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| hper Resident Indiana, Tulsa and Phoenix Expert Quote | Reply | This message was updated on 10/15/2005 8:01:32 PM by hper | Portland Oregon Trip Report posted on: 10/5/2005 10:58:41 PM So last week I went to Portland, Oregon for a preservation conference. I'm happy to report that my session went very well and I had a lot of nice comments from people who sat in on it. I had never been to the Pacific Northwest so I was super-excited about the trip (I also haven't been out of the state in way too long--KY doesn't count  . My friend and I booked our flight from Indianapolis-Portland together with our accommodation on expedia.com and got a really good deal: $450/each for four nights in a nice hotel and our plane tickets.Transportation: I had no idea that we'd be able to see Mt. St. Helen's and Mt. Ranier from the plane. That was an added bonus! If we were sitting on the other side of the plane we could have seen Mt. Hood. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Mt. Hood at all (and I even went on a Mt. Hood tour!) because it was cloudy the rest of the week. We took the light rail from the airport for $1.80 and relied on public transportation our whole trip. It was very easy to get around and the bus drivers were the friendliest I've ever encountered. Lightrail: Accommodation: We stayed at the Hotel Mallory. We really liked the hotel. The room was smallish, but that's to be expected in a historic building. Apparently they had just replaced mattresses last week, so we slept on plush, pillow-top mattresses with fluffy feather pillows. There was a down duvet above a sheet above another duvet and another sheet! Unfortunately, we didn't have time to check out the hotel's bar/restaurant. Some of the minuses: the hotel is one stop outside fareless square. We felt guilty for not paying for the extra stop, so we usually walked the five blocks or so from the previous stop. Also, there was a sign in the bathroom telling us to open the window or door while showering because the steam could trigger the smoke detector. Opening the window made the bathroom very chilly early in the morning, I can't imagine going that route in the winter. Hotel Mallory: Food: We seemed to eat non-stop. The first day (Tuesday) we went to Chinatown for lunch. We ended up eating an early dinner at Seven Star's since we were still on Indy time. We considered leaving after the waitress on her cell phone gave us grimy, food-splattered menus, but another couple in the restaurant seemed to be enjoying their meal, so we stuck it out and it ended up being really tasty and a good value. The reviewer said the portions were small, but we ordered the family-style dinner and got a ton of food. The next day (Wednesday) we met up with a grad-school friend who had broken her ankle and was getting around on a rented scooter. We went to Pazzo Ristorante for lunch and they were very accommodating with our friend. I ordered the day's pizza special, which was good, but my two friends both ordered the manicotti, which looked heavenly. That night we ate at Island Joe's I wasn't sure if this place was a local chain, but from the looks of that article it's on it's way to being one... I ordered a grilled sandwich served with deep-fried yucca root. It was yummy, but my friend and I both had upset stomachs that night at the yucca root was the only thing we had in common. The next morning (Thursday) I ordered a mocha from a coffee house on Morrison (a little east of the interstate) and it was super-good. I've heard Portland has excellent non-chain coffee shops, but this is the only one I stopped in so I can't compare it to any others. For lunch we went to a wrap shop, Rice Junkies, and got very large wraps. I felt really bad wasting half of it, so I carried it with me in the hopes of maybe giving it to one of the many homeless. It figures that I didn't see anyone to give it to without possibly insulting, so I ended up throwing it away because it was too smelly to take into my next conference session  That night we took the bus to Madison's Grill for an alumni reunion for my graduate program. I ordered the breaded halibut sandwich and it was yummy. They gave me fries instead of the side salad I was supposed to get, but I didn't complain. Friday night we went to the Kennedy School for dinner. The McMemanins have rehabbed a lot of older buildings into hotels/restaurants/pubs/theaters, etc. They have locations in Oregon and Washington. The Kennedy School is an excellent example of adaptive reuse and how old buildings can find new life with a little imagination and creative financing. I'd love to stay here sometime. It was a little too far from downtown to stay during the conference, but a nice excuse to go back. The McMenamin brothers were part of a tour during our conference and people who went on that tour got to meet them and had a great time. They are certainly champions of preservation. Kennedy School: Activities I didn't get to do a whole lot on my own while I was in Portland because of the conference, but I did go on a couple tours through the conference and had a little time for on-my-own sight-seeing. My first tour was a "overview" bus tour of Portland. The bus drove us around to see different neighborhoods. We stopped at the