Portland, Seattle, Vancouver (Canada)

Just booked flights...nwo to decide what to do.

We're gonna have 8 full days to split between Portland, SEattle, and Vancouver Canada. Flying in/out of Portland and will have a retnal car. I've been to Portland and Seattle briefly btu the hubby hasn't. Any recommendatiosn on what to do in all three cities and hwo to split our time? Keep in mind, we are pretty thrifty when it comes to spending...

Starbucks in Seattle. You could split a Venti somthing.

OK, let me rephrase....we'll probably do one fancy dinner in Vancouver. We liek one of a kind spots. And I already did the original Starbux

Hike up a volcano!! Stand in a Tsunami Warning Area! Check out the Lahar flow maps!
Those are all free!

Voodoo Donuts, Powell's Books, Church of Elvis--Portland area. Underground tour, Pike's Place Market, Bruce and Brandon Lee's graves--Seattle area. Don't know much about Vancouver since I've only been once to catch a cruise ship. I do remember a very tall, long bridge....

Seattle has a really cool underground tour, and a fun ghost tour at night. Both are very educational and I don't remember either being very expensive.

When are you going?

Go to Freak's house and take a picture with his sock monkey! (no hidden meanings to that statement)

His residence has to be one of a kind!

And the Giant Abominable Snowman!!
That was real, right?

Seattle: Go down to the waterfront and go through the Pier shops. Walk up to Pike Place Market. My family also really enjoys the Argosy cruises that leave from the Piers. That's a little more pricy, but on a clear day, it's really pretty! We did the Locks Cruise two summers ago and it was great!

Only when it snows.

I did the underground tour last summer and really liked it. There was anotherone I saw a brochure for that talked about the more sinful side of seattle...cant remember the name though.

We're goign in August.

I think I heard of that tour, as well. Brothels and red light districts and persons of mystery gender attending to the needs of the lumberjacks. It sounded hot.

Dip - we went to Seattle in August. We ate in the Space Needle. The food was good, but not exceptional - however the view was amazing and we did a full rotation twice.

I'd also recommend the 'Duck' tour. It looks kind of corny, but our driver was amazing and it was a blast. You drive around town and see the highlights and then the vehicle goes out onto Lake Union and you spend about a half an hour touring the lake and seeing all of the floating homes, etc.

We also did Pikes Place Market, toured The Underground, and walked and walked and walked.

If you like wine there are several wineries about a half an hour from downtown Seattle. We also spent a day and drove down to Mt. Ranier and over to Mount St. Helens.

There is a spaceneedle in Vancouver too. Not sure if it compares to the one in Seattle.
There are several wineries near Seattle. We went to Chateau St. Michelle. That tour is free.

horseback riding

book a tour using craigslist.

the Grunge Scene...

get to Friday harbor on San Juan Is. for the whale watching tour

Sadly, the people in Seattle still worship Kurt Cobain.

<-------still worships Kurt Cobain.

Oh yeah...I keep forgetting to take down that ad....

Have lunch at the Poodle Dog. Oh wait...you've done that. Go to a casino!

Loved Portland. Take a tour. There is a castle above the town with the most beautiful rose garden I've ever seen. Cannot think of the name of that house.

Sounds much better than the one I went to, "Chateau Bob"......

You would like Granville Island in Vancouver. Also check out Stanley Park and Victoria Island (including Borchart Gardens). I think you can catch a boat to Victoria Island from either Seattle or Vancouver.

If going anywhere near Victoria BC, check out Butchart Gardens - gorgeous!

And right down the street from there is the Redhook Brewery. Tours are only $1, but you get 5 glasses of beer with that. The tour guides are invariably young and very funny, and they love to interact with the crowd. After the tour, you could eat in the restuarant. Try getting a seat outside; I've never been able to.

Spoken like a true Dutchman.

depends on what time of the year you are going...Mt. Ranier is an awesome trip, but until the end of May, most access roads are closed. I happened to be there on a business trip and went in late May, not knowing they may not be open, the road i took in had only opened the day before. At 9:30 PM 8,000 feet up, it was still broad daylight.

I happened to arrive on a Sunday afternoon when the annual gay pride parade was taking place...many interesting sights that day.

