Portland

Inside Voodoo Doughnut store

Voodoo Doughnut

The weather this morning looked good enough for a walk to the park along the river. So I headed out with my MIL. Unfortunately, light showers started as soon as we hit the streets. So we walked along Adler st, then skipped the park and made our way on 3rd ave to Voodoo Doughnuts. I had read so much about this doughnut shop that I had to stop by. And just like in the reviews, there was a line forming almost out the door at 8 am! We bought a few doughnuts (one with fruit loops on it!) and they were good! DH loved the "Gay Bar" - the one with a line of fruit loop on it and with bavarian creme inside and I really enjoyed the "Portland Creme" - voodoo doughnut's take on Boston Creme!



We didnt have time to do anything else in the morning - just a few stops to check out stores near the hotel. Then we had to pack up to leave for the airport.

With my college buddy - Yatin

My college buddy whom I had not seen or met for the last 6-7 years stopped by to say hello. He's a native Portlander now and in retrospect I should have consulted him on this trip earlier. Oh, well... I left it to the Fodorites to guide me and the trip turned out pretty well. I might have cut short one day in Hood River and added that day to the Portland stay. But then I'm sure we'll return to the city because there is so much to do and see!

Oregon is a beautiful state and one worth visiting in the summer/fall. We will definitely go again!

Our flight back to San Diego was uneventful and in fact, we landed early to a light drizzle! We brought the rains back from Oregon! :) It was a fun road trip - tiring and long but fun!

Back to Portland

October 19 -
We were going to head back to Portland today and with rains in the forecast, were unsure of how to plan to day. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel. Since it wasnt raining yet, we decided to stop at Bonneville Dam and take a tour. This is a US Government facility - entry is free and very educational. The dam itself is quite small but looking at the fish ladder and understanding what the engineers are doing to sustain wildlife in the area is important. We saw only a couple of migrating salmon today but I enjoyed the visit. DH thought we should have skipped this and done a longer hike instead.

We did stop near Horsetail falls and go on the 1.2m trail towards Oneanta. You will be rewarded with a view of Ponytail falls (0.4m steep hike from the road), more stunning views of the river & gorge along the remaining 0.8m path to Oneanta. The falls at Oneanta is nothing to write home about but the hike is very enjoyable. Past the bridge at Oneanta, there is a fork where one can take a 1.1m trail to Triple Falls. We did not do this. One can also take a 1m hike down to the highway forming a loop to the Oneanta Falls trailhead. We decided to head back the way we came. We got some light showers on the way back.

View of the Columbia River during the hike to Oneanta Falls

Lan Su Chinese Garden

After a quick stop at the snack bar near Multnomah Falls, we headed into Portland. DH wanted to go shopping to the outlet stores in Woodburn (around 45 mins south of Portland). I nixed the plans in favor of walking the streets of downtown Portland. We were staying at the Marriot City Center which is in the heart of downtown and I could not justify heading out of town while we were going to be here only one night. So I dragged the family with me to the Lan Su Chinese garden in Chinatown. For nearly $10 per adult, this place is definitely not worth a visit. It might be a tranquil stop for a local Portlander but for a tourist, this is a waste of time and money unless you are really interested in Chinese tea and plants. We walked back in rain stopping at a couple of stores on the way. We eventually made our way to India House, an Indian restaurant on Morrison st. The food is decent - we had veg and seafood thalis. The portions are filling although the service was a little slow. No complaints after our last Indian meal experience!!! ;-) Nothing spectacular but good enough for satisfying an Indian food craving.

We called it an early night and unfortunately did not explore any of Portland's night life!

Oregon coast

Walkway in RiverPlace

October 13 - we woke up to a cloudy sky but thankfully no rains. The weather was perfect for a nice long morning walk. DS and I took a walk along the Willamette river, while DH went for a 7 mile run around it. It was a refreshing walk and the entire area called Riverplace is very charming and boutique-ish! :) I didnt have the chance to actually explore the shops or restaurants along the path but they looked enticing enough to warrant another trip to the city! Since our plan was to drive to the coast today, we headed back to Residence Inn for our "included" breakfast (available till 10 am. After a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles and some pretty decent coffee, we started towards Lincoln city around 11 am. 

View Oregon Roadtrip in a larger map

We headed south on I-5, then took state hwy 99W. Driving south-west on 99W we passed many wineries, so decided to stop by one of them. We took a pit stop at Sokol Blosser Winery. The drive into the vineyard was nice and the humidity in the air made the surroundings look crisp and clean. We did the $15 wine tasting of 6 different wines - a pinot gris, 4 different pinot noir and 1 dessert wine. The desert wine was pretty good but at $40 a pop we didnt think it was worth buying. After walking around, taking a few pictures and picnicking on some food that we had brought along, we started on the route towards Lincoln City. We made another detour to look at Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum where we drove around and looked at the planes outside but did not go into the museum. We also stopped at a farm and bought some hazelnuts - had never had those before so it was an experience eating them. We reached Lincoln City a little after 2 pm and the fall kite festival was in progress at the D River State Park. It was cloudy and chilly but the kite flyers were out there in full force! We stood mesmerized as a team of 6 flew kites in sync with the musical theme of Star Wars - it was so perfectly choreographed that we stunned to see the kites go up, down, around and even do bows in the air! Absolutely amazing. Then DS got the chance to try his hand at some kite flying - it was pretty neat to watch him learn to control a 4-string kite!

6 kites flying in sync with the Star Wars theme music

We then headed to our place of stay for the night: Surfrider Resort at Depoe Bay, about 20 mins south of Lincoln City. The resort is set on a cliff facing the ocean - so ocean views for every room. The resort itself is very old which is noticeable in the room construction and furnishings but its a clean place. Also, in the summer and possibly into Autumn, one can see whales in the ocean. Unfortunately, we didnt see any although they were spotted a few days before we got there! It has a restaurant on property which we did not try. Instead we ended up at a Thai restaurant called Thai Bay in Depoe Bay. Note that Google maps (as of Oct 13, 2012) gives the location of this place incorrectly. Its next to the Whale Museum, after one crosses the bridge in Depoe Bay. Its a hole in the wall but very clean and utilitarian furnishings. The portions are large (and I mean large!) and their "medium" is pretty spicy (coming from an Indian - this means SPICY). But the food is good, especially on a freezing cold day! We packed plenty of leftovers and headed back. The rest of the evening was spent in the warmth of the hotel room at the resort... it was too cold to venture out and explore anything at all although the beach at the back of the resort looked very interesting.

On our way to Portland, Oregon

Our flights from SD to Portland via Salt Lake City went without incident. We have to pay now for every check in bag!!! Yikes!! Landed in Portland around 11 pm to clear skies (after much rain all day, apparently) & to DH waiting in a rental car. After a 20 min drive, we arrived at the Residence Inn by Marriott in downtown Portland. This is a rather conveniently located hotel in downtown with free continental breakfast and clean rooms.