Danielle and I both had never been to Portland. She wanted to get away for a long weekend and have a vacation from our vacation lifestyle. I figured it would be a nice change and I always enjoy experiencing a different form of the travel industry (hotels).

We booked a hotel in Portland using CheapTickets. Before any vacation, the dogs can tell when we’re packing and they sit by the luggage, just to make sure in case they need to remind us that they want to come with. Lucky for them our hotel was pet-friendly.

We left the ocean to head inland to the big city. It doesn’t matter how many big cities we’ve been in, it’s always exciting to explore a new city or area. Typically I do a lot of research before we visit a new area but this was somewhat last minute. That meant everything was a surprise and we had to use the things we’ve learned over the years to pull together a great trip on the fly.

Once we got into the hotel we went out and explored the city. You could spend an entire week just exploring the different areas in Portland so we just crunched the hot spots. I felt like it was a big city with a small town feel. Very beautiful and outdoorsy. I can understand why Clyde Drexler loved this city so much.

Buy Some Shoes – Widmer Tour

We didn’t realize Widmer was in Portland until I saw something online about their tours. So we called them up and the only available tour before we left town was coming up shortly, the only problem is they said you could only have closed toe shoes and Danielle didn’t bring any on the trip.

We figured out we had 7 minutes to spare for her to find shoes and buy them. There happened to be a Payless shoe store close to us on our route so I swung in, she jumped out and I circled until she came out. She bought the first pair of decent looking shoes her size, they ended up working out perfect and we made it on time for the tour!

The tour was great. It’s always neat to see how something transforms through a large science project for adults. We’ve been a fan of the Widmer Hefeweizen for years and we enjoyed seeing where it comes from.

Of course, at the end, they have a tasting for you to see what they’re cooking up for the future as well as try some other flavors you may not have had.

The Columbia River Scenic Byway

I love hiking all over the country, Danielle loves shopping all over the country. I stayed in the truck and did some research on our next moves and realized the mall we were at was on an island. It was also on the Washington/Oregon border because we were about to head inland on the Columbia River Scenic Byway towards Mt Hood.

This is an absolute must drive. Many consider it one of the best drives in the country and I can understand why it’s gorgeous. There are also countless spots to pull off, go hiking and enjoy nature.

There were some places in White Salmon, WA that had absolutely incredible views of the town of Hood River. Unfortunately, none of them were open on Sunday. We stopped and ate in the town of Hood River and had a nice meal at the Full Sail Brewery.

We stopped at Wahkeena Falls & Horsetail Falls. They were both right off the road with nice parking areas. Very beautiful waterfalls.

Views of Mt Hood

I did some quick online research and found out that the Phelps Creek Winery had some of the best views of Mt Hood. As soon as you pull in you’re greeted with this incredible view.