A Good House by Andrea Zuill
In a week I’ll be heading to Oregon. My Daughter and I will drive as fast as we can up to Portland then leisurely make our way down the coast. We’re very interested in finding cool craft, art and farming places to visit. So I am asking you, my ass- kicking readers, do you have any tips for our Oregon trip?
Please remember that I am a artist and I am poor. I am not looking for anything 4 star. The descriptive words humble, homey, crafty, and hole-in-the-wall best fits the type of places we are looking for. I also might bring some of my prints so if there is anything that can be traded for art that would be excellent. Oh, and I also can do a small quilting class.
Thanks!
ooh check out voodoo doughnuts while your up there! I hear they have maple doughnuts with bacon, and doughnuts shaped like voodoo dolls ^_^
The Oregon coast has the best parks. They have Yurts you can stay in, its like one step up from tent camping. And beautiful.
http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/cabins.shtml
This site will definitely help you out in Portland: http://pdxguide.org/
Also, I just found out about this place in Salem via Cate Avenski’s blog: http://www.enchantedforest.com/
http://cateanevski.typepad.com/cateanevski/2010/07/enchanted-forest.html
Have fun!
Yes, I can recommend the yurts too. I grew up on the coast it is a fun way to stay. We just did a trip last weekend of the coast, probably a trip like what you will do. Portland to Astoria (don’t miss the climb up the Astoria Column only a $1 parking fee, and $3 to visit Fort Clatsop most of which is walking and a museum and learning about Lewis & Clark my girls loved it) Do you know Happy Zombie
She lives there. Then we hit Tillamook – you must stop at the Creamery… it doesn’t cost anything but the Icecream and Cheese you buy. YUM!! Don’t skip the squeaky cheese. Such a fun memory from my childhood. And i loved watching my girls laugh about it. Slightly south we went to the Air Museum. Not too spendy, the shear mass of the hanger is worth the small drive out there even if you don’t go in. (it’s only about a half mile or so off 101) We stayed in Lincoln city right on the beach, but financially i cant recommend that, it was sort of a once in a lifetime thing for us. But there is a Casino there and an outlet mall. My favorite stretch of the coast has always been Depoe Bay. Kite shop, fudge, salt water taffy etc. Don’t forget to get Mo’s Clam Chowder, there are several locations and don’t miss the lighthouses. Yaquina Head is pretty. Then we headed back inland at Newport. That is where I got married. They have a wonderful Aquarium. Sorry i took you on my own personal tour there, i suppose I felt a close affinity to your blog since we just came back. I hope you have so much fun.
All that being said, i enjoy your art very much. Nothing makes me “happier” than seeing a new grumpy girl or naughty birdie show up in my blog to perfectly depict how I feel some mornings waking up in the overcast oregon weather. Thanks you for sharing your craft.
I don’t know if it meets the price requirements, but the McMenamins places are definitely funky and creative. We’ve eaten at the Kennedy School and thoroughly enjoyed teh experience: http://www.mcmenamins.com/797-courtyard-restaurant-home. My dad and son just completed an Oregon to NorCal road trip and camped along the way. They took a speedboat ride on teh Rogue River which they said was fun. Just the scenery from their pics was great — bald eagle, deer, seals, a bear… They say lots of baby animals at a dairy farm in Crescent City ( I think they were originally after fresh ice cream, though I’m not sure the quest was successful). There was a lighthouse there too that you could only access at low tide. That was neat. I think Crescent City had a giant tacky Paul Bunyan that talks too.
When you are here in Portland, if you do only one thing, you MUST go to SCRAP (http://scrapaction.org/) It is the most fun/cheap/creativity-inspiring art supply thrift store.
Also, if you go to Voodoo Doughnut (as mentioned above), go to the 2nd location: 1501 N.E. Davis St. instead of the one downtown. That way you’ll avoid the atrocious summer lines, and still get the delish donuts (I recommend the O’ Captain My Captain…it has captain crunch atop) as well as the voodoo-doughnut-aesthetic.
