:-? Hmmmm...Polish pate?

Kal: are you familiar with Oregon? Coos Bay is more "the land of the lumberjacks." Lots of sawdust and mills there! ***kim***

mms, I sent away for and have a Portland Visitors Guide which is full of great info and articles about the different neighborhoods.
I am so looking forward to this trip!

OOH yes Scarlett-you can come to the Wine-O get togethers in Yountville(CA). It was great fun last year and hopefully we'll all gather again this year(the day after Thanksgiving for anyone who is interested).

http://www.portlandtaiko.org/press/a...deo/index.html

click on the music clips..Turn UP your sound!

Is this cool or what?? we are going Friday night the 24th :)

I love taiko, and it's even more fun to see than just to hear.

Marilyn, my son just returned from a weekend spent on the island where the Kodo/Taiko drummers live and work. He saw concerts every night!
Aside from Mystere, I have never really seen them perform, but we are really excited about seeing this.
Then we will see the Lyon Ballet..nice variety, no? :)

Scarlett, you are going to have a wonderful time in my beautiful state! Yes, it's sprinkling "liquid sunshine" right now but it's supposed to be 75 by Friday with more summer weather behind it. I didn't notice the prevailing gray skies of fall,winter, & spring until a Californian friend moved here and kept commenting. If it's light outside...well, that's sunshine here! Love the temperate climate!

A drive up the Columbia Gorge is a great day. Having grown up here it has lost some of the mystery but when friends come to visit they ooh & ahh all the way through. Along the way you can stop at Bridal Veil & Multnomah Falls. Don't miss Vista House...sits on a bluff and the view is amazing. We have risen early many times to catch the sunrise from there.

Enjoy Oregon!

Thank you starr! I am so ready for this trip. I would love some liquid sunshine, I am tired of the heat.
Are Mosquitos a problem in Portland or are they ALL here ?
I will not even bring an umbrella! ((#))

Scarlett, you are in luck! VERY few mosquitos here:) The only ones we have seen have been when we were backpacking and you didn't mention you were doing that on this trip, so you should be safe, lol! You will look like a local without an umbrella too:) We have had heavy rains for a few days and I am in heaven...yes, this is my favorite weather, lol!

Scarlett, I'm delighted to discover that you will be visiting my hometown. McLaurie's friend is right....it's the gray that gets to you. It doesn't rain all the time, it just *looks* like it's going to (and people wonder why I'm so at home visiting England.) If there is some rain (and right now, there is!!!), you'll want to a few indoors things to do. The locals will usually recommend Powell's Bookstore (hope I haven't stated the obvious.) I'm glad you're seeing some theatrical offerings while you're here. The performing arts center offers free tours of the PCPA on Wednesday and Saturday. You can find out more at www.pcpa.com Oh, someone mentioned the "tree museum". I think they mean the Forest Discovery Center. It's up near the Zoo. That whole corner of Portland has a lot of choice--the forestry center, the zoo, the Vietnam Memorial, the Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, and Hoyt Arboretum. Downtown, there's also the Chinese Classical Garden. I like walking over on the Eastbank Esplanade. Riverplace is also a nice place to stroll, and Newport Bay Restaurant is right on the water. You should find downtown Portland quite navigable. Our blocks are half the size of most American cities, making it very walkable. And while we often have rain, September is generally a warm month here. Enjoy your trip!

Why would she want to look like a local when she's a tourist from back east? LOL It's been raining on the coast this week and could be very well be raining the end of the month.

Scarlett, bring a lightweight raincoat and don't be afraid to look like a tourist, you are one!! There's a great shop in Astoria that I love called, Let It Rain which carries all kinds of trendy umbrellas as well as raincoats. It just depends on what you're comfortable with.

I wonder if the bronze statue of the guy with the umbrella is a tourist? LOL ***kim***

mms! Thank you, I am SO glad to hear about the mosquitos .. no, we will not be hiking on this trip.

