north america, road trip, united states August 5, 2015

West Coast Road Trip Stop: Portland, Oregon

Planning a West Coast Road Trip? Consider these stops

Continuing on with my West Coast road trip, my next stop was Portland. From Bandon, I drove up along Highway 101 to Tillamook and then on to Portland. I planned to stay a few days to visit with friends and enjoy the City of Roses before I headed up to Vancouver my final destination.

TRIP PLANNING STARTS HERE

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Accommodations: I use Booking.com or Tripadvisor to find the best rates on hotels. Hotels.com offers a free night after booking 10 nights.
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Travel Insurance: Having gotten sick on my travels in the past, I never travel without being insured. You never know when something may happen. For my round the world trip and extended long-term travel, I use World Nomads. For other trips, I have used Roam Right and they cover activities like extreme sports.

My friends in Portland were working and I couldn’t meet up with them until after work so I took a leisurely drive up the coast. I stopped in several places to take photos like Seal Cove in Florence and even in Lincoln City to check out their outlet mall. Sadly I had no shopping luck there.

After Lincoln City, I could have driven east to Portland but it would get me there in the heart of rush hour. I decided to kill time by going north to Tillamook. There I sampled some cheese and had ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I thought about going to Cannon Beach also since it was the Goonies 30th anniversary but I wouldn’t have gotten to Portland at a decent hour so I nixed that idea since I’ve been a handful of times.

Umpqua Lighthouse State Park in Reedsport

Seal Cove in Florence

At the Pendleton outlet in Lincoln City

Visiting the Tillamook Cheese factory

I love food samples

Oh yeah, baby!! I scream for Tillamook ice cream

Once I got to Portland, I stayed with my friend Cullen. During the day I worked at cafes or went looking for food. On the weekend, I had ice cream with my friends Damon and Kayt and their kids. I also hung out with my friends Theola, Steve, and Becky and went to the Rose Festival.

I love it when I randomly visit a place and there are fun events happening. My friend George and I also had beers at his backyard BBQ. Then I went to visit Cullen who works at the Adidas Headquarters. I may have done some shopping at the employee store (insert big grin here). It’s always fun times in Portland!!

With Damon, Kayt (photo taker) and kids

Love sneakers! Visiting Adidas HQ (sorry for wearing Cons)

Going into Adi HQ

Sneakers on sneakers on sneakers

I don’t actually get to do much when I visit Portland because I just try to catch up with my local friends. I can recommend two things that I did on my own enjoyed thoroughly:

Visit Multnomah Falls – it’s quick 30-minute drive and you can hike to the top if you so wish

Shot on my new GoPro 4 Silver

Take a craft brewery tour with Evergreen Escapes. Portland is known for their craft beer so this is the place to do it and Evergreen Escapes has awesome and knowledgable drivers.