Have fun!
I’m envious! We love Oregon. When you get to Portland, you’ll want to check out McMenamin’s Kennedy School–it’s a really fun place to stay, but stop by even if it’s only for one of their beers–you’ll love the art there. Check out their website–http://www.mcmenamins.com/427-kennedy-school-home. There are several other facilities throughout Oregon and all have fun art.
On the coast, I wanted to stay at the Sylivia Beach hotel, but my DH couldn’t climb the stairs. Check out their website–http://www.sylviabeachhotel.com/home.cfm?dir_cat=39281. We DID have dinner there–seating is family style and they play a great game called two truths and a lie; it gets everyone involved with one another and makes for a fun time.
We also stayed at a quirky lodging facility in Yachats, which is itself an arty sort of area, called See Vue–http://www.seevue.com/.
The Rogue River Mailboat trips are a ton of fun too!
Have a wonderful trip!
It’s in the opposite direction from the coast (about an hour east of Portland), but if you have the time, the Hood River Fruit Loop is fun.
http://www.hoodriverfruitloop.com/index.html
suggestions for portland….
food and spirits: i would strongly suggest edgefields mcmenamins – such a beautiful place, the very first mcmenamins. the columbia gorge & old highway 30 – beautiful hikes. if you should visit the columbia gorge and want some all natural hot springs – visit http://www.carsonhotspringresort.com/. shopping: go to sellwood & hawthorne areas of portland, trendy and fun vintage stores galore. great people watching too! saturday market is awesome! literally every weekend in the summer. i think that sums up my favorite places. i miss it there – live in cali now…. grew up in the columbia gorge. just beautiful!
This is so great. With your help I have quite a great list of fun stuff to do. So keep it coming.
Does anyone know of any fiber farms that you can visit?
Aside from what others have said you should definitely check out Ecola State Park as you go down the coast. It is beautiful and has lots of sea stacks to look at. Beautiful hiking trail too. Near there is Manzanita which is a cute little beach town. It has gotten a little touristy over the years, but it is still nice and has lots of little shops.
When you’re in Portland if you’re in the Hawthorne district stop by the Sapphire Hotel for dinner or brunch on the weekends. It’s not really a hotel, just a restaurant/bar but they have good food and not too expensive. How can you go wrong with bread pudding french toast? Just outside Portland is Multnomah Falls which is absolutely beautiful and on the Gorge. You can hike to the top of the water fall and look down or you can just go part of the way and get into the spray. It is wonderful and FREE!
Good luck. We love living here so we think you’ll love it too.
Portland has a great embroidery shop called “Acorns and Threads” – You might like that. If you like felt, Gossamer is a funky little shop in Portland. There are some fiber farms in the Hood River area. The Portland area has a very active fiber arts community. And in Cannon Beach, there is a great quilt shop a block from the public beach (which I can’t think of the name of this moment). On your way up, stop in Ashland – there’s a wonderful knitting shop with some cool jewelry. I went on a road trip with my family last summer and hit all the lighthouses along the Oregon coast and some of the California coast- that was alot of fun. I hope you have a great trip!
There’s an alpaca farm and store in my neck of the woods (just outside Portland). The alpacas are so adorable! It’s called NW Alpacas and tours can be scheduled by calling 503-348-6958. Another fun and cheap thing right now around here is the U-Pick blueberry farms. They’re all over the place here in Sherwood and now is the time to pick ‘em.
http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/
I love your blog and patterns – unicorn is still in progress!. This lady is over in Portland and has lots of bit on her Blog and links to shops in that area. Looks a fantastic place to visit, but I’m in sunny Cornwall, UK!
Have a great time!
Ha, what a coincidence! I flew to Portland on the 18th.
You’ve probably already left unfortunately. There is a really great fabric store up here called Fabric Depot–it’s huge over an acre.