Day 6 in Portland

Our final day in Oregon was a quiet one, with some late sleeping, late breakfast, shopping and time with friends. We spent several hours taking advantage of Oregon's tax-free shopping at the Woodburn outlet mall. W and I made a few nice bargain purchases, and walked out of a Banana Republic because the music was SO loud and the manager refused to turn it down. Oh well...their loss....another store's gain.

In the late afternoon, we headed down to Salem, Oregon to have dinner with Jason and Heather, their two boys and their two dachshunds. It was a great night of pizza, wine, conversation, and playing with kids and dogs. It's too bad that two couples who share so much in common and have such a great time together, live on opposite ends of the country. I'm sure we will get together again sometime soon!

Our journey comes to an end with packing and dropping W off at the airport. I'll be in Seattle for several days with meetings.

Additional Day 2 in Portland info

W and I both utilize a Garmin Forerunner GPS to track our speed and mileage while we run and bike. We brought it along to our Multnomah Falls journey. Take a look at what it showed on the elevation after all was said and done.....

Our peak elevation was 2545 feet. Even more interesting was our total ascent, 11,000 feet! So basically we climbed the equivalent of a mountain in Colorado!!!! (No wonder we could both barely walk today....)

Day 2 in Portland, Oregon

Day two of our vacation started with breakfast at the hotel and lots of reading about local trails. We chose to visit Saddle Mountain on the way out to Cannon Beach along the Oregon coast. Luckily, W took a look at the website while I was dealing with a small work issue, and discovered that the trail was closed. Some quick reading and a text to Heather sent us in the opposite direction to Multnomah Falls. We detoured to Target for water bottles and other supplies, arriving at the trailhead at around noon on Wednesday.

We had no idea what was in store for us.

The trip began on Trail 442 heading West to Wahkeena Falls. The trail ascended quickly, passing small waterfalls (and a slug) along the way. Past Wahkeena Falls, we moved up the mountain via a series of sharp switchbacks on Trail 400 / 420, paved to make things easier - but still a challenge for the heart, lungs and legs! I took a break under Fairy Falls and got soaked.

We traveled up to Wakheena Springs to the see the start of all of the waterfalls we saw along the way. Then we hiked up a nearly completely overgrown path to a summit of 2400 feet at Devils Rest. Both Mt. St. Helens (what is left) and Mt. Rainier are visible from this high peak. The rest was all downhill, past Ecola Falls and Weisendanger Falls and to the Multnomah Falls Overlook, the most visited tourist attraction in Oregon. It was an 8.5 mile trip that lasted until nearly 6pm! We took over 100 photos and had a wonderful time looking at waterfalls, wildflowers and the nearby mountains.

We decided to forego the highway and follow the Historic Columbia River Highway back to town. What a great choice! We stumbled upon both Bridal Veil State Park and the gorgeous falls there, as well as Latourelle Falls and the Vista House at Crown Point.

After some extensive cleanup, we headed into Northwest Portland for the New Old Lompoc brewery and pubhouse, where W had an amazing mac&cheese dinner with ham, tomatoes & scallions. Mac & cheese seems to be on every menu here so he figured he had to try it. Then we wandered down the street for a quick peak at what we would be drinking on Saturday evening, by going into one of McMenamin's many Portland watering holes. McMenamin's started in the 80's with some beer loving brothers opening up a pub and has grown into an entertainment and beer staple of the Pacific Northwest. From schools renovated into hotels and pubs to beer halls that show movies, they have it all. Eric & Katherine's wedding will take place in two days at McMenamin's in Edgefield.

Visit to Portland, Oregon - July 8th, 2008

After an unreasonably easy and pain-free set of flights, W and I arrived in Portland for some much needed vacation and the wedding of our friends Eric & Katherine.

Upon arrival, we grabbed our car and headed downtown to the Residence Inn on the riverfront. We laced up our running shoes and headed out for a 3 mile run along the waterfront and across some of Portland's many bridges.

Then upon the recommendation of my friend and local resident, Heather, we set out for the Pearl District of Portland on the streetcar, to the newly opened Deschutes Brewery and Pub. We had a great dinner that included our own personalized flights of beer. We browsed around some of the downtown stores, including a gigantic REI, the Puma store, and the North Face, wandered through the Pearl and found ourselves at a local gelato cafe. We grabbed something sweet and planned to catch the streetcar back to the hotel.

Unfortunately, everytime we arrived at a streetcar stop, the LED sign indicated that the ride was over 10 minutes away....so we just kept walking. We hit the Safeway for some sodas and snacks....and walked some more. We were approached by many of the locals who were interested in some spare change....so we walked some more, eventually walking all the way back to our hotel - a 3 plus mile journey. We figured we'd rest later. It was a great introduction to Portland...we're looking forward to our next adventure tomorrow!