Portland, OR travel retrospective

My family just returned from a three week cross country trip by train. We
spent two days in Portland, OR, went up to see Mt. St. Helens, then down the
Oregon coast. We then did a hike in the Cascades near the Sisters, followed
by five days in and around the Columbia River Gorge. We spent four days at
Glacier National Park on our way back east.

Several people in this newsgroup provided good advice But some advice was a
bit skewed.

One suggested that we couldn't find enough to do for five days in the
Columbia River Gorge. Wrong. The problem was what to cross off the list.
Unfortunately, the weather became quite hot and that put a crimp on our
hiking plans. But we still hiked (until the temperature went up), went
white water rafting, toured some of the orchards, viewed fireworks on the
4th, had some great meals, watched wind surfers and found time to just
relax. We didn't get to Multnomah Falls (except to drive by), the
Bonneville Dam, the Ice Caves, or any of the regional museums. I was
disappointed at missing the Ice Caves, but after a big hike followed by
rafting the next, we needed a day to veg.

Portland is a very friendly city and is easy to get around in. We took full
advantage of the light rail to get from our hotel to downtown destinations
and to Washington Park to see the rose gardens and the Japanese Gardens.
Contrary to my perception, it did rain in June. However, one poster said to
never use an umbrella in Portland since that would show us off as tourists.
Well, when the rains began, the umbrellas went up all over town. We had our
rain coats (and no umbrellas) and didn't let the rain slow us down.

About the friendliness: where ever we went, people wanted to chat. The
check out woman at the grocery store wanted to talk about the mass transit
system (she had some complaints!). The clerk at the bagel place (we managed
to find one...and they weren't even the bagel like things that I often
encounter when away from the Northeast!) remembered which bagels my kids had
ordered the previous morning when I went in solo to get their breakfast. A
clerk at a camping goods store went way out of his way to get us information
about day hike passes in restricted areas.

I did notice that where ever we went in the Northwest, if you were in a
populated area, you were never more than a mile from a drive through
espresso stand. Maybe that's why they're all so friendly: they live life
on a caffeine high!

Oh...and the cross country train trip: it wasn't without some complaints.
However, if you have the time, it's the way to travel. You see the land you
travel through and you slow down. We spent time reading, playing card games
with the kids, and just relaxing. I would definitely travel that way again
if I have the time.

--
Bill in Schenectady