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Oregon trip report--Portland and north coast

We visited Oregon from Aug. 29 to Sept. 19. We stayed with family in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland and took a six-day and a two-day trip to the northern coast.

Portland
We found the transit system to be pretty easy to use (once we received instructions from my SIL who is an expert).
sightseeing--
We greatly enjoyed the Chinese and the Japanese Gardens. The two are quite different but both quite beautiful and serene. If I lived in Portland I would want to go to both gardens at least once a week. We also enjoyed the Farmer’s Market (in the Park Blocks downtown) on Saturday--there was quite a variety of produce and prepared foods, with almost all the booths offering free samples. We bought cheese and jam, and ate lunch there. We went to the Art Museum mainly to see the exhibit of paintings from Brescia from the Renaissance, which we really enjoyed. We did not allow ourselves enough time to see all of the exhibits like we should have, but we did see some of the ancient Chinese pieces, and the Japanese prints. The Oregon museum of Science and Industry was fun, especially with our 6-year old nephew, but it would be fun for unaccompanied adults too I think. I was fascinated by the piece of aerogel on display (least dense solid on earth, looks like frozen smoke). All of these sites were memorable and will be on my to-do list for future visits.
We spent a couple of hours at the Powell’s Books main store downtown, which was wonderful and overwhelming, and the staff were extremely helpful. Since I have had to train myself to use the library rather than buying books, Powell’s is a dangerous place for me! We did spend about $70.
We did not enjoy the Saturday Market in Old Town. We saw a few booths selling items that I would consider art or true craft items, but the majority were selling t-shirts with sayings on them, incense, etc.
restaurants--
We did not go to many restaurants in Portland, as we cooked and ate at home. On my birthday, we went to Todai since they give you a free meal on your birthday. It is a buffet with a huge variety of food and of course we all ate too much. My favorites were the seaweed salad, watercress salad, tempura rolls, and shrimp tempura. We tried several desserts, and decided the creme brulee was the best. The variety was almost overwhelming and some items did not go together well, like the giant stuffed shrimp--they were good, but clashed with the Japanese dishes. I don’t know if I would go back there since it costs $23.95 per person, but I’m glad we did go there once, and it is a good value if one person in the group gets a free meal. If I were to return, I would try to only eat Japanese dishes. :-)
We also ate at Saburo Sushi, in Sellwood. My SILs ordered several kinds of sushi, which they said was very good. I had shrimp tempura, which was very good and the shrimp were quite large, so I was able to share. My DH had ginger pork which he enjoyed. The chicken teriyaki was reported to be good also. We got there just as it was opening, as apparently there is usually a wait later in the evening.
One fun, casual meal we had was at Mike’s Drive-In in Oregon City. It still has the feel of a drive-in, with picnic tables under a covered area. The waitress brought our food out to us in plastic baskets. My DH and DB had burgers, which they said were very good. I had a combo of halibut and clams, which was excellent--the clams were very tender and all was perfectly cooked (fried). Blackberry milkshake was also delicious. We also ate at the Mike’s in Sellwood which was not quite as good. One of their specialities is a hamburger with a fried egg and bacon, which is said to be quite good, so if you are hungry for that, here is your chance. ;-)
After visiting the Chinese Garden, we ate at Fong Chong, a dim sum restaurant a couple of blocks away. We had a little difficulty ordering because of the language barrier, but the food was very good. My favorite was the spinach and shrimp balls, the shrimp balls, and the sticky rice with ground pork (or chicken?) in a leaf---I have no idea what the actual names of these dishes were. Cost was about $28 for two, but we did order more than we were able to eat.
We ate lunch at the small cafe at the Art Museum. The space itself was quite pleasant--I liked the colors of the decor. We had pretty good sandwiches for about $8 apiece.

