P_M does Portland--gardens, beaches, waterfalls, and best of all: meeting Scarlett and Pup!! :-)
 

Hello all!!

DAY 1--Gardens and haunted pizza
DAY 2--Beaches and Lighthouse
DAY 3--Waterfalls, Scarlett and Pup

DAY 1
As some of you know, my pal V and I had a girl's weekend in Portland, OR. We chose Portland because we had heard so many nice things about it, also we wanted to escape this miserable heat in Texas. We flew up there on Saturday and arrived around noon. The fun started the minute we stepped out of the airport terminal and felt that cool blast of Pacific NW air. It was so refreshing, as we knew that we weren't in Texas anymore!! And being away from TX is always a good thing in the summer.

We took the red line into the city. As we were on the train we noticed how hip, ecclectic, and funky Portland is. This is good because Austin is the same and that's what I like about it. We exited the train and started making our way to the Mark Spencer hotel. Along the way we passed a Lebanese restaurant called Habibi. We had never had Lebanese food before and decided to come back for lunch after checking into the hotel. We did just that and the food was SOOO good!! I am now planning to seek out Lebanese places in Austin. :-)

From there we took the train to the Japanese Gardens and the Rose Garden. While meandering around the Japanese Gardens, I kept thinking this is a place where you want to get lost and never find your way back. It was not just beautiful, but peaceful and serene.

Next we visited the Rose Garden which was completely different but equally fine. The sign said there were over 200 species of roses growing in the gardens. Silly me, I thought there were just a few species of roses--red, yellow, pink, you get the idea. But we saw a zillion roses of many colors, including purple!! Some roses had a very different scent. I found one group of rosebushes that smelled more like fruit. All of those roses were like a big dose of candy for both the eyes and the nose. ((f))

We made our way back to Portland and went to Old Town Pizza on the recommendation of Rachel Ray. According to Rachel, this pizzaria is known to be haunted. It even said so in the brochure we got at the hotel, so we were sure that we would have a paranormal experience over pizza. :-O The pizza was outta this world but we were most disappointed not to see a spook with our meal. Talk about false advertising!! >:O

By the end of the day we were very tired and made it an early night. So that's about it for day one, stay tuned for DAY 2's adventure!!

Can't wait, P M!

We escaped the heat on our trip to....Phoenix last week! Yes, Phoenix! It was cooler than "home" for most of us!

Looking forward to the rest of your report, especially Scarlett and the gorgeous pup!

Hello darlin. :) what fun to see my name in your trip report!
You put it so well, the Japanese Gardens are indeed, magical and how nice it would be to just stay there..you have to come back in the fall! The colors will amaze you.
Can't wait to read about Day 3 ~lol~

More Please!

Scarlett, aren't you involved with the Japanese Gardens in some way?

Oh good P_M, the start of your Portland trip report!! BTW, a Happy Birthday wish to your husband..I am so sorry you have to work this weekend, what a bummer. Now carry on with about your time in Portland..and OMG, isn't the Portland Rose Garden spectacular!

Oh, I'm so glad you decided to write a report, P_M! I love gardens, especially rose gardens -- sounds wonderful! ((f))

I look forward to reading more... :)

Sounds like a good trip so far! You could have gone to Mama Mia's for a haunted experience as well. Now see, there is another reason to return:)

Oh Scarlett, I would love to come back in the fall, but I am already obligated to take this pesky trip to Hawaii.

:-))

DAY 2
We awoke early as our brains were still in the Central time zone. We had breakfast at the hotel (included in the price) and decided to rent a car and drive to Canon Beach, on the recommendation of many Fodorites. When we arrived it was gloomy, overcast and drizzle was blowing right into our faces. :-( But we decided a rainy day at Canon Beach beats a 100° day in Texas anytime. We parked the car and started walking toward Haystack Rock. The tide was out so we could see that we would walk right up to the rock. As we walked in the cold drizzle, we had no idea what a treat we were in for.

It was quite a long walk to the rock, but right when we reached it, the clouds parted, the sun came out, and suddenly it was another glorious day in Oregon!! B-) We came up to the rock and saw dozens, if not hundreds of pink and orange starfish on the rock. I thought at first they were all dead, as I didn't know that starfish could live outside the water. As we were looking at the starfish a very nice lady explained that the starfish were alive and they were quitely eating mussels off the rock. She went on to say that when the tide comes back in, the starfish will return to the water. We walked all around the rock and saw more and more starfish and other sea creatures. It was so much fun, and so unlike the Texas beaches.

We walked back toward the town and found a restaurant called the Wayfarer. I'm not a huge fan of spinach salad but I ordered one anyway and it was fantastic. V had some type of southwestern dish which was also very good. The people at the table next to us had eggs Benedict made of crab cakes. It looked so good I was tempted to yell "fire!!" just for the sake of sneaking a bite as they ran screaming out the door. But I held back. :S The restaurant had a beautiful view of Haystack Rock and we were fortunate enough to get a table by the window.

