Family vacation- Portland? Seattle?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Pendleton is a kind of cowboy-cool. If you will be traveling in July or August, definitely try to work Mt. Hood into the plans. It has a dry side on the east and a rainy side to the west. The US Ski team trains up at the ski area during the summer and you can drive up to the snow. If you do this, get a good map of Mt. Hood and take some of the smaller (but paved) roads.</p>

<p>Depending on the timing, stop in the small town of Odell for lunch at the Michoacan
Grill (nice ice cream shop, too, last time I was there), then take off on those small roads through the orchards (Harry and David pears grown here) and along some of the twistier roads through the big trees. I’m also a fan of the Salmon River on the other side of the peak. It has clean, cold, tumbling water among the old cedars.</p>

<p>I love the Oregon coast, too, but it has been a lot of years since I have been there.</p>

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<p>In the short time you have I would not try to visit both Portland and Seattle. If you are from the midwest you should not miss the Oregon coast. There is nothing like it. AVOID Seaside with its crowds and carnival atmosphere. Cannon Beach is nice and you should definitely stop there to see Haystack Rock and the tide pools. However, if you want to stay in a quieter place I suggest looking into renting a house in Manzanita just 20 minutes south of Cannon Beach. It has many amenities–library, coffee shop, yoga studio, bakery, excellent small grocery store, wine bar, cute shops–but is smaller and not as crowded. From there you can visit any number of scenic places. I recommend a drive to Cape Meares on the lovely Three Capes Scenic Loop. This viewpoint involves an easy walk/hike which includes fabulous views and a stop at a lighthouse: [Trails</a> and Vewing](<a href=“http://www.capemeareslighthouse.org/html/trails_and_vewing.html]Trails”>http://www.capemeareslighthouse.org/html/trails_and_vewing.html)
For a longer, more challenging hike there is nearby Neahkahnie Mountain. Enjoy your visit to Oregon!</p>

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<p>Loving this thread. I’m subscribed, too. I am hoping to one day make it to Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock, but not sure how exactly to get there if flying in to Portland.</p>

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<p>We just visited Seattle, and with only a couple days we had too many food choices. So we signed up for the Pikes Place Market “Savor Seattle” food tour… two hours of the most delectable foods, plus a guided tour… it will satisfy your love of food, and give you samples from lots of places. I loved it!</p>

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<p>Montegut–Cannon Beach is about a 90-minute drive from Portland on Highway 26.</p>

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<p>Well thanks guys, you’ve got my daughter (15) all EXCITED with these ideas! She has started a Pinterest board devoted to some of your suggestions!!! Keep em coming!</p>

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<p>Here’s a campy place to stop on the way from Portland to the Coast:</p>

<p>[Camp</a> 18 Restaurant Logging Museum, Logger Memorial, Loggers Equipment, Event Room, Conference Rooms, Elsie, Oregon](<a href=“http://www.camp18restaurant.com/]Camp”>http://www.camp18restaurant.com/)</p>

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<p>While in Portland you might enjoy visiting the zoo. </p>

<p>The bookstore mentioned by another poster is called Powell’s. It’s huge.</p>

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<p>Be aware that unless you have a wetsuit you shouldn’t try swimming in the Pacific ocean, off the coast of Oregon or Washington. In June you might want a wetsuit to just walk on the beach! ( or a down jacket)</p>

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<p>Have you checked out the Tripadvisor site by any chance, Abasket? Not only does it cover lodging, it has Things To Do.</p>

<p>[Things</a> to do in Portland: Check out 403 Portland Attractions](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g52024-Activities-Portland_Oregon.html]Things”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g52024-Activities-Portland_Oregon.html)</p>

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<p>I think I fell upon something from Trip Advisor yesterday from Cannon Beach…that’s a great link above though! (though I trust the cozy group here at CC more than review sites often - just because I think people tend to review more often when they are NOT happy, rather than when they ARE happy with their travel experiences!)</p>

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<p>Powells is the most amazing bookstore anywhere. If you can only go one place in the city, that’s it!</p>

<p>If you want to learn more on the forestry industry, check out WFC, it’s next to the zoo:</p>

<p>[World</a> Forestry Center Online - World Forestry Center Home](<a href=“http://www.worldforestry.org/]World”>http://www.worldforestry.org/)</p>