Merseyheart, I thought of that too, I love England so and the rain there never bothers me, so might this be the same? I hear all that damp is good for the complexion~

kim,
Sort of a good luck thing, if I don't bring an umbrella, it might not rain.
And besides, I don't carry an umbrella at home either.
I love that statue of the gentleman and his umbrella:)

If you're planning on moving to the PNW, you might want to purchase a rain jacket, especially in the next few months. Odds are pretty good you'll see water from the sky! I enjoy the rain, it's refreshing. ***kim*** :)

If we should decide to move to Portland, I will be sure to buy appropriate clothing...any excuse to shop :D

I have just added another Must Do to our visit to Portland. Thank you C!
Has anyone been here? Did ya love it?

http://www.kcts.org/productions/curr...fume/index.asp

Scarlett, yes, actually I have been here. I went there once to find a scent made by Christian Dior called Diorella. (For years, the only place I could get it was London.) Alas, they did not have it. But you'll like the ambience. It reminded me of 1950's films set in New York City. It's over in the Hawthorne District, easy to find. Enjoy!

I love the Pacific NW and would love to move there some day. What we hope to do is travel to different placesat different times of the year to make sure that's where we want to go.

Weather.com has average temps and rainfalls for most cities in the US. The one for Portland is here: http://www.weather.com/weather/clima...nthly/USOR0275

Scarlett:
You're going to have a wonderful time. Mostly I have driven through Portland, the Gorge and so forth on the way from New Mexico to Seattle where family are. The rain is refreshing and there is nothing like a good rain up in that area. Bridal Veil Falls, Multnomah and the various beaches that were mentioned are great places. There is a nice Zoo in Portland, if I remember correctly, I was taken there when I was in 7th grade and it has always stuck in my memory as being a special place. Bruce, your pictures of Oregon are absolutely wonderful...you caught the beauty of it all. Scarlett, have a wonderful time, if it gets too hectic head to the beach and just sit there and don't move...what a relaxing place to crash!

Julie

I hate to be the one to sound a warning note here, especially to such a gentle and wonderful lady as Scarlett, BUT,

having spent mucho years in Seattle

it's not the rain, it's the perpetual gray skies that gets to you. And it drizzles, not so much as pours.

I'd still suggest that you look at someplace, mebbe an hour or hour and a half to the east of Portland. Just get over the coast ranges and the weather improves a great deal. You'll still be close to a major metropolitan area, but far enough to escape the perpetual dreary gray skies.

The Northwest presents a wonderful face in the summertime - bootiful flowers, green, green everywhere - but then comes the fall and winter and spring and endless days of gray skies.

Sorry, N'westners, not trying to knock your part of the country. I love the Northwest, but only in the summertime. :) Scarlett has already made one move, just wanted her to choose her second move - how they say in the Indiana Jones movie? - "wisely".

Go for it, Scarlett!

Thank you easytraveler..I understand what you mean :) The Yankee has this worry also that we will be overwhelmed with the drearies.
But we have one thing going for us that might make it not a big deal.
The Yankee works when he feels like it, we can take off for sunnier warmer climes if the winter greys get to be too much for us.
Now this is mostly a vacation and a visit to a dear friend, although no matter where I go, I am always interested in Would I like to live here?
We will find out soon enough! Only about a month to go :D

The Yankee and I saw the film HERO today. It was great.
It reminded me that coming from NY, we have noticed that there is not much of a selection in our town for movies, no art house theaters etc.
So, I am sure Portland has a wealth of good movie houses, would anyone like to recommend some? I think on a rainy day or evening, we might just like to go sit in a dark movie theater and have some Oregon popcorn and see a movie:D
Thanks~

Hey, Scarlett, look at the Lloyd center website, it has a movie theater. It also has a skating rink right in the middle. I went in for souvenirs, ended up sitting on a bench for long time, watching pre-schoolers taking their first skating lesson, it was sooooo funny!

Besides the theater in Lloyd Center, there's a larger (more screens) theater across the street south. If you're staying in the downtown core, Scarlett, there are multi-screen theaters on Broadway (few blocks down from Nortstrom's), and in the Fox Tower.

Also, McMenamin's, one of the area's original micro-breweries, has a number of places around town where, in addition to the popcorn, you can enjoy beer, wine, hamburgers, sandwiches, etc. will watching the film. The films aren't first run, but McMenamins creates an atmosphere that continues to pack 'em in.

pardon, that should be "while watching the film."

