as always at Embassy. Tasty omelets and lots of fresh fruit. The lines got rather long, even though the breakfast area is large. Other than that, our only complaint is that the elevators were a bit slow. The location was great.
Every day we were in the city it was in the upper 90s, so that slowed us down a bit!
Friday:
We like to start off a city trip with a walking tour, so we went on the Best of Portland tour. I thought the tour was good but husband didn't care for the guide's style and presentation. After the tour we had lunch at Pastini Pastaria which was fine. Then we went to the History Museum followed by the Art Museum. The History Museum had a good World War II exhibit going on.
Every day we were in the city it was in the upper 90s, so that slowed us down a bit!
Friday:
We like to start off a city trip with a walking tour, so we went on the Best of Portland tour. I thought the tour was good but husband didn't care for the guide's style and presentation. After the tour we had lunch at Pastini Pastaria which was fine. Then we went to the History Museum followed by the Art Museum. The History Museum had a good World War II exhibit going on.
Jul 13th, 2015, 04:08 PM
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Saturday:
First on the agenda was the Saturday market. We really enjoyed this. I thought many of the artists were really good and I bought several gifts as well as some things for myself. Before we left there we decided to get lunch at a food truck. We were rather disappointed in the whole food truck thing, not just at the market but in general. There didn't seem to be a lot of variety and many of them didn't look very appealing. I tried some barbecue (mediocre) and husband had Thai, also nothing special.
After lunch we went back to the hotel to get the car and drive to Washington Park. We were considering the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden and had more or less decided on the Japanese Garden since we figured it might be shadier and cooler. We found a parking spot and as we were getting out of the car and wondering how to get to the Japanese Garden a woman parking near us noticed our confusion and asked if we were looking for the Rose Garden, since she was a guide there. We told her that we were actually going to the Japanese Garden, and she offered to show us the way. We chatted along the way and she told us that her tour started at 1:00. Once we arrived at the Rose Garden, she pointed us toward the Japanese Garden and went on her way. She was so helpful that we decided to wait around for 20 minutes and go on her tour instead. Neither of us are into gardening, but the tour was excellent. After it was over, we were too hot to go on to the Japanese Garden. Instead we drove up to the Pittock Mansion. The self guided tour was nice and the views were really pretty from up there.
For dinner we had reservations at Mother's Bistro. We really enjoyed our meals here. I had the chicken fried chicken, which was really like my mom used to make. The salted caramel cheesecake was one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had.
First on the agenda was the Saturday market. We really enjoyed this. I thought many of the artists were really good and I bought several gifts as well as some things for myself. Before we left there we decided to get lunch at a food truck. We were rather disappointed in the whole food truck thing, not just at the market but in general. There didn't seem to be a lot of variety and many of them didn't look very appealing. I tried some barbecue (mediocre) and husband had Thai, also nothing special.
After lunch we went back to the hotel to get the car and drive to Washington Park. We were considering the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden and had more or less decided on the Japanese Garden since we figured it might be shadier and cooler. We found a parking spot and as we were getting out of the car and wondering how to get to the Japanese Garden a woman parking near us noticed our confusion and asked if we were looking for the Rose Garden, since she was a guide there. We told her that we were actually going to the Japanese Garden, and she offered to show us the way. We chatted along the way and she told us that her tour started at 1:00. Once we arrived at the Rose Garden, she pointed us toward the Japanese Garden and went on her way. She was so helpful that we decided to wait around for 20 minutes and go on her tour instead. Neither of us are into gardening, but the tour was excellent. After it was over, we were too hot to go on to the Japanese Garden. Instead we drove up to the Pittock Mansion. The self guided tour was nice and the views were really pretty from up there.
For dinner we had reservations at Mother's Bistro. We really enjoyed our meals here. I had the chicken fried chicken, which was really like my mom used to make. The salted caramel cheesecake was one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had.
