Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area
After making our way down Highway 101 on the west side of Washington, mostly in the rain, we arrived safe and sound in Portland, Oregon on October 12 at the home of Jamie and Phil, wonderful friends who took us in for the weekend. They share our love of interesting beer, so Saturday, after watching some football (it starts early on the west coast!) we visited a few breweries.
Our 9 beer tastes at Upright Brewery
At the HUB on Friday night the bartender recommended we try Upright Brewery where we made our own table out of a beer barrel and sampled all 9 of their beers (sample size, not pints) including a tasty hopless lemon grass concoction. We then made our way downtown to a Deschutes Brewpub location, with a roaring fireplace, tasty dinner, and more new beer. Just down the street was an REI location, so Adam wandered for a while, actually making a purchase this visit. We then headed out to the Rock Creek McMenamins, a really cool tavern that was built out of timbers from old barns, one dating back to the late 1800s. They had live music, a patio, and a dark beer that Adam couldn’t see through, his favorite.
Old Salmon River Trail
On Sunday Phil made us a tasty brunch at home and I got to watch a bit more football, no Bengals, however. The rain was holding off so the four of us packed the car and headed towards Mount Hood, stopping first at the Old Salmon River Trail for a really nice wooded hike along the Salmon River. Phil and Adam talked fly fishing while Jamie, Stuie, and I caught up on the river bank. We then ventured further up the mountain to the Mt Hood lodge, Timberline. Most of the mountain was hidden in fog but we enjoyed a beer at the Rams Head, then made our way back down to Government Camp and the Mt Hood Brewing Co. for beer and pizza. A tasty end to a fun day outside.
Monday was a day of errands like mailing things and picking up supplies. A trip to Portand wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Voodoo Doughnut for some maple bacon doughy love. Tasty! I also tried an Oreo peanut butter doughnut which was fabulous too. It’s a good thing Adam doesn’t like sweets too much, or his fingers might have disappeared.
The smell of beer brewing drew us in to Widmer Brewery during happy hour. We shared a pint of their signature Hefeweizen and a cup of beer cheese soup, both perfect on a rainy afternoon. Later for dinner, Phil made a super tasty loaded grilled cheese and tomato basil soup and we watched The Hunger Games movie and did some laundry.
A tricky wave got me
It was hard to say goodbye to Jamie and Phil after such a fun, relaxing weekend, but Tuesday we headed to the Oregon coast and our first stop of Cannon Beach. We walked along the beach near Haystack Rock, dipping our toes (and sometimes our knees, unexpectedly) in the cold ocean water. The clouds overhead eventually dropped some rain, so we tucked into the Ecola Fish Market for some homemade clam chowder (with hot sauce, just as Adam likes it).
Driving south on Highway 101 the rain was on and off, so we stopped a few places but just drove by others including Oswald West State Park which had been recommended to us. We did stop at Three Arch Rock in Oceanside, then made an accidental loop back to Tillamook where we sampled some cheese at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company. We managed to catch a great view of the sunset over the ocean in the Pelican Breweryparking lot in Pacific City (see the link for a cool picture of the parking lot location), then headed inside to try their beer wares. We camped that night at the free Castle Rock campground in Suislaw National Forest, an unusual set up with one large tent area separated from the parking area.
Pelican Brewery parking lot
Wednesday brought beautiful coastal view points including a stop at Boiler Bay where the big waves crashed and sprayed multiple stories in the air. We ate our sandwiches in the car, much to the chagrin of the inquisitive sea gulls waiting patiently for crumbs. We also visited the Yaquina Head Lighthouseand saw dozens of birds in their nests on the sea stacks just off the coast. The wind didn’t stop the rocks from applauding on Cobble Beach, a unique beach feature that was hard to miss (as the water recedes from each wave, it ripples the large pebbles on the beach, creating a sound much like applause).
Cobble Beach
The Oregon coast is definitely beautiful and unique, so we stopped at Rogue Ale’s Brewers on the Bay for a taste of their Double Chocolate Stout, Baltic Porter, Mocha Porter, Smoke Ale, Chipotle Ale, and Shakes Ale, just a few of their selections on tap. Rogue also brews a Maple Bacon Ale, in coordination with Voodoo Doughnut, that apparently is tasty when used in pancake batter instead of water. I’ll have to try that sometime soon as the thought of maple and bacon flavors already in my pancakes sounds fabulous to me.
Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach
We then traveled inland to Eugene and Ninkasi Brewing Company, I think my favorite so far on the trip. Arriving at the tasting room we met Nikos, co-owner, and James, marketing director, who were staffing the TR that night so their staff could all hang out together. Seems like a really neat operation which has grown tremendously in just the last 7 years. They have some really cool metal work, all handmade by their friend and employee, on the beer taps, bar, and outdoor patio area. They also gave us a prototype of their soon-to-be-produced Ninkasi bottle opener which is super cool, plus stickers, info, and a parking lot to sleep in. Definitely a great stop and worth the trip to Eugene.
We got some car errands done in Eugene, then headed for Crater Lake National Park, definitely a favorite on the trip. Check our next post for our thoughts on Crater Lake!
Moneys on the Move 