From there we drove up the coast though Astoria then crossed the big bridge into WA state. We drove along a penninsula and found the North Head Lighthouse. V and I have seen lighthouses on the TX coast but we had never gone inside one. We climbed the steps up to the top of the lighthouse and there was a magnificent view. A volunteer was at the top of the lighthouse and gave us some good info on the demands of being a lighthouse keeper before the days of electricity.

This was yet another fine day weatherwise, but we learned later that Portland wasn't so fortunate. So I'm glad we took this day trip outside the city. :-)

We came back to Portland and had dinner at Jake's Famous Crawfish, which was just around the corner from the hotel. We put our names on the waiting list for a table and went to the bar to get drinks. The bar was quite noisy so we took our drinks outside. The wait for a table was very long, but we didn't care because it was such a nice evening to be outside. Also the people-watching just outside of Jakes was quite a show.

When we finally got seated and got our food, I had a fish called Ono. This was new to me, as the only Ono I had ever heard of before was Yoko Ono. But this fish was very good, and I LOVED the marinate in guava juice. V had stuffed salmon which was also superb.

Another early night--we never did adjust to West Coast time. :-)

Coming next--Scarlett ;;) and Pup ((&))

"the only Ono I had ever heard of before was Yoko Ono" :D

What happened with the weather in Portland, P_M? (forgive me, I sometimes live under a rock and don't follow the news)

What a great trip report, P_M! I've always wanted to visit Portland... Scarlett and the Pup! Look forward to reading more of your report. :-)

P_M when you get to Hawaii, Ono is one of the more popular fish so you will have not problem finding it here.

disclaimer--in re-reading my post above, I didn't mean to suggest TX beaches are not fun, they are just completely different from what we saw in the Pacific NW. I hope I haven't offended any of my fellow Texans. :-)

DAY 3
Another sunny, fine day in Oregon. Again we awoke early and headed for the Columbia Gorge. We stopped first at the Vista House. It was only 8am and they do not open until 8:30. However we needed to visit a ladies' room so badly we sweet-talked the security guard into letting us in just for that purpose. :-)) We came out and we were going to leave when a busload of German tourists pulled up. The guard saw the bus and told us we could stay, as they would have to open early. We went to the observation deck and the views were incredible.

We then took the little highway that goes past all of the falls. Some of the falls were visible from the parking lot, but some required a hike. When we reached Multnomah, the granddady of all of the falls, we decided to hike to the top of this 600 foot waterfall. Mind you, this is after doing some other hikes at the falls we saw earlier. Anyhoo, the trail was really steep but we kept pluggin' until we reached the top. Once we got to the top we were hurting all over and looked like horrible, sweaty pigs. :@) But it was worth it for the view from the top and we were quite proud of ourselves!!

Our original plan for the day was to make the loop from the gorge back to Portland. However due to road construction, the road ended there. We were kinda OK with that because we were dead tired and decided to head back into Portland for our last afternoon in town.

By the time we got back into Portland it was almost 3pm and we still hadn't had lunch yet. During our stay in Portland I had talked to Scarlett a few times to try to arrange a meeting, but nothing had panned out yet. We found at an outdoor seat at Manzana's Rotisserie and I immediately called Scarlett in the hope she could join us. She wasn't home but I left a message to tell her where we were and to please drop by if she can. At this point I felt a little sad, thinking that meeting Scarlett just wouldn't happen.

V and I had our lunch and we were about to order dessert when it finally happened. I looked across the street and saw a beautiful woman with a beautiful dog and I knew it had to be Scarlett and Pup!! So here I was, looking like a sweaty pig from climbing the falls, and suddenly I was in the company of Fodor's royalty. :-o Even Pup was cleaner and better groomed than we were that afternoon. :-[ I must say that Pup is a very well-behaved dog.

Scarlett sat with us and we had a lovely visit. I don't have to tell you all that she is very sweet and charming. We talked about all sorts of things, and I'm sure there was a collective burning of the ears in the Fodor's community. After she left, V said Scarlett is a very classy lady. But we Fodorites already know that, even if you've only met her in cyberspace.

We then walked to the Chinese Gardens and spent a little time there. The Chinese Gardens are nice and I still recommend it, but they don't compare with the Japanese Gardens. But that's OK, I'm still glad we went.

At this point we were dead tired and knew we both had 6am flights to catch the next moring so we went to the airport hotel we had reserved for our last night in town. We were so sore from hiking, we just hung out in the room and watched TV. But sometimes that's fun too.

Thank you all for reading, and a special thanks to Scarlett and all of the other Fodorites who helped plan this trip.

Thank you all for your nice comments. :-)

stw, I doubt Portland's weather was newsworthy, but from what I was told it was a rainy day in the city. So I'm glad we were on the coast enjoying the sunshine.

Ono in Hawaii--yippee!! :-D

Great trip report, P_M! Sounds like it was a wonderful trip. Too bad you didn't see that ghost though. You could've posted on my "travel and the paranormal" thread of a couple of weeks ago! :-d

I enjoyed that thread, but unfortunately I had nothing to add as I never see ghosts. I think ghosts don't like me. :-(

Maybe that's good. :-?

