August 8: Portland

August 8:  Portland

We are on the road at 9:14 am with our friend Garry; first stop is Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge.  Plunging 620’ in two sheer sections, this is the “most visited attraction” in Oregon. We walk up to the Benson Bridge, an early example of continuous pour concrete when completed in 1914.

We drive along Historic Highway, the old road and see Horsetail Falls which drops 175’. We drive up 733’ to the Vista House at Crown Point to see the magnificent views. 

The stone-masoned circular building was finished in 1918 as a “temple to the gorge’s natural beauty, a memorial to Oregon’s pioneers, and a comfort station for travelers”.

Our lunch stop is at a McMenamins which is a restored old poor house.  Today’s beers were The Terminator (a dark stout), a Ruby (raspberry flavored ale) and a Rubinator (a combination of the two!).  Lunch is a Thai Chicken Sandwich and Vegan Tortilla Soup, both with a nice kick!

We wander through the hotel portion to see the various paintings on the doors as well as the walls.  There are several of these McMenamins pubs throughout Portland; each is a restoration of an old building retaining the special character and flavor of the original.

Driving through Portland, we see Powell’s Book Store which appears to take up an entire city block. Parking is difficult so we don’t stop but continue on our journey through a cute section of town with interesting little shops/boutiques to Salt & Straw, a small ice cream shop which specializes in unique flavors.  I taste the Garam Marsala with Cinnamon Cauliflower but decide to have the Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache. Garry has the Honey Lavender and Rich settles on the Strawberry Honey Balsamic  with Black Pepper.  They were worth the 25 minute wait! 

Other August flavors were Green Fennel and Maple, Carrot Carrot Cake, Chocolate Caramel Potato Chip Cupcake and Lemon Cucumber Sorbet. Get your veggies!

Here's the Portland skyline:

Taking the 101 north to Sequim, we cross over the Hamma Hamma River.