We spent a day driving to the Columbia Gorge, and saw Latourelle, Wakeenha, and Multnomah falls, all very impressive. The view from the Women’s Forum overlook was grand, and Vista House also had great views, but was amazingly windy--one of the staff told us it was the windiest day in three months. I couldn’t take any photos as i couldn’t hold the camera still. At the fish hatchery near Bonneville Dam we saw huge sturgeon and very large trout--more interesting than I would have thought it would be.

Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area is located off Hwy 26 between Portland and the coast, and we made a stop there at dusk. We saw a herd of over 40 elk. Several had antlers that appeared to be 3 or 4 feet long. The mating season was beginning, so they were starting to “bugle”. It’s a bit of a drive off the highway, but I would recommend it if you are interested in seeing elk. Info at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wildlifea...ellmeodows.htm
I called ahead to ask about the likelihood of seeing elk, and was told that they can usually be seen in the open in early morning until about 9-9:30, and at dusk, or during the day if it is overcast and rainy.

Part 2--the coast

We went to Seaside Sept. 8-10 for the Wheels and Waves car show. (In 2001 we spent several days in Cannon Beach and stumbled across this annual car show, which Mr Aloha enjoyed immensely. So we decided to time this trip to include the show again.) We stayed at Hillcrest Inn which is a block from the beach and has a small, pretty lawn with picnic tables and a grill. We had a spa room. There was not much extra floor space, but the 2-person jetted tub was very nice. We had one maintenance problem, which was taken care of immediately; the staff were very nice. Everything in our room was well-maintained. The towels were especially nice, large and fluffy. We had a microwave, coffee maker, and small refrigerator. The website shows the layout of the rooms, which was helpful. My only complaint is that the 2 straight chairs were not comfortable at all. The room was $115 a night. I would stay here again.
We ate a good meal at Dooger’s and at Pudgy’s. At Lil Bayou we had the fried catfish (very good) and the ribeye (good) but we felt both dishes had too much sauce. We had two really good meals at Sam’s Seaside Cafe, where I especially liked the coconut shrimp. The best meal I had in Seaside was at Tora, where I had seaweed salad, softshell crab, and udon; the service was excellent.
I like the downtown area of Seaside and enjoyed looking in the shops. Beach Books had a thoughtful selection of books, and when I asked for a novel set in the area, the salesperson made several suggestions. I bought “the Highest Tide” by Jim Lynch and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Walking on the beach and on the Promenade provided great views of the ocean and the pretty residential areas of Seaside.

We stayed 2 nights at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda, which was just about perfect. The furnishings were quite comfortable and the room was well-designed. Cost was $135 a night. The ocean view and view of the cape itself was very good, but you are overlooking the parking lot for the recreation area and the Pelican Pub. While eating breakfast and looking out from the balcony, I saw something spouting in the water, and this turned out to be whales just off shore. We were able with binoculars to see their backs when they surfaced, and watched them for several hours. We also saw a couple of seals on the rocks. A new inn/spa is being built on the beach side of the road, which I’m sure will be a nice place to stay, but it did seem to be awfully close to the dune.
Dinner at the Pelican Pub was very good. We had gumbo and a Mediterrean pizza, the beer sampler, and a Summer Surfer and Kiwanda Cream Ale. Next door to the Inn is a nice convenience store with a good selection of groceries, beer, etc., and they had very good deli sandwiches there for about $5.
We drove the Three Capes Loop and stopped at a number of viewpoints. The most memorable was Anderson’s viewpoint, a vertigo-inducing (for me) view up miles of coastline. This spot was pointed out in “Oregon coastal Access Guide” by Kenn Oberrecht, one of our Powell’s purchases.
The Tillamook air Museum was a worthwhile stop. In addition to the planes and military exhibits, the building itself is awesomely huge.

