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#11
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Portland, OR ideas
On Feb 11, 3:28 pm, "Bill in Schenectady" wrote:
I had previously asked about things to do and see in Seattle. Well, our trip plans have changed and instead of taking Amtrak to Seattle, we will disembark in Portland. We'll probably spend a couple of days in Portland before moving on to spend most of our visit in and around the Columbia River Gorge. I'd love to get ideas of things not to miss in Portland. We are a family of four with two teenaged girls. By the way, we are not shoppers....even the women of the family...unless it's really unusual. Our interests include museums, unique parks and views, hiking, perhaps bike rentals if there are good bike trails. Thanks. -- Downtown Portland is a free fare zone, that is the buses and trains are free in the downtown area. Don't miss Powells Books, the largest independent book store in the country. Jakes Seafood is close and not to be missed, especially for it's happy hour specials. Take the bus across the river to the Hawthorne District, where all the old hippies have become capitalists. Further up is Mount Tabor, the only volcano within a city limit. Don't worry it is extinct, but great for hiking. Huber's is the oldest restaurant in Portland, famous for it's flaming drinks and turkey is big on the menu. Al Amir is great Lebanese cooking in a historical building. For wonderful Northwest cuisine may I suggest Lucy's Table? There are seven bridges crossing the river and each one is a different type. The River Walk goes by many of them is a great little hike. The Spirit of Portland is ship that does a tour of the river and is the best way to see and understand the river. There is also a jet boat that does the river and goes all the way to the falls. Not for wussies. Portland is very low crime, you should feel safe in any neighborhood. One thing different from most cities is that you will see no grafitti. First Thursday of every month is the day when the local artists are on display. Go to the Pearl District and enjoy the carnival atmosphere. Fit in with locals by not dressing up and never carry an umbrella. Also, the river is the Multnomah pronounced mult-no-mah. Portland is a very bike friendly city, nearly evry road has a bike path, perhaps you might rent them. Trivia: Portland was almost named Boston. A flip of a coin made the decision and that coin is diplayed in some museum downtown. |
#12
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Portland, OR ideas
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#13
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Portland, OR ideas
On Feb 12, 7:52 am, "Mimi" wrote:
wrote in ... Speaking of waterfalls, a bit of a detour south and just east of Salem is Silver Falls State Park. It has a 5-mile hike passing by 8 waterfalls (and behind one). For an extra couple miles you get 2 more waterfalls. One of my favorite places. Maybe you could do it on your winery tour day. Marianne They call it the Trail of Ten Falls, but there's another that I'd add to the list (at least during the winter). The trail actually goes behind four waterfalls. However, the trail to North Falls was closed when I was there in December. The web site says that it's still closed. |
#14
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Portland, OR ideas
On Feb 11, 3:28 pm, "Bill in Schenectady" wrote:
I had previously asked about things to do and see in Seattle. Well, our trip plans have changed and instead of taking Amtrak to Seattle, we will disembark in Portland. We'll probably spend a couple of days in Portland before moving on to spend most of our visit in and around the Columbia River Gorge. I'd love to get ideas of things not to miss in Portland. We are a family of four with two teenaged girls. By the way, we are not shoppers....even the women of the family...unless it's really unusual. Our interests include museums, unique parks and views, hiking, perhaps bike rentals if there are good bike trails. Thanks. -- What have you got planned in the Gorge? |
#15
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Portland, OR ideas
On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 23:28:13 GMT, Bill in Schenectady wrote:
I had previously asked about things to do and see in Seattle. Well, our trip plans have changed and instead of taking Amtrak to Seattle, we will disembark in Portland. We'll probably spend a couple of days in Portland before moving on to spend most of our visit in and around the Columbia River Gorge. I'd love to get ideas of things not to miss in Portland. We are a family of four with two teenaged girls. By the way, we are not shoppers....even the women of the family...unless it's really unusual. Random thoughts: June 27-July 6 is fairly high season around here. I'd stick with the city in the weekends... coastal driving is a dead crawl on summer weekends. The two areas I love best are Astoria to Tillamook, and then down around Florence, particularly for Darlingtonia Wayside Park. Big downtown Portland doings during that time is the Blues Festival, July 4-8, in waterfront park. That is also rodeo time in a couple small towns s of Portland, St. Paul and Molalla. Portland area museums: Art Museum, Forestry Center, OMSI (btw, the Blueback docked at OMSI is a US sub, the Blueback, seen breaching the water in the film Hunt For Red October), Oregon History, Oregon Zoo, Pittock Mansion (good views from the grounds -- Mansion has admission, grounds are free), a hat museum, an aviation museum, a Jewish museum, a sports hall of fame, etc. Don't know if the Elvis museum is still around but it may be. Very odd place. Lots of gardens, many within Forest Park, one of the largest US city parks: International Rose Test Garden (good views!), the arboretum, the Japanese Garden, the Chinese Garden. S of Portland again, in Silverton, is the Oregon Garden, a horticultural display garden with a Frank Lloyd Wright house on the grounds. Nearby is Silver Falls State Park -- very nice