Kennedy School (see above) and Pittock Mansion. The mansion is a stunning house museum, which we unfortunately only had about 20 minutes to explore, inside and out. Pittock Mansion: My second tour was a bus/rail tour to Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge. The bus took us through the Columbia River Gorge, but unfortunately we couldn't see very well because it was raining and the buses windows kept getting fogged up. Members of the Friends of the Columbia Gorge acted as our tour guides. We arrived in Hood River, where we boarded the Mount Hood Railroad. This was a lot of fun, despite the bad weather. We had a snack in the dining car, then made our way to the open-air car to take in the scenary. We passed a lot of apple and pear orchards. The switchback is really cool. For the first 2.5 miles, the engine pushes the cars along the tracks. At the switchback, the engine then pulls the cars up the incline. The train stopped in Parkdale...can't really say much about the town--kinda kitchy, but we were too miserable in the rain to bother trying to see it. We ran to our buses, which took us to the wonderful, WPA-built Timberline Lodge. We had a nice lunch there and had about an hour to explore on our own. I didn't get any good exterior shots because of the rain, but the inside is full of hand-crafted artwork everywhere you look. If I ever upload my pics I'll post a link on this thread. I've never been skiing, but seeing that place made me want to come back and give it a whirl...maybe some day. It was raining while we were there, but looked like a white-out. Apparently it snowed the next day (Saturday the 1st)! The lodge averages 21 feet of snow, if I'm not mistaken. Mt. Hood Railroad: Timberline Lodge (rainy outside): Timberline Lodge (interior): On Saturday, we had some time before our afternoon flight so we went to the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. This place is gorgeous! We lucked out and stumbled upon an unadvertised tour. The guide explained the design of the garden, its symbolism, the materials used in its construction, etc. There were no bad picture opportunities to be had. After the tour we had tea in the tea house and I bought some loose-leaf Grand Qiman tea to take home with me. Unfortunately, we had to cut it short because we realized we needed to get back to our hotel by check-out time. Chinese Classical Garden: Overall Impressions I thought Portland was a great city. The community's consciousness about all matters "green" was really refreshing. Public transportation was quick and easy and people were very friendly. We stayed at a nice place and ate lots of good food. It was even the best of this conference I've been to three times. The large homeless population was really, I don't know the right word--striking? disturbing? unsettling?--to me, maybe because I use to work with homeless families. I don' t know enough about the situation in Portland and all the factors that contribute the high homeless population, but it seems that maybe more could be done in that area for such a progressive city. Here's a discussion on the topic. So that was my trip. Hopefully some day I'll get to go back and explore the area more thoroughly! |
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uktrail
Resident UK, Australia and Croatia Expert Quote | Reply | |
Portland Oregon Trip Report
replied on: 10/10/2005 4:52:15 PM Very interesting, Hper. I have enjoyed Portland on several visits. I once attended a scientific meeting in Timberline Lodge, it was a great place to stay in December. I think that is where I saw a heated open-air swimming pool in temperatures near freezing 
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Greatblu
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Portland Oregon Trip Report
replied on: 10/12/2005 12:41:03 PM Nice report. Very informative and plenty of links. Makes me wish I could go to Portland. I haven't been there in at least 20 years! |
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hper
Resident Indiana, Tulsa and Phoenix Expert Quote | Reply | This message was updated on 10/12/2005 10:47:19 PM by hper |
Portland Oregon Trip Report
replied on: 10/12/2005 10:46:16 PM I finally uploaded some of my pics. |
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Greatblu
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Portland Oregon Trip Report
replied on: 10/13/2005 9:08:20 AM I can't seem to see your pictures. But thanks for trying! 
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hper
Resident Indiana, Tulsa and Phoenix Expert Quote | Reply | |
Portland Oregon Trip Report
replied on: 10/13/2005 10:19:20 AM That's weird, it seems to work for me from my work computer. Maybe try this link. |
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DCMom
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Portland Oregon Trip Report
replied on: 10/13/2005 10:42:56 AM Neither one of your links works for me. I also enjoyed your report .
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hper
Resident Indiana, Tulsa and Phoenix Expert Quote | Reply | |
Portland Oregon Trip Report
replied on: 10/15/2005 8:03:20 PM Okay, I tried to post the pics into the description--hopefully that'll work for you 
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