Jul 13th, 2015, 04:16 PM
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Sunday:
We did the Mt. Hood loop this day. We left around 8:00 and stopped at many of the waterfalls. Parking was difficult at Multnomah Falls, but that was the only place we had a problem. We also stopped at Bonneville Lock and Dam to see the fish ladders, which was fun. We had lunch in Cascade Locks at Char Burger. Friendly service (order at the counter and they bring it out) and reasonably good food. View over the river was nice. Continued on up to Timberline Lodge, where we had a cheese plate. Wish we'd been there at dinner hour!
We did the Mt. Hood loop this day. We left around 8:00 and stopped at many of the waterfalls. Parking was difficult at Multnomah Falls, but that was the only place we had a problem. We also stopped at Bonneville Lock and Dam to see the fish ladders, which was fun. We had lunch in Cascade Locks at Char Burger. Friendly service (order at the counter and they bring it out) and reasonably good food. View over the river was nice. Continued on up to Timberline Lodge, where we had a cheese plate. Wish we'd been there at dinner hour!
Jul 13th, 2015, 04:35 PM
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A few additional notes about Portland:
We stopped in at Killer Burger for cool drinks on Saturday and ended up ordering fries which were excellent. A huge portion for only $3.
Voodoo donuts was only a block from us, but we never got there. I'm lukewarm on donuts and the line was always much longer than we were willing to stand in given the heat.
I was warned that there are a lot of homeless people in Portland, but I wasn't too concerned since I work in a downtown area where there are always homeless people around. But it's at a whole different level in Portland, the numbers are far greater. I wouldn't say that I felt unsafe exactly, but a bit uneasy at times.
Monday:
We headed out to Cannon Beach with a stop at Astoria on the way. We visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum which was something that I knew my husband would enjoy. We spent several hours there, it was quite well presented. Then we went to Fort Clatsop, which we both liked. In Cannon Beach we stayed at the Hallmark Resort. We were very pleased with this hotel. We had an oceanfront queen room and the views were fabulous. We really enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching the waves. At low tide it was fun to get close to Haystack Rock and check out the tide pools. The hotel also had warm chocolate chips cookies every afternoon. It was less than a mile from the shops, and many of the houses along the way had beautiful flowers in their front gardens.
We had no particularly good meals here, the best was probably breakfast at Pig N Pancake. Dinner at the Driftwood Restaurant was mediocre, pizza from Fultano's wasn't great.The crepes from Crepe neptune were yummy though, but hard to eat.
We stopped in at Killer Burger for cool drinks on Saturday and ended up ordering fries which were excellent. A huge portion for only $3.
Voodoo donuts was only a block from us, but we never got there. I'm lukewarm on donuts and the line was always much longer than we were willing to stand in given the heat.
I was warned that there are a lot of homeless people in Portland, but I wasn't too concerned since I work in a downtown area where there are always homeless people around. But it's at a whole different level in Portland, the numbers are far greater. I wouldn't say that I felt unsafe exactly, but a bit uneasy at times.
Monday:
We headed out to Cannon Beach with a stop at Astoria on the way. We visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum which was something that I knew my husband would enjoy. We spent several hours there, it was quite well presented. Then we went to Fort Clatsop, which we both liked. In Cannon Beach we stayed at the Hallmark Resort. We were very pleased with this hotel. We had an oceanfront queen room and the views were fabulous. We really enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching the waves. At low tide it was fun to get close to Haystack Rock and check out the tide pools. The hotel also had warm chocolate chips cookies every afternoon. It was less than a mile from the shops, and many of the houses along the way had beautiful flowers in their front gardens.
We had no particularly good meals here, the best was probably breakfast at Pig N Pancake. Dinner at the Driftwood Restaurant was mediocre, pizza from Fultano's wasn't great.The crepes from Crepe neptune were yummy though, but hard to eat.
Jul 13th, 2015, 04:44 PM
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Wednesday:
We left Cannon Beach and headed south. First stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory, where we got samples and had grilled cheese sandwiches followed by ice cream for lunch. Then we drove the Three Capes loop, which was beautiful. Lots of stops for photos! We were a bit confused when our GPS directed us into what seemed to be the parking lot of the Pelican Pub when we were looking for Cape Kiwanda. Just drive on through the parking lot and you can park right on the beach.