What a wonderful weekend. I love reading the Oregon reports. I was born in Salem and my grandparents lived in Portland. Spent lots of time there and they were always taking us places. Haystack Rock...I had totally forgotten about that. Oregon beaches are just great for kids. The rocks and tidepools have so many little creatures in them. I must get back there..I think it's been about 40 years since I was back to Oregon. I am sorry to have to say, my dog is not nearly as well behaved as Pup.

What a lovely report!

Isn't pup handsome? I've only seen photos but he is a very regal pup!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us, PM! I keep telling my DH that we need to plan a trip to the PNW one day. I'm glad you got to meet Scarlett and Pup too! :D

The Wayfarer is one of our usual stops in Cannon Beach.

Did you stop at the Portland Womens Forum, before the Vista House?

I love the walk to the top of M. Falls.

I already knew how the meeting went with Scarlett;)

It is always fun to see our area through the eyes of a visitor. Thanks:)

PM, I'm so glad that you enjoyed North Head Lighthouse! My family had a house in Seaview just north of there when I was growing up, and we four kids spent lots of time up there. Did you know there are still gun emplacements from WWI and II up there? We used to go hiking and climbing around them. Ah, good times. ;-)

Sounds like our trip was just the break you needed.

Ha! "our trip" - Freudian slip! "your trip" is of course what I meant; I think I must need a break.

Thank you all once again. It was indeed a lovely trip.

mms, I missed the Women's Forum, but there's yet another reason to return to your lovely city.

dsquared, so you're "V" ?? :D

If dsquared is V, I'm learning this for the first time. :-o

I should go to sleep, lol. :)

Aww, P_M, thank you!! you are too kind..<i>I forgot where to send the check and you only had to say beautiful once! </i>
And thanks,Pup is a Good Boy ..

And don't believe P_M when she says she and V looked bad, they looked great and even smelled good ~lol~

Starrs, the Japanese Gardens uses my photographs.

Great trip report, P_M! I really enjoyed reading it and all the other posts here, too. You described Scarlett just as I envisioned her to be, and I also have always thought you must be one classy lady, too. I am so looking forward to my first Fodorite &quot;meetings&quot; soon in Hawaii. :)

P__M Hey, welcome home! It sounds as though your trip to the GREAT PacNW was a total blast! Fun, interesting, COOLER, and all-around awesome! I am from Oregon (10 yrs. now--originally a So.CA girl)&amp; I must say that while I certainly miss pieces of So. CA, the Pacific NorthWest is SO totally incredible! So, the hubby &amp; I are headed out in a week for 23 days of Island lust (one can only hope!) 15 days on the BI &amp; 8 days on Oahu! I am quite delirious about the prospects!!:&gt;)
But, actually, my ??? to you is... you said you stayed near PDX, right? What hotel? pros/cons Just curious, I am not too familiar w/ Portland area &amp; we will be taking the Amtrak up to the city early the day before, hoping to get a head start on the whole VACATIONING VIBE! Thanks. BTW-- Scarlett, you &amp; your dog, PUP rock!

OK, just read my post, it sounds too silly, going to HAWAII for 23 days &amp; asking about PORTLAND. But, plans are already in place for Hawaii---trying to tie up lose ends here. But, hey, fodorites.... the PACIFIC NorhtWest is truly so amazing, you MUST experience it! Happy &amp; safe travels!

If &quot;V&quot; stands for vivid, vivacious, valuable, vibrant, victorious, venturesome, versatile, vegetarian volunteer, then yes.

If it stands for vacuous, vain, vague, verbose, vulgar, virulent vampire, then no.

You got to meet Scarlett AND the Pup AND get to go to Hawaii????????

Great report! Thanks for sharing!

What a great trip P_M, and a wonderful break from the weather here. I am sooo jealous. Glad you got to meet Ms Scarlett and Pup too. What fun! I think we all eagerly awaited your day 3 report! :D

Thanks for sharing, PM!! I'm so glad you got to hang w/the Empress of Fodors and her classy canine, but where was the Yankee :D

P_M, glad you had fun beating the heat for awhile. Thanx for the report.

Scarlett, DW and I love gardens. Here in St Loo, our Botanical Garden with its Japanese Garden is first rate and the jewel of the city. Are your photos of the Portland Japanese Garden available for online viewing? Love to see them!!

What a lovely time P_M! Thank you for sharing it with us. Oregon is beautiful, isn't it?!? I have always said it is one of our secret treasures, as is Scarlett.

So happy you had a pleasant journey, Tiff

Hello all, and thanks once again for all of your kind words. This has been a VERY busy weekend, but I will try to get some pics on line in the next week or so. I will post a link from this thread, so please, stay tuned.... :-d

My photos are used by the Gardens in their brochures etc..The Classical Chinese Gardens uses my photos too :) and those can be used by others..as long as I get photo credit.
P_M, can't wait to see the pics..I know we are not in any of them LOL

Testing:

http://tinyurl.com/zqrvn

Sob, I clicked on the website Scarlett and it said entry was forbidden. Now really, how rude!!!!