Driving the Great Northwest - Off to Montana

Sorry this post is soooooo late!  I have been met with the challenge of Melanoma and it has set me back even more than I already am with my posts about our fantastic trip through the great northwest!  So I figured it's time to catch up a little bit more before I have some surgery and start treatments.

Let's go back in time a little bit to April 21, and put ourselves on the road leaving from Vancouver Washington and making our way to Billings Montana.  First stop, Missoula Montana.  Our route takes us through the magnificent "Columbia River Gorge".  I never tire of traveling this portion of I-84 that travels along the second largest river in North America. It is so beautiful with the waterfalls of Oregon on my right.......

 and the Columbia River on my left which creates the border between Oregon and Washington.

We arrived in Missoula just in time for dinner, so we decided to check out what "Historic Downtown Missoula" had to offer.  With a recommendation from a very nice lady we met while parking our car, we took the short walk to "The Iron Horse Brew Pub" located at 501 N. Higgins.  This place had a typical Western feel to it with it's wood beams and rustic decor.  They had a nice side patio, where of course we needed to be!  The food was nothing to exciting and the only thing I really have to comment on is the Sweet Potato fries!  Remember I had some great Sweet Potato fries at "Casa Nyranja" in Portland, and I was thinking that everyone made them that way.....WRONG!  These were so skinny, and quite flavorless.

Well it had been a long day so we headed back to our room at the "Mountain Valley Inn", which by the way is really within walking distance to Historic Downtown.  After a good nights sleep, and some breakfast in the lobby of our hotel, we were on the road again!

Next stop, Billings Montana!

Driving The Great Northwest - A Bike Ride Along The Willamette River

I can't help but think how lucky we had been with the weather during our home exchange in Vancouver Washington.  I mean it was April and there was hardly ever any rain!  Read my previous posts, I'm not lying!  Nowhere will you read that any of our plans, while in the Northwest, where cancelled because of rain.

And on April 18th it was another beautiful sunny day and we decided to take a 10 mile ride on our bikes along the Willamette River in Portland.

Oregon is a fantastic place for cycling and you can choose a route that suits you from the many maps that are on line. Click here for maps.

We of course chose the path along the Willamette River because you know how I love the water! 

 

For a minute I thought I was in New England somewhere with the colors and the white steeple church!

And then on our way back to the car we were able to see how an elephant crosses the road in Portland!

There are a few more pictures of our ride on "Where's Debbie".  Just click on the album "A Bike Ride Along the Willamette River"

Driving The Great Northwest - Some Great Places for "Happy Hour" in Portland - Part II

Happy Hours are such a great thing in Portland Oregon that as you can see it has made it necessary for me to do a two part story about some of these great little spots!

So after our first evening on April 12th of discovering where the "locals" like to go, April 15th Sterling and Carrie took us in a different direction to try some of Portland's "Happy Hour" fare.

I know everyone has heard of the "Pearl District" in the heart of Portland.  It's the one talked about in all the travel books and magazines.  So of course that's where everyone (tourists) wants to go.  Well let me share a little secret with you...."The Historic Mississippi Avenue District"!!  This now trendy, historic part of Portland is located in the northeast in the Boise section at North Fremont Street. 

Portland Oregon's Historic Mississippi Avenue Shopping and Restaurant District has a culture all its own, combining originality, variety, and excellence with style and energy. Almost every business is locally owned and operated, making it a welcome break from the corporate fare found elsewhere.

Our first stop, "Casa Naranja".  Located at 4205 Mississippi Ave., the brightly painted California Craftsman Style house is what draws me in right away.

But with all the great options for sitting outside, "In" is not what we did.

We tried a few of the items off of the Happy Hour menu and I must tell you, the Yam fries are the BEST you will ever have, ANYWHERE!

Stijn was loving his burger and beer!

Our next stop brings us to "Amnesia Brewing" which is located in what seems to have been an old auto mechanics garage at 832 North Beach St.

This is a very relaxed place with picnic tables lined up outside where you can enjoy your beer and a barbequed hamburger or hot dog while enjoying a rare sunny day in Portland.

It was pretty fun to see that Belgian Beer, being the great beer that it is, was not available for Happy Hour!

But all is not lost.  We headed over to "Bridgetown Beerhouse" where Mike was more than happy to help Stijn fulfill his need for some good ole' Belgian beer!

There are some more pictures to see at "Where's Debbie".  Click on the album "Happy Hour Part II"

Driving The Great Northwest - Some Great Places for "Happy Hour" in Portland - Part I

First let me start by saying, thank you so much for being patient while waiting for some more posts on our trip through the Great Northwest.  I am home now, so it's time to get cracking on the writing and let you know about some more of the great things we did.

I would like to focus this post on some of what I think are the coolest places to eat and drink in Portland.  Having our home exchange in Vancouver Washington made it very convenient to visit Portland Oregon because we were only about 20 minutes from downtown.

There were a couple of evenings when we met up with some friends who live in Portland, Sterling and Carrie, and they took us to some really fantastic places.  Portland has some great "Happy Hour" spots and we tried to hit as many as possible during the next few days!

So let's start with April 12.  First stop "Jake's Famous Crawfish".  It's located at 401 SW 12th Ave. at the cross street of SW Stark.  Jake's has some outside tables and if you know me, you know my motto is "When at all possible, eat outside!"  Plus, it wasn't raining!  What to have, what to have?  Well how about some Steamed Mussels in garlic butter and Thai Curry Clams.  And let's try the Tempura Ahi Sushi Roll along with some Sweet Potato fries served with a Chipotle Aioli sauce for dipping.  And of course some great Oregon wine!  The prices for Jake's Happy Hour menu range from $1.95 to $4.95.  A fantastic price for what you get if you ask me!