Our next 2 nights were in Yachats. We stayed at the Overleaf, which had beautiful ocean views with dramatic waves over the rocks. We had a room with a jacuzzi, which unfortunately didn't work at all the first night. After a repair, the next night it worked for 30 seconds at a time and we had to keep pushing the start button again. But they gave us a rate reduction, so I can't complain too much. The room was huge and gorgeous and we saw whales from our balcony. We were unimpressed with Yachats, when we walked into town we felt like there wasn't much there. We had stopped in Newport on our way to Yachats and I think we might have preferred staying there.
We left Cannon Beach and headed south. First stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory, where we got samples and had grilled cheese sandwiches followed by ice cream for lunch. Then we drove the Three Capes loop, which was beautiful. Lots of stops for photos! We were a bit confused when our GPS directed us into what seemed to be the parking lot of the Pelican Pub when we were looking for Cape Kiwanda. Just drive on through the parking lot and you can park right on the beach.
Our next 2 nights were in Yachats. We stayed at the Overleaf, which had beautiful ocean views with dramatic waves over the rocks. We had a room with a jacuzzi, which unfortunately didn't work at all the first night. After a repair, the next night it worked for 30 seconds at a time and we had to keep pushing the start button again. But they gave us a rate reduction, so I can't complain too much. The room was huge and gorgeous and we saw whales from our balcony. We were unimpressed with Yachats, when we walked into town we felt like there wasn't much there. We had stopped in Newport on our way to Yachats and I think we might have preferred staying there.
Jul 13th, 2015, 04:49 PM
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Friday:
We spent the day making our way back up to Portland. I always like to visit state capitols, so we stopped in Salem and did a tour of the capitol. We also walked around the campus of Willamette University, which was right across the street. Pretty campus!
Since our flight home was at 7 am on Saturday, we stayed at the airport Friday night. Unfortunately we chose the Sheraton, which turned out to be a dump. Small room, stained carpets, dinged up furniture, little noise insulation, very dated. The bedroom and the bathroom were clean at least or I wouldn't have stayed. Very disappointing.
We spent the day making our way back up to Portland. I always like to visit state capitols, so we stopped in Salem and did a tour of the capitol. We also walked around the campus of Willamette University, which was right across the street. Pretty campus!
Since our flight home was at 7 am on Saturday, we stayed at the airport Friday night. Unfortunately we chose the Sheraton, which turned out to be a dump. Small room, stained carpets, dinged up furniture, little noise insulation, very dated. The bedroom and the bathroom were clean at least or I wouldn't have stayed. Very disappointing.
Jul 13th, 2015, 04:51 PM
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We really enjoyed Oregon! The coast was so beautiful. We had never stayed on the ocean before, so watching the tide was fun for us.
I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thanks for reading!
I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thanks for reading!
Jul 14th, 2015, 06:21 AM
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Glad you enjoyed your time here! Yes, we were having a long heat wave during this time. It just broke a day or two ago, whew, lol!
Pittock Mansion is wonderful, but yes, you would have enjoyed the shade of the Japanese Gardens.
Don't worry about VooDoo Donuts, you didn't miss anything. I don't get the hype over it.
Cannon Beach does have some good restaurants, but yeah the ones you mentioned are are not them. Come back and we can make recommendations for you
Did you hike up to the top of the dune at Cape Kiwanda? Fantastic views from up there!
Pittock Mansion is wonderful, but yes, you would have enjoyed the shade of the Japanese Gardens.
Don't worry about VooDoo Donuts, you didn't miss anything. I don't get the hype over it.
Cannon Beach does have some good restaurants, but yeah the ones you mentioned are are not them. Come back and we can make recommendations for you
Did you hike up to the top of the dune at Cape Kiwanda? Fantastic views from up there!
