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If you're still in the area, if you like Aviation, the Spruce Goose is in McMinville at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. They have a SR-71 under one of it's wings. Several other planes, space capsules, even one of the two the X-38's built.
WildCobra and tlongII and the other guys- thanks a ton. You really racked up a lot of good information, I can't wait for the vacation!
If you're still in the area, if you like Aviation, the Spruce Goose is in McMinville at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. They have a SR-71 under one of it's wings. Several other planes, space capsules, even one of the two the X-38's built.
I just was in Oregon for a week and can make recommendations.
We stayed in downtown Portland at a boutique hotel called Hotel Lucia. We got a terrific rate. The hotel was very good and we got terrific service. The concierge was helpful.
On the other hand... there is not that much to do in Portland itself. Washington Park has a very nice Japanese garden with a good view of Mount Hood towering over downtown -- on a clear day. It also has the famous Rose Test Garden with probably hundreds of different kinds of roses. I also hiked a few miles through an arboretum to get to those gardens. Powell's Bookstore and the Deschutes Brewery are worth seeing. We ate at a place called Jake's that was pretty good and had breakfast at someplace called Mother's Cafe that was alright. Other than that... I can say the city compares very poorly with Seattle. There aren't as many good places to eat, it's dirtier, and most notably -- the people are astonishingly unfriendly. Maybe it's just because they were having record heat, but man, you mention you're from Texas, and you get back a sneer, or something about George W. Bush, or some other rude comment. Seattle is just as liberal, but people there apparently still have some vestige of basic hospitality towards visitors from 'flyover country.'
Despite the city's myriad shortcomings, it is well situated for a variety of day trips, which also provide the opportunity to get away from the a-holes in town.
1) The North Coast -- the town of Astoria on the mouth of the Columbia River has a museum about the history of navigation and shipping along the River. Driving down the coast, there are several misty public beaches. The water is cold but shows lots of wave action. Seaside, further down the coast, is full of tourist attractions and is quite crowded. Even further down is Cannon Beach, which has several ridiculously scenic beaches and a shopping area with a somewhat more refined feel than Seaside.
Further down to places I didn't go, there is a cheese factory in Tillamook and apparently Newport is nice. Also somewhere along there US 101 drives along the coast.
2) Mt. St. Helens -- didn't do it. Should have. Only 30 miles from the city.
3) Willamette Valley -- take Highway 99W southwest of the city and tour multiple wineries. You can do five or six in an afternoon. The ones in Dundee are the best. Terrific views. Eat lunch in McMinnville and tour the little farmer's market. There is a French bistro which a sommelier recommended that was closed, so we ended up eating at another little place.
4) Columbia Gorge -- spectacular views. Along the historic highway, there are pulloffs for trails to waterfalls every few miles, culminating in the grand Multnomah Falls which are something like 600 feet high. There is a hiking trail up the side of the gorge that goes on for several miles up to an old volcano called Larch Mountain, which supposedly allows grand views of the Gorge and Mount Hood. Leading into Hood River, there are more wineries (some even better than in the Willamette Valley), and in Hood river itself there are some good restaurants and both the Full Sail and Double Mountain breweries. The Columbia at Hood River has some of the best windsurfing in the world. 3 Rivers Bistro had good food. Sixth Street Bistro allegedly is also good. Or, eat at one of the breweries.
5) Mount Hood -- this 11,000+ foot volcano towers over the region, and offers a myriad of outdoor opportunities. The town of Sandy is in the area and has some shops and eateries. A good scenic tour entails taking Highway 35 out of Hood River around the mountain, and then taking US 26 from Government Camp back towards Portland.
Ace9 has died of dysentery.
too much hop extract in that Red Chair, although it was good. It was just lacking in bitterness. I preferred their Hop Henge IPA, which was excellent. Gotta wait till next year on that though.
Yea, I finally drank it a few nights ago. I didn't care for it much either.
Are you saying they use extract instead of hops? They might on that one. I haven't tried Hop Hedge. Inversion is my favorite of all IPA's I've ever had. Three types of hops initially, then dry hopped for seven days... I love the flavor.
I like the write-up they have on Hop Trip. I'm going to have to try some when it's in season:This Fresh Hop Pale Ale is all about celebrating the hop harvest in the fall. Fresh picked hops have to be added to the brew immediately and in abundance. Roughly 680 pounds of Crystal hops from Doug Weathers' farm outside Salem, Oregon will be added to each 120 barrel batch in addition to some dry kilned whole flower hops. That adds up to approximately 5.7 pounds of hops per barrel brewed. Another deliciously interesting beer in our Bond Street Series.
Yes, I believe Powell's is the biggest used book store in the world. You can find just about anything there. They also have a rare books store and a technical bookstore at other locations.
I assume by your name, you like stouts. Did you try the Obsidian on nitro tap at the brewery?
You should have stayed outside the city. Downtown is a dump.
You should have visited the cheese factory. They have some pretty good tours.
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