We returned to the coast for one night at the Sunset Surf in Manzanita. At this point, we were 4 adults and 1 child, so we had a “combo” room-- 2 connecting rooms. Each room had a queen bed and a full bath. The back room was quite small and did not even have a chair. The front room was at least twice as large and had a fireplace, kitchenette, sofa, and table and chairs. The rooms were very clean and comfortable, but the furnishings seemed a little tired. We were on the second floor in the Budd bldg, on the corner, so we had a wraparound ocean view and a balcony. With Neahkanie Mtn. just north as a backdrop, the ocean view here was really pretty. The motel is set just a few feet off the street, which runs along the beach, so there was essentially nothing between us and the beach. I would return here for the view alone. The combo room was $155 a night; this was just about the only place I found that did not have a 2-night minimum.
In Manzanita, we ate at Marzano’s Pizza which was excellent, and at the Big Wave and the coffee shop next to Marzano’s, which were good.
We stopped at Cannon Beach and walked out to look at Haystack Rock, and at Ecola Point to see that classic view of Cannon Beach. We made a stop at Nehalem Bay and walked on the beach among huge driftwood. We spent the most time at Oswald West and enjoyed the walk through the forest and the wild feeling of the beach.

Wow!! You saw a lot!
I live nearest the Chinese Gardens and I do agree, they are both so beautiful in their own way..although the Japanese Gardens are my favorites. I am thinking of volunteering there, just to be there more often :)
I love the way you saw things and experienced the city, I think you got a lot out of your visit doing it that way, picnics and all.
I have wondered about Todai, thanks for the review, we see it packed on some days, when we are going to the movie theatre upstairs.
So glad you enjoyed the visit, hurry back :)

Thanks, Scarlett, we did enjoy the trip. I just enjoyed walking around in Pioneer Place; it would be fun to go to a movie there.

I left out one of the most important things we did: lunch at Pig and Pancake in Cannon Beach, my nephew's favorite restaurant. I bought him one of the little stuffed pigs eating some pancakes--a highlight for both of us!

Great report...thanks! I have to say that I love your format and how you put the restaurants, markets, etc. in bold. It really makes it easy to reference.

Thanks again. I can't wait to visit Portland!

Thanks, AustinTraveler, I'm glad you liked it. My typing skills are pretty bad, so it took me a while to get it written.

Wow Aloha, great report. We enjoyed spending the majority of the summer in Seaside in our cozy little beach cottage. :)

Sam's Seaside Cafe is just a quick bike ride away, we have enjoyed several casual meals there. Great prices too for the quality of the food. The prom is really cool, love the views of Tillamook Head from there.

Glad you enjoyed the Air Museum in Tillamook, it's very educational and interesting. ***kim*** ((f))

Across the street from the Pig and Pancake is Girtle's seafood restaurant. Maybe you will give them a try on a future trip.

Your report was wonderful!

I have just figured out how to upload photos to WorldisRound, so if you would like to see the 3 hotels in my report, my photos are here http://www.worldisround.com/articles/324970/index.html
These are from the outside; I never think about photographing the inside of the room until I have unpacked and messed it up, lol.
There are a few shots of scenery also, the 2 gardens, and a few coastal shots, as well as one of the elk.

One of the best ways to see Portland is with a local in tow! I have lived here for over 30 years and I LOVE taking visitors around the city!

One thing that I should clarify for you about the saturday Market is one section is all junk but in the other section it is required that all the booths are manned my local artisans. Sounds like you may have been in the wrong section. Too bad as there are some very interesting and beautiful things made by the artisans.

Did you climb the dune at Cape Kiwanda? The view from the top is spectacular and you will often find hang gliders off the east side of the dune and surfers out in the water.

The Pelican has some great beers and an amazing assiago encrusted veggie sandwich! Yummy!

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

(I know I am posting this late but it just appeared at the top again).

We recently returned from 10 days in the Pacific Northwest, the Japanese Gardens in Portland were gorgeous! The Sellwood area was also very interesting and pretty, we enjoyed shopping for antiques there. ***kim*** ((f))

kim, why don't you post a trip report?
Since this post is from 8 months ago, more people might notice your report on your week in Oregon.
Did you go anywhere new this time?