Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 28, 2005 Portland for a weekend sanity break There’s plenty to do in town, but excursions are also easy to come by By Andrew Scot Bolsinger Ashland Daily Tidings After traveling twice to the Orient during my high school athletic career — including three weeks in communist China in 1984 — I decided that while I still loved traveling, I wanted to stay home for a while. Multnomah Falls descends more than 600 feet into a pool (above) of shallow water. The falls run year round, just miles outside of Portland. Stuart Brown | For the Tidings A while has lasted 20 years. I have spent time in nearly every major American city and visited every state except four — North Dakota, Alaska, Oklahoma and Vermont. I have mastered the art of a three-day weekend in a new city. I may not be a world traveler, but I am as comfortable almost anywhere in the U.S. as I am in my favorite Boston hoodie. Autumn in Portland is also like the favorite sweatshirt. Comfortable, with a perfect mix of outdoor activity and urban experience. Portland is a sleeper pick among favorite spots. But that adds to its attraction. The city is reasonably close to Ashland, never too crowded, and as far as cities goes, is about as safe and pleasant as one could expect. Friday night I always stay downtown. For a big city, it’s too reasonably priced not to. Because I know it well, I opt for the Fifth Avenue Suites. Huge rooms with a separate sitting area are each decorated with attention for every detail. Dogs are welcome always. Kids are, too, though happily on this visit I had neither in tow. The ladies walk just a few blocks to Pioneer Square to abuse the credit cards. The guys head to the lobby. A fire burns in the lobby while the staff offers complimentary wine. Of course, I partake. They say it’s the little things that make you feel pampered. Sipping wine, I feel very grateful for these little things. I am not so grateful for the big things, like the bags my wife is carrying as she returns to the lobby. She, however, beams. Nothing like a little shopping to start the holiday weekend. Juggling the food is critical in any urban visit. I try to squeeze in a plenty of it. We start at the Red Star Tavern (see my review in the Oct. 25 Tidings) for drinks and Buffalo Carpaccio that is to die for. Next, we put our name in at Henry’s Tavern, formerly the Henry Weinhard Brewery plant. There’s a 30-minute wait, despite the restaurant being three times the size of just about any other space downtown. But that’s perfectly OK, because we are just one rainy block from Powell’s City of Books. Go there. You can’t visit Portland and not visit Powell’s. I leave with the entire Jack Reacher series in paperback. I am back to Henry’s three minutes before my buzzer buzzes. Beers, lots of them, 100 or more, to be not-so-exact, are on tap. Of course, I partake. After dinner we wander through the halls to the billiard room, but it’s a long wait, so soon we are back outside, in search of nightlife. A friend recommended a hip place between the Pearl District and Nob Hill. It, too, has pool tables and a happening bar scene. It, too, has a long wait. But I am too old for the place. It’s the youngsters’ hangout. After one nightcap, we grab a cab. In three minutes we are at the hotel. Saturday A late breakfast at one of the restaurants along the river starts day two. Newport Bay on the river is our choice. Just sitting on the water is good for the soul. At this juncture, I offer two plans: A or B. Both are great. A) Hit the city. Start at Nob Hill, a hip neighborhood with shops, pubs, cafés, etc. Most concierges have maps of the different neighborhoods in Portland to guide you. Next, go the Pearl District, home of more shops, galleries and more restaurants. Then wander back downtown to Pioneer Square before taking a rare mid-day nap back at the hotel. Of course, the ladies love this idea, but we did it last year. The guys win this year, so we opt for Plan B. B) We put the car in drive and make the short, very scenic trip to Multnomah Falls. Once we park, it’s a short walk before we are in view of the dramatic 620-foot waterfall that is a signature of Oregon. It’s less than a quarter of a mile to the bridge, where artists try to capture the force and power of nature. We eschew the hike to the top of the falls, but it’s just a mile. For the serious hiker, a strenuous 7-mile hike takes you to Sherrad Point, where five of the Northwest’s most famous mountain peaks are all visible on a clear day. We are soon back in the car and drive further up I-84 to the historic Columbia River Gorge Hotel, another Oregon landmark. The combination of fall colors and river beauty is inspiring. The light drizzle does nothing to dampen the spirit. It does, however, dampen the windsurfers, who are not out on this windless day. On the way back, we stop at the outlet malls in Troutdale, and at a great savings we all buy something new and special for tonight’s big night out. I will wear a purple and pink striped shirt, proudly I might add. Portland brings out the splash in me. It’s important to note that if your three-day trip turns to a four- or five-day visit, plans C and D make it well worth it. Plan C: Instead of driving east, head south on I-5, then west on Hwy 99W. Within 30 minutes, you are in the heart of the Oregon Wine Country. What more do you need for a perfect day? Plan D: Jump on the light rail at Pioneer Square headed west. Get off at the Washington Park/Portland Zoo stop. Visit the zoo (it’s a beautiful one that you don’t even have to bring kids to enjoy), then catch the tram over to Washington Park. See the Rose Garden views, even if the roses are not blooming, and wander the park. Wander far enough and you end up just 10 blocks north of your hotel. On this day, we return to the hotel for a quick nap before dinner at Pazzo’s Ristorante, a Portland landmark. Pazzo’s is the perfect place for special occasions. The wine and food are exquisite, the service of absolute highest caliber. Our foursome offers a toast of good wishes for two at the table celebrating October birthdays. With a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, Pazzo’s could well be the perfect place for any occasion, but for us, we see it more as a special place. A reunion birthday party in years to come is likely. Next, we take a cab to a play at the Keller, home to many Broadway touring plays. Tonight is the Lion King, a feast for the eyes and ears. The play drags in parts, perhaps because the acclaim has set the bar of expectations for this play unusually high. But, the opening scene alone is worth the price of admission. The audience breaks out in applause just moments into the production. It’s not a visit to Portland without a Spanish coffee at Huber’s. The specially trained servers make the combustible after-dinner drink at your table, with swirling pours that flame in the glass. You want to stand and cheer, but you stuff a five in his glass in appreciation instead. He looks pleased you didn’t stand and cheer. Day Three It can’t be my wife’s birthday without a spa treatment. This time, I have booked her at Aequis Spa, which she reports back, is one of the best places she has ever gone. Two hours of pure pampering and her body and spirit are restored, she reports back to me. She arrived early and was quickly transported to an exotic Mideastern land of human reinvigoration. Highly professional massage therapists offer a wide array of body treatments, aroma therapies and other ways to restore body and mind. She glows when she returns in time for lunch. I glow too, from over-exertion in the hotel weight room. Once seated at the Red Star Tavern, my own Bloody Mary concoction cools off my glow. The food is too die for. Over breakfast we talk of what we have done and what we still want to do. We discuss plans C and D that weren’t on this trip’s agendas. As I take out my wallet to leave a tip, I notice her look, glowing yes, but her mouth looks almost sad. “This is so wonderful. I am not ready to go,” she says. The surest sign of a perfect getaway. Andrew Scot Bolsinger is the editor of the Ashland Daily Tidings. Contact him at [email protected] DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Free Music Downloads Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks Online Casinos FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products best online casino teleconferencing High-End Gaming Computers Diamonds Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Discounted Website Hostings Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Myspace Layouts Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Student Loans Bonus Casino ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Canadian Pharmacy Casino Gambling Sites Backpacks Click Here .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams