Crinklys Pacific NW jaunt (5/29-6/20/2021) Day 14 Portland exploration (6/11)

 Check out of our place and start the drive back to Portland which will be the final locale for the trip. It is sprinkling/raining the whole drive in. Eventually get into town and have some time to kill before we can check in so we grab lunch at the pine street market which looks like a pretty cool food hall but its currently under construction and only the ramen place was open. 

rake patterns in the garden

Fishies!!

Waterfall in the park

This tree has pretty and cool looking leaves

More sand art

Beautiful!!

Love gardens

Bonsai tree flowering

Getting lost in a rose garden

Apologize for all the pics of roses but there were so many of various sizes and colors so had to get a good representation.

Cool little theater next to the rose garden

one part of the rose garden from higher view

We eat there anyway and the ramen was incredibly tasty but also had a weird flavor to it which I think came from it having spinach in it. Make our way back to the car and go see about checking in to the hotel. They let us so we drop our bags off and get situated then head out to explore the city a bit. First stop is the Japanese garden which is decent but many of the exhibits/paths were closed which was kinda annoying but still pretty. Then we see people walking away from the garden as we are exiting so we follow them and turns out there is a massive test rose garden on the other side of the tennis courts there. They breed different strains/colors of roses and have a contest every year and each year's winner gets a permanent place in the ring of honor or whatever it was called so you can not only see various colors and styles of roses but also see what won which year and what not. Tis an impressive garden so I am glad we stumbled upon it. When we are done walking around there, we get in the car and drive around the area which has tons of huge and incredibly nice house before finding our way to where the arboretum is. Lovely park as well. Tons of beautiful trees (the redwood thicket was pretty cool), nice trails meandering all throughout, and little gardens interspersed (the winter garden wasnt much to look at when we went but it wasnt winter so maybe thats why?). The area we were in, Washington park, has tons of other attractions like a zoo, childrens museum, imax, etc. and a trolley that drives around the attractions bringing people to and fro. Pretty central area for culture and enjoyment. Drive back to the hotel and drop car off then walk over to Forte for a wine tasting which was delicious. Our server was very knowledgeable and recommended we go to high horse nearby for dinner; was a great recommendation as the food was delicious, the cocktails were awesome, and the bar/restaurant itself was very stylish as it was the restaurant/bar in a pretty chic hotel. After enjoying our dinner/drinks, we head back to the hotel for bed. 

Crinklys Pacific NW jaunt (5/29-6/20/2021) Day 13 Hiking the coast and checking out Tillamook (6/10)

Do yoga and then shower which is a mistake as we are about to get sweaty on the hike but guess I am no fortune teller. Drive into Ecola state park and park at Indian head and hike down to crescent beach. Was a nice hike and beautiful scenery but you can also just walk along the beach a ways from town and get there as well which lessens the need to hike down to it for me but whatever. Then we drive over and do the Clatsop loop trail, taking the road up and the trail down as was advised to do. 

Morning beach views

Went down to the beach to check it out

Found this big guy as we were hiking.

Lil lighthouse on a lil island

Back from the hike and get to take this view in one last time

Cheese Land!!!

Beers at de Garde... pretty good selection :)

Back to home base to spend some more time enjoying these beach views

Party on the beach apparently

Enjoying the hazy nature of the distant views

lil cave to explore on the side of the rock

Birds are protected up there, there are signs in front of the rock saying not to disturb them.

wish there was more of a high tide so the