Vacation Destinations

[TooLiveBrew]

Since the northwest is becoming a hot topic in this thread, we are planning a week long vacation over the 4th this year flying into Seattle , taking in a Mariners game and driving midweek to Portland then flying out of Portland. We are thinking a week (Sat to Sat) with 17 month old twins. Anything that you recommend we see or do.

I can only handle the Portland stuff...

 

• Pittock Mansion
  
• Pioneer Courthouse
  
• Waterfront Park (right on the Willamette River)
  
• NW 23rd Ave. area (shopping/dining area, a little comparable to State Street in Madison)
  
• Kornblatt's Deli (on NW 23d, I miss this place a LOT... we lived nearby & ate breakfast there many weekends)
  
• Pearl District (upscale part of downtown, pricier shops & restaurants but nowhere near prohibitively expensive)
  
• Powell's Bookstore (if you go, do not miss the rare book room)
  
• Voodoo Doughnut (don't miss this! can have long lines; I've only been to the SW/original location)
  
• International Rose Test Garden
  
• Japanese Garden
  
• Mt. Hood

 

 

I could probably make a list just as long with excellent microbreweries, if you're into good beer. I'd be happy to compile that list separately for you from this post, if desired. I think I posted in the Beer Thread about that very thing once upon a time, so hopefully that post wouldn't be hard to find.

 

The food in general in Portland is fantastic, I won't even try to start a list for restaurants.

 

- Also, Matt Groening is from Portland. Many characters on the show are named for things in Portland, especially the streets in the Alphabet District. Burnside St. is the main E-W artery in Portland, and in the NW section of the city, the streets ascend block-by-block to the north in alphabetical order. Burnside, Couch, Davis, etc. Notable names in that section would be Lovejoy, Flanders, Kearney, Quimby ("Burns"ide too). The shopping/dining district I mentioned on NW 21st Ave. is right in this neighborhood, so you don't need to make any special trip just to see street signs

 

- Two semi-mildly-important pronunciation tips: it's the Will-AM-ette River, & Ore-gun... the locals tease you that "it didn't go anywhere" if you pronounce it Ore-gone

 

- And to clarify the NW/SW designations, the town is referred to in terms of NW/SW & NE/SE areas. It'll make sense once you're there.

 

- If you have a rental car, a tour of the nearby wine country is always fun. Free samples!

 

 

Alright, I think my brain is tapped for now. I'll add anything else if/when I think of it. Portland really is a great city. The light rail & streetcar lines make the city (especially NW area) incredibly easy to explore. Be sure to take advantage of that, since like any city, parking can be an issue.

[CheezWizHed]

I'm not sure about traveling with a young one, but it has been done.

 

Don't do this without training!

 

Seriously, if your child is not used to being in a car, take some day-trips places. Get him/her/them used to being in the car a couple hours at a time. Plan on a good break every 2-3 hours of travel. Find a PlayArea or park that the child(ren) can run around for a while.

 

Travel during nap time. A friend of mine made it a habit to leave at night and travel 8-12 hours that way (not for me, but...).

 

Have your SO or older child sit next to the toddler to read books, play games, give snacks. At that age, they are facing the seat and can't see mom and dad in the front, which can be frustrating.

 

While my 4 children were that age, we traveled 7-8 hours to visit grandparents several times a year (taking one break in the middle). We only had one real melt-down with a 9 month old. All without needing a video player.

[WV Brew]

I work in DC. It's beastly hot and humid in the summer. I have been to Boston and really enjoyed it. If you like history, it would be good.

[Bikeage77]

We are planning on a trip to either New York City or Portland this summer as well. I think we're gonna end up going to Portland.

 

The thing I'm looking forward to most is that the happy hour at most bars feature 24oz cans of Hamm's for a buck.

 

That's right. 20 American nickels.

[Baldkin]

We are planning on a trip to either New York City or Portland this summer as well. I think we're gonna end up going to Portland.

 

The thing I'm looking forward to most is that the happy hour at most bars feature 24oz cans of Hamm's for a buck.

 

That's right. 20 American nickels.

 

I have not seen these cans. I want some now.

[SenatorShriv]

If you were going to go to Glacier I would highly recommend hitting up Banff and Jasper instead. Not too much further away and I think they are more impressive parks. If you're looking for someplace with outdoor activities and don't care about upscale dinning or shopping come on up to Alaska.

 

Utah would be another great outdoor adventure type destination.

 

Edit - lately several of my friends have been raving about how great Montreal is.

[TracyThom]

Fly into Boston. Spend a couple days there. Make sure to catch a Red Sox game. Walk the Freedom Trail. The Freedom Trail is 17 historical sites (USS Constitution, Boston Common, Paul Revere House, etc.) and most are free.

 

If your wife is into baseball, you can rent a car and then drive to Cooperstown. It's less than a 4 hour drive from Boston. You can spend a couple days there.

 

From Cooperstown, you can check out the sites in northern New England (especially the Lake Champlain region) or continue onto Maine. You could spend a week in Maine alone. A visit to Acadia National Park is a must.

[jazzytrav]

This may be a bit obscure, but my in-laws were recently in Seattle and attended this:

 

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/St-Mark-s-choir-strikes-an-untraditional-chord-1099985.php

 

If this crosses the religion line, I apologize and feel free to delete. It really has less to do with religion and more to do with just being a cool historical thing to take in. It's a late Sunday night service and the entire thing is in Gregorian chant. Apparently a lot of people bring blankets and lay around the church, sorta like the couple in the link. If you've ever heard Gregorian chant, you can imagine how relaxing something like this would be.