place, 10 waterfalls, bike trails, hiking trails, bridle trails, etc. -- and not as overrun as, say, Multnomah Falls. Good biking country. At least three small wineries within 15 miles-- and more over around McMinnville. Don't pass up the roadside fruit stands... the raspberries and blackberries should be in, some of the cherries. Watch for yellow cherries -- heavenly. Views: Pittock Mansion, Forest Park, top of the new OHSU Center for Health and Healing (catch the trolley from downtown, take the elevator to the top floor and look out from the waiting room areas), or take the new aerial tram up the hill to the main hospital area and back -- I think the round trip is going to be $4 -- it just opened, badly overbudget, but apparently the views are spectacular. Unique shopping: well, there's Saturday Market -- Saturdays and Sundays only, local artisans, lots of food, easily accessible from downtown (public transit in the downtown area is free, btw). Or Powell's Books, a whole city block x 3 floors of new and used books (and a few tchotchkes), open till 11 pm most days. You can pick up a nice walking tour map at Powells, too. Lots of biking in the Portland and Gorge areas. Ask the POVA and the gorge visitors association for maps. Part of the historic gorge highway is biking and walking only. Other thoughts: snowboarding on Mt. Hood. Windsurfing in The Dalles. Maryhill Museum if anyone has interest in post-war French fashion. Multnomah Falls is a zoo, but get off the main area, and there are plenty of good trails and parks. Bring a GPS if you have one. Two books you might consider before traveling: Best Places Northwest and 100 Hikes in NW Oregon and SW Washington. Restaurant guide from the local slightly counterculture newspaper: http://foodfinger.wweek.com (the "cheap eats" section may be useful for traveling with teenagers g) Kay |
#17
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Portland, OR ideas
In article ,
Kay Lancaster wrote: And if you're visiting Forest Park because of its large size (about 5K acres), you might want to visit the smallest park, Mills End, 452 square inches. Yes, it's really a city park, maintained even -- and the occasional wedding there, too. http://tinyurl.com/p5v8d It's not every park that's been picked up and moved intact to another site while they worked on the road. Oh, that's great! I hadn't heard about that park. Thanks for the link. By the way, I don't recall whether anyone has mentioned it yet, but there are several Lewis and Clark historical sites in easy driving range of the areas already suggested, such as Fort Clatsop. Patty |
#18
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Portland, OR ideas
On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 23:28:13 GMT in rec.travel.usa-canada, "Bill
in Schenectady" wrote: I'd love to get ideas of things not to miss in Portland. We are a family of four with two teenaged girls. By the way, we are not shoppers....even the women of the family...unless it's really unusual. even for books? i always set aside a half day for powell's bookstore, a full block x 4? 5? stories of books, new and used, complete with in-store coffee bar. great way to spend a rainy day. a drive up the columbia gorge to hood river is a great day drive if you take the old highway along the top and stop at the viewpoint (can't remember the name). hood river seems to be the busiest windsurfing spot in the west, great fun to watch the sailboarders. Our interests include museums, unique parks and views, hiking, perhaps bike rentals if there are good bike trails. the rose garden is really a don't-miss if you like flowers at all. such a great variety of roses, and it overlooks downtown. the oregon museum of science & industry always has exhibits for kids of all ages, many of them interactive. portland is also the home of the movie theatre/pizza brewpub. one of the local brewpub chains owns a couple of movie theaters where they took out half the seats & installed tables. you buy your ticket, walk in, order your pizza, get your pitcher or pint, and place the little numbered sign for your pizza order at the end of your aisle when you sit down. they bring the pizza to your seat. something for your kids to enjoy (minus beer) if they're showing an appropriate flick. the lloyd center has a nice ice rink in the middle of a shopping mall, if your kids like to skate. and the public transportation in portland is pretty good, especially the MAXX light rail system. |
#19
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Portland, OR ideas
On 13 Feb 2007 03:42:06 GMT in rec.travel.usa-canada, Kay
Lancaster wrote: Don't know if the Elvis museum is still around but it may be. Very odd place. No, no, no! it's the 24 hour CHURCH of Elvis! but according to the web site, it's no longer open. apparently the landlord raised the rent... http://www.24hourchurchofelvis.com/ |
#20
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Portland, OR ideas
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:34:29 GMT in rec.travel.usa-canada, "Bill
in Schenectady" wrote: We will arrive in Portland on June 27 and leave Portland for Glacier National Park (and ultimate trip back home) on July 6. So that's ten days, including arrival and departure day. We don't intend to rent a car immediately, but would like to stay a couple of days in Portland without a car. After that, we'll do a slow loop around the Columbia River Gorge, with side trips to interesting areas. Figure that we'll rent a car for a week of the ten days. if you have that long, and you want to range south, remember that the oregon shakespeare festival in aspen has performances almost every day, and there are lots of associated performances and activities. this could work with a coastal trip that returns to portland via crater lake... i'll echo silver falls park, too, along with what another poster said about trying to get to the coast (or mt. hood) on a summer weekend. best to stay in town on weekends and see the busy places on weekdays. |
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