Portland Japanese Garden

Last summer, I visited the Portland Japanese Garden with my mother-in-law, Jan, who was visiting from England. I heard that it was a popular place, so we set off early in the morning, intending on arriving as soon as it opened at 10am.

The Portland Japanese Garden is located in Washington Park, a massive area just outside of the city, that includes the Portland Zoo, the International Rose Test Garden, and many museums. It's well-worth multiple visits. We took the MAX train and then had to take a free internal bus that loops around Washington Park. The bus ride took about fifteen minutes and we had a nice conversation with a young woman from a group of Mormon missionaries who were taking in the local attractions on their day off. 

We were not the only people who had decided to try to beat the crowds by arriving early. The line snaked around stanchions and the queue was about a hundred people deep. The summer time admission was 16.95 for adults, but Jan got a senior break at 14.50. 

After buying our tickets, we had to walk up multiple sets of stairs, though a forest setting to reach the main level of the garden. 

Our first stop was the tea room. The tea room is extremely popular and does not take reservations. They do take a list on the same day, first come/first served. We put our name down and we were told to return in two hours.

The Portland Japanese Garden is a magical place, filled with shady nooks, waterfalls, and art. It's beautiful. We took a leisurely walk, ducking into air-conditioned buildings to see Japanese art, including an exhibit on costumes used in Kabuki. 

The garden was serene with hillside paths and surprises around every corner. 

Koi!

The rock garden. 

The garden is not big and two hours was ample time to enjoy it. Although, I can easily imagine getting an annual pass, returning to sit and read in the garden. We saw many people with sketch pads.

We ended our day at the tea house. I had a recent phone conversation with Jan, regarding my upcoming trip to visit her in England. We spoke about all of the things that I wanted to see and made big plans. She said, "I know you're going to want to take pictures of everything, especially the food." Yep. If it's memorable, I'm going to document it.

First, here is the menu for the tea house. We were told that all of the tea is imported from Japan and that it is very special, not something that we would easily find elsewhere, outside of Japan. The tea room had an exclusive deal with a distributor. 

Everything looked good and we were hungry. We settled on the "Sencha with Castella" set for two and added two Chikara Cakes. 

The Chikara cake is similar to a fruit cake, thick and dense, with nuts and dried fruit. It was yummy and filling, something you'd want to pack for a hike. The Sencha tea was refreshing and it came with a Japanese sponge cake that tasted sweet, like it might have been sweetened with honey. It reminded me of a similar cake that my mom used to buy from a local Cuban bakery in Glendale. 

The Tea Room is a must-do. However, you must arrive early and get your name on the list immediately. It's not a large cafe and the experience is leisurely, so the spots fill up fast.

Finally, here is a picture of downtown Portland taken from the garden. I love the mash-up of city and nature.

Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge

We visited Mount Hood and the historic Timberline Lodge, three times during our year of living in Portland. The drive was a little less than two hours from our apartment in the city.

The first trip was on a cloudy and chilly, June 10th. We set out in the late morning. Here are a few pictures from the drive: lush and green, mostly farms and forests.

There was a lot of snow on Mount Hood. I'm not sure if this is true, but we were told that Mount Hood is the only place in the United States where you can ski year-round. After I took Dan's picture, a bird landed on the very top of the tree.

Not only was there snow on the mountain, but it started to snow as soon as we arrived. Snow in June!

And we saw hikers starting off on a trail. People have died on the Mount Hood trails. 

No extreme hiking for us, just a photo.

Recognize the historic Timberline Lodge? The exterior of the lodge was used as a stand-in for The Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film, The Shining. It has been used in many other films, including the recent adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's memoir, Wild.

Timberline Lodge was build during the Great Depression as part of the Works Progress Administration ( renamed the Works Project Administration). Its lobby is filled with antiques from the era. 

We headed up to the Ram's Head Bar, located on the upper level of the lodge, to warm up with the most decadent hot chocolate, that included a shot of Bailey's. Look at all of the whipped cream and toffee. Yummy!

We feasted on a cheese plate and homemade bread. 

Our view of the snow storm outside. 

Less than three weeks later, we visited Timberline Lodge with the kids. It was a sunny Forth of July and we were all in shorts. Much of the snow had melted, but there were still skiers on the slopes!

And three weeks later, on July 30th, we brought Dan's mom. Snow was still on Mount Hood, but the areas close to Timberline Lodge were blanketed with wildflowers. 

If you're planning a trip to Oregon, Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood should be on your itinerary. If I were to visit again, I'd definitely make an effort to spend the night at Timberline Lodge. It's an incredible historic landmark. Obviously this is a wonderful place to ski, but if you're not a skier, there are other nearby activities, like The Ski Bowl, which is a family friendly center with activities like Horseback Riding and an enormous alpine sled. If you drive a little, you're near the "Fruit Loop," a scenic drive that takes you by local farms selling fresh produce. Fishing is also nearby. The whole area is beautiful and not to be missed. 

Oregon Wine Tasting

During our year in Portland, we were lucky to have our friends from California (Valerie, Bryan, Susan, & Greg), visit and include us in their trip to Salem. After spending an afternoon showing them around Portland, we drove to Oregon's capital, where we spent two nights. 

The next morning, we woke up bright and early, to begin our day of visiting wineries. We met up with their other friends (Larry & Judy), who had arrange a whole day of vineyard sightseeing in the Willamette Valley.

First stop, Domaine Drouhin, a winery that has been in Oregon since the 80's. The same family who owns it, also has vineyards in France and has been in the business for over a century. Judy and Gary arranged for us to have a private tasting, prior to Domaine Drouhin's business hours. 

I know very little about wine and I do not have a sophisticated palate. I'll drink just about anything. To that end, we drank a lot on that day and I have zero memory of what I enjoyed the most. I left it completely up to Dan to make the decisions as to which bottles to purchase. I was far more interested in the places we visited, than I was in the wine that we were drinking. I'm left with a clear memory of what I saw, rather than what I tasted. I do remember that I was fairly tipsy after leaving Domaine Drouhin. Drinking in the morning on an empty stomach is rough. 

Domaine Drouhin is a beautiful property. 

They have vineyard dogs!

The tasting room was very grand and the private experience definitely gave it a personal touch. A great way to kick off our morning.

Next stop, was the Stoller Family Estate. This was my favorite, because it was the most casual. We took in the gorgeous views, while sitting in a heated tent  and enjoying nibbles.

For lunch, we headed to the Hotel Oregon in McMinnville. The Hotel Oregon is a McMenamin's property. McMenamins is a PNW chain of quirky hotels and restaurants. For example, a few of their properties are old schools that have been turned into hotels. Each McMenamins has its own theme and charm. In addition to the main restaurant, The Hotel Oregon has four bars, including a roof top bar and a basement speak-easy. It's the type of hotel with a surprise around every corner. It reminded me of The Magic Castle in Hollywood. Lunch was great and we snuck down to the basement for a quick cocktail. If you visit a McMenamin's ( and you should) make sure to get a passport to collect special stamps from all of the properties. 

To further solidify the quirkiness of McMenamins, they host an annual UFO Festival.

Our final winery was Willamette Valley Vineyards. This was the grandest of the three and it had a country club vibe. The weather was starting to get cool and rainy. It was wonderful to be in a cozy environment with warm fireplaces, while enjoying wine and majestic views. 

We had a wonderful day spending time with friends, enjoying great wine, and being tourists. Here is our haul from the wineries. It has been over a year and we still have a few bottles left!