You got that right, honey. Now that my niece has her driver's license, we make her drive back home after the tour. Poor kid had to deal with three, uh, happy adults giving her comments about her driving.

We didn't take the tour since we used up a lot of our time with an extensive wine tasting at a winery that was nearby (no idea which one). We did stop at the Redhook Brewery restraunt though. The beer sampler and steak was the best meal I had on my trip! (though that assessment may be tinted by the wine tasting )

Love the beer sampler. My favorite is Copperhook, which is only available in the spring and summer.

I think you're talking about Pittock Mansion. But THE Rose Garden (also overlooking Portland) is actually about 5 min. driving from Pittock mansion. In August, I'd recommend both. Powell's City of Books - the name says it all.

If you like wine-tasting, head out to the Newberg/Yamhill area (about 30/40 min SW of Portland); there are some great wineries and the scenery is nice.

Portland Art Museum is actually really good (if you like museums and art).

Take a trip out to hike on some of the very accessible trails in the Columbia gorge (between 30 min/1 hour drive east of Portland). Multnomah Falls is the most breathtaking, but it's also the most heavily visted. There are some other beautiful gems along the way (Bridal Veil, Latourelle Falls, etc.).

If you're here in late August (I think the Thursday before Labor Day), the Oregon Symphony does a free concert at Waterfront Park, ending with the 1812 Overture (complete with artillery) and a big fireworks show. Bring a bottle of wine and some dinner from Elephant's deli, plop on the grass for a couple of hours and enjoy!

That sounds super cool! But the whoel trip is from 8/14-8/22 so we'll miss it. Too bad.

I wanted to head East of Portland last summer and didn't, but I bet the hubby will be up for it, so we may do that. I've been to Multnomah Falls but would liek to see some of the other beautiful forest out there.

And hubs and I dont drink

"And hubs and I dont drink"

You are still new to the marriage thing, you will in time.

Check out J&D's in Seattle and pick up item #2 since you're still newlyweds (...the world's first bacon-flavored personal lubricant http://www.jdfoods.net/gocrazy/ridiculous.php)

Powell's is great and there is a beer place a couple of doors down that has over 100 beers on tap.

Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood is about an hour and half drive East of Portland. There is plenty of forest to explore there and the wildflowers should be in bloom then. You could actually loop around Mt. Hood and along the Columbia Gorge by driving through Hood River. Were a little under an hour South of Portland and spend a lot of time hiking up at Mt. Hood and in the Gorge.

I love SE Portland. Lived there for 4 years. Hawthorne District there is a cool movie theatre for cheapies...the Baghdad. Some cool places that people, including myself, seem to like to go to are the McMenamins sites, like the Kennedy School, The Edgefield in Troutdale. I used to work for McMenamins so I may be a little biased. My favorite place to walk to and relax at was Mt Tabor. Free park on an extinct volcano. Nice walk through forest and such. Nothing real crazy to do of note, but it is super chill and nice for hiking yet close to the city. Columbia River Gorge...beautiful. Mt HOod, always a blast. The beach always nice. I liked going to Oswald State Park, Short Sands...a little cove that took about a mile's easy hike to get to. Oh man, now I want to go.

ME too!

I almost included that. Watch "The Shining" before you go to Timberline - that's where they filmed it.

I thought they filmed the Shining at the Drake Hotel in Estes Park??? Either way Timberline rules.

I thought this was a thread about the new T-Mobile commercial.

Ack Nevermind, I googled it and it was the Timberline. My bad

The hotel they used for the outside shots is the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. It is supposedly haunted and ghost hunting groups are there often. My husband and I hope to go to Colorado within the next couple of years and stay at the Stanley.

From Wiki on the Stanley (yes, I'm lazy):



The entry on the movie has a screen shot of the hotel from the movie that is unquestionably Timberline.

The Pittock Mansion in Portland has tours, it is a beautiful location. Also if you are going to Multnomah Falls you could also hook up with the Scenic train rides in Columbia River Gorge that climbs to the foothills of Mt Hood on the historic Mount Hood Scenic Railroads. The McMenamins establishments are all fun to visit. They are a brewery, but they take old sites and renew them. The Edgefield in Troutdale is fun to tour and they have great food. You can look up McMenamins on the internet and get a lot of information about their locations.

McMenamins Edgefield also has good concerts in the summer.