<p>Another cool place that’s an easy drive from Portland is Mt St Helen:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.fs.usda.gov/mountsthelens/[/url]”>http://www.fs.usda.gov/mountsthelens/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Now that I think about it…plenty to do in the Portland area, so I would save Seattle for another trip. (or take a longer trip)</p>

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<p>I work in literacy and we are a “book” family, so Powell’s sounds like a must! </p>

<p>Not sure if H will be coming, but his undergrad degree is Forestry - nj2011 - it’s like you know us!</p>

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<p>I actually work w the forestry industry, which I why I’m in Portland 2x/year. A poster above recommended Manzanita, which I would not. Manzanita is a lovely little town if you want to get away from it all, however, the restaurant selection was meager - we ended up heading to Cannon Beach for dinner and all decided we wished we had stayed there. </p>

<p>Yes, Seaside was tacky and touristy with the arcades, etc, but there were several groups with bonfires on the beach and it was nice for a night. (realize I’m used to the Jersey Shore, so I have a high tolerance for tacky…)</p>

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<p>Ummm… Mt. St. Helens is NOT an easy drive from Portland. It’s an hour just to get to the turnoff for the road up the mountain and then it’s a few hours more to get to the summit. And if it’s not clear and sunny at the summit, it’s really not worth the trip, so check whether you can see the top before you start the drive up.</p>

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<p>Ok, OP here. 2013 is here and I need to get some planning done for this trip!</p>

<p>As of TODAY, with flights (Detroit to Portland, then rent car and drive to Pendleton) I am thinking this plan might work for us:
Fly into Portland arriving late-ish in the evening.<br>
Will need an airport area hotel - recommendations of decent but not pricey? (will mainly sleep then get up and leave in morning)</p>

<p>Full day one: leave Portland (kids may insist on a stop at VooDoo donuts) and take somewhat leisurely trip to Pendleton driving thru/past the river gorge/falls - need to be in Pendleton late afternoon.</p>

<p>Day two - wedding!</p>

<p>Day three - drive to coastline. Spend 2 nights. Cannon Beach is looking very appealing. We will have car and can take a short trip to visit some of the other coastal towns mentioned - they seem to not be too far?? Anyone familiar with:
[Inn</a> at Cannon Beach (OR) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g51790-d116267-Reviews-Inn_at_Cannon_Beach-Cannon_Beach_Oregon.html]Inn”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g51790-d116267-Reviews-Inn_at_Cannon_Beach-Cannon_Beach_Oregon.html)</p>

<p>Last day check out, drive back to Portland - have some time to visit city before red-eye flight back to Detroit. </p>

<p>Really struggling with the flight prices! Likely traveling with my 79 year old mother at least there so was hoping for a non-stop but they are almost NON-EXISTENT!!! There is one or two but I just don’t want to believe that we’ll have to pay nearly $600 to fly there. :(</p>

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<p>In my experience, Portland is a pricey airport from the East Coast, so I’m afraid you are stuck unless you are willing to make a connection. (I would NOT recommend connecting in Seattle, as most SEA-PDX flights are small and you have to go from one end of Sea-Tac to the other). </p>

<p>I believe that hotel is the one our trip organizer had wished he had used.</p>

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<p>My niece spelled out the choices - Portland with a 3 hr drive to destination, Walla Walla with a 45 min drive but long trip because of connection in Seattle. Seattle with 5 hour drive, or a Washington airport that also has weird connection flights/schedules. </p>

<p>Will probably end up connecting since I’ll be buying 4-5 tickets and I need to save where I can!</p>

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<p>I’ve stayed at the Sheraton at PDX as well as the aloft. While I prefer the Sheraton, both are perfectly acceptable. Both have buses to the airport so you can skip picking up the car until the following morning which may save you some on car rentals.</p>

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<p>I would look at pricing with 2 different airports, possibly fly into SEA and out of PDX. The Columbia River gorge is a nice drive, but both ways could be boring. You will also need to see if the rental car would have a different charge. </p>

<p>Yakima WA is along the way and known for its wine. </p>

<p>There are plenty of decent, reasonably priced hotels by either airport. I would use expedia or priceline for best deals, and look at trip advisor for reviews to ensure you aren’t getting a fleabag.</p>