Thank you very much!
I just looked at the films at the Regal Fox Tower and it gave me great hope:D
I am so longing to see something that stars someone that I have never seen before or at least not on television and that requires me to read subtitles~
There are a couple of huge stadium seating sort of theaters here but they all run the very same, big Hollywood films and there is little choice, unless I suddenly crave seeing an Alien or an Anaconda~
See ya at the movies ((H))

Cinema 21 (on 21st St., in NW)
We had sushi at the large Japanese restaurant kitty corner from the theater and it was pretty good.

Scarlett, it sounds like you like to shop as much as I do! The Portland Saturday Market (also on Sun.) is a really fun place to stroll around for a few hours! www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com is the website. Enjoy! ***kim***

Marilyn's suggestion, Cinema 21, is probably your best bet if you don't find anything at Fox Tower or the Broadway complex. Unfortunately, the theater that would most likely have had what you're looking for closed down not too long ago.

Hope you enjoy Portland. My wife and I will be in Paris, staying at Hotel du Danube, in part because of your recommendation.

Oh beachbum, that is so great!
The Danube is a charming hotel and we enjoyed staying there very much.
The desk people are so nice, they gave us an umbrella to use the one and only day it rained, they were always smiling and helpful.
You will probably get a kick out of the elevator too.
Thank you for all the info, how can we not have a good time~

Hi :) It's me again~

I am making up a restaurant list.
So far we have:
Bluehour
Paleys
Mothers Bistro
Zinc Bistro
Oba
Jakes Seafood
Papa Hayden
Wild Abandon (who cares about the food, I love the name:)

remarks? more recos?

Hello Scarlett! Just to let you know...it's beautiful here today! I actually see the sun and the temp is no more than 80 degrees. Regarding you restaurant list...Papa Hayden is a big yes! Great salads but more importantly Great desserts! The others I'm don't have any personal experience but most of my friends love going to Mother Bistro.

Thank you dear :)
I will add Le Couchon and Tartine to that list.
Zinc Bistro has closed since I asked lol.

sorry :( Le Bouchon on NW 14th

Just for the record, it's Papa Haydn, like the composer, for whom it is named. Desserts, indeed, of the sort served in Heaven.
http://papahaydn.citysearch.com/

Click on Desserts and proceed to DROOL.

Sitting here munching my M&Ms and looking over Papa Haydns desserts. I will try all the chocolates and the bread pudding.
Thank you very much, Marilyn. :@)

Sitting here moaning, because I have to cancel my NW trip for this year. :(

Scarlett, when you hit those dessert trays, wouldya please take a double portion? One for me? Thanks a mil!

easytraveler
:@) #2

easytraveler, I would be happy to darlin..so sorry you can't make it this year.
But it will be nice to have you to blame for my increased width after the dessert sampling~

Restaurants?

If there is such a thing as PNW cuisine, Higgin's probably represents it best.

Though it's not often mentioned, Genoa is one of Portland's highest rated restaurants. But, do you want to eat Italian while you're here? (If yes, I'd also mention Alba Osteria & Enoteca, a few miles SW of the city, or Giorgio's, or Fratelli's, in the Pearl District).

Jake's is an institution around here: good food, but traditional with no surprises. Try Southpark Seafood Grill if you're feeling more adventuresome.

The Ringside is another institution. For years it was pretty much the only place to get a decent steak. With Ruth's Criss & Morton's now in town, that's no longer the case, but the Ringside still serves up the best onion rings you'll taste anywhere.

I just realized I left home without breakfast this morning.........

Scarlett, you must add Clarklewis to your list! We missed it last time but it has received great reviews on Chowhound.com

The Bluehour is simply wonderful! The building is very upscale and elegant, very comtemporary and oh those chairs you are seated in! Plush leather, and so comfy. The potato gnocchi with black truffles were the hit. Pricey, tho. Our bill was around $200 for a party of five, but worth every penny.

Jake's is very nice, we were seated outside. The crawfish are very good here, kind if in a divey part of Portland, tho.

It looks like you have a nice list. Will you be trying any wine bars? 750 ML, the Wine Down, etc? 750 ML was recently featured in Sunset, looks like they have a very nice Rousanne there! ***kim***