From Jake's we walked a couple of blocks to SW 3rd Ave. and stopped in at "Huber's". 

Huber's has been making traditional turkey dinners in Portland since 1879.  But we're not here for the turkey, we're here for their signature drink, the "Spanish Coffee"!  Now, I don't like coffee, can't drink the stuff.  But put several types of liquer in it and light it on fire, I'm lovin' it!!

We end our evening with some "Beer Tasting".  Yes, I said beer, not wine.  So needless to say it was Stijn and Sterling who did the beer tasting.  The "Green Dragon" was the place for Stijn to try and acquire a taste for some good American micro brews.  This place had a very relaxed, warehouse feel to it with it's long wooden picnic tables for seating.  

It's time to make some choices, decisions decisions.

 and it seems the choices made were good ones!

What a great evening of exploring the great little "gems" of Portland!  Can't wait for our next "Happy Hour" tour!

If you would like to see more pictures of our evening just click here "Where's Debbie" and then click on the album "Happy Hour - Part 1"

Driving The Great Northwest - Cape Disappointment

It's another beautiful day here in the Northwest and we are going to take advantage of it today.

One of the many great things about home exchanging that I love is that your hosts leave several pamphlets, booklets and maps on things to see and do in the area.  Something I found while looking through everything was a place I knew I had to see, "Cape Disappointment".  Why?  Because there is not only one lighthouse there, but two!!!

After heading about 40 miles north on Interstate 5, we then start due West on US30 for 50 miles to "Astoria Oregon".  A few of you might remember some of the great movies that were filmed here like "Kindergarden Cop", "Free Willy I & II", "Short Circuit", and my favorite "Goonies". 

With only about 20 more miles to get to Cape Disappointment Washington, we now drive over the mouth of the Columbia River where it enters the Pacific Ocean on US101.  

This is such a cool drive right over the top of the water!

At the end of the bridge we are back in the State of Washington and within minutes we have parked and we are ready to see the first lighthouse!  We first see the keepers duplex houses right from the parking lot.  You can actually stay overnight in one of them and the other is for park personnel.  Click 'here' for information on rentals.

We then follow a very short trail to the "North Head Lighthouse".  

It's said that North Head is one of the windiest places in the United States, and today is no exception.

So we make our way back down to the "Cape Disappointment Historic District's scenic loop" and head for lighthouse #2.  We took the North Jetty Road and found a great spot to stop and take pictures of the "Cape Disappointment Lighthouse", and it wasn't windy down here at all!

Okay, I need to get closer!  And lucky for me there is a beautiful trail to the top of that lighthouse!

This reminded me alot of my hikes in the rainforests in Australia on my last home exchange in May of 2009.  We also pass a beautiful little spot called "Deadman's Cove".

And then there it is...."Cape Disappointment Lighthouse"!

The views from here are spectacular!

It's been a georgous day and it was wonderful to get out and explore and do a little hiking.  And then to top it all off, on our way home we stumble upon an old covered bridge!  Another absolute favorite of mine!

I would say that today was not a disappointment at all!  How about you?

If you would like to see more pictures of our day just click here "Where's Debbie" and then click on the album "Cape Disappointment"

Washington State on Dwellable

 

Driving The Great Northwest - Go Trail Blazers!

It just seems fitting that if you are in the Portland area you should go see a Trail Blazers game!  Especially since the Blazers were heading to the NBA playoffs, and neither one of us has ever been to a professional basketball game. 

It was tough trying to decide whether to watch Friday's game against the Dallas Mavericks or Monday's game against Oklahoma Thunder.  So after talking with some people who know more about basketball then either one of us, we chose the Blazers vs Thunder game on Monday April 12 and headed to the Rose Garden. 

To fit in with the 20,000+ fans we bought some Blazer hats and then made our way to our seats and settled in for the game. 

It was a great evening and a great choice.  The Blazer's win 103 - 95!

And because the Blazer's made 100 points, all the fans were treated to a free Chulupa from Taco Bell!

I could so become a Blazers fan!

There are a few more pictures of the game if you would like to see them.  Just click here "Where's Debbie" and then click on the album "Go Trail Blazers"

Driving The Great Northwest - A Home Exchange in Vancouver Washington

It was so exciting for Stijn and I to plan a driving trip through the Northwest part of the United States and decide on some of the key places we wanted to visit and the things that we would want to do while on our trip.  During our planning we thought that it would be a great idea to see if we could do a home exchange somewhere in the area of Portland Oregon and stay awhile.  There is just so much to see and do in this area that it made sense to stay longer than just a few days.

I began searching on Home Exchange.com to see if I could find a place that would suit our needs and our dates.  After reading a few profiles I wrote an email to someone in Vancouver Washington and proposed a possible home exchange for April.

A couple of emails back and forth and April 8 through April 22 are the dates that we agreed upon for our exchange to Vancouver Washington.  Lucky for us, Terri was happy to do the exchange!  Vancouver is perfectly located just across the Columbia River from Portland Oregon.  Within just minutes or a few hours we can be in downtown Portland, on the Columbia Gorge hiking to waterfalls, shopping at Pikes Place Market in Seattle, or maybe doing a little snow skiing on Mt. Hood.  So many options!

So on April 1 we packed up the car, loaded our bikes on the back and started our trek north!

Washington State on Dwellable