Visiting Portland

When we show people around Portland, these are the top priorities

• drive the freeway around the city to show off the bridges, food carts and bike lanes
• ride the train to see the city (between downtown and zoo)
• walk around the reservoir in Mt Tabor park if the weather is nice
• drive out to Multnomah Falls and see the Columbia Gorge
• hang out in Powell's books if the weather is bad
• movie and pizza and microbrew at McMenamin's
• stroll down Hawthorne

Other nice things to do if there is time

• ride the funicular (cable car)
• walk through the Rose Garden
• walk through the Japanese Garden
• walk through the Chinese Garden
• drive up to Mt Hood lodge and have hot chocolate (day trip)
• drive out to the beach house in Newport (day trip)
• drive to Mt St Helens and see the hummingbirds and devastation (day trip)
• architecture tour of downtown Portland
• Lumber Museum (never actually been there, but it sounds like local color)
• shop at Saturday Market (locally made goodies)
• browse Movie Madness
• stand in line at Voodoo Donuts
• see the places where Grimm films
• make a stop at the 24-hour Church of Elvis

Another favorite that is no more, is Jiffy Squid for 24-hour coffee and waffles.

Restaurants that we like to show off to visitors

• Esparza's (Tex-mex)
• Lemongrass (elegant Thai)
• Nicholas' (Lebanese)
• Pho Van (Vietnamese)
• Legin (Chinese)
• Burgerville (fast food from local suppliers)
• Mio Sushi (the local sushi joint)
• Toji Korean Grill
• Laughing Planet (burritos and fresh juice)
• Pied Cow (coffee house)
• Rimski Korsicoffee (coffee house)
• Tao of Tea (tea house)

a sample schedule

How to pack

The weather in Portland should be sunny and 70 during the day and clear and 55 at night. The daytrip to the mountain will involve running from the car to the lodge through 40 degrees and heavy wind. The daytrip to the beach probably will be rainy and 60s. Don't bring an umbrella or you will be ridiculed as an outsider.

June 9 and 10 are the final days of Portland's Rose Festival (http://www.rosefestival.org/events/) so you have the option of seeing parades.

Saturday

• Decompress
• tour the house and garden
• relaxing walk or drive around Portland
• see some bridges, volcano, hippies

Sunday

• Can't get out of church, so Ryan and Julie will be busy from 10am until noon and then Ryan has a board meeting until 2pm.
• drive west to the beach or east to Mt Hood

• Option A: Cannon Beach
  

Drive about 2 hours west over the Coastal Range to Cannon Beach

Walk the beach even if it is really windy and rainy

See Haystack Rock and the transition from big coniferous trees to beach scrub

Make corny Lewis and Clark jokes

Have dinner at Camp 18 on the way home

• Option B: Timberline Lodge

45 minute drive to Multnohmah Falls, through the gorge

another 1 hour drive up to Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood for hot chocolate

get back into Portland for dinner out. Anything sound good from the list above?

• get home after dinner, around 9pm.

Homework prior to visit

• watch Portlandia (available on Netflix or Youtube or Independent Film Channel)
• watch Grimm (I've never actually done this, but it *is* filmed here)
• look up Lewis and Clark in Wikipedia
• read some of Dave Knows Portland blog (http://portland.daveknows.org/)
• google for at least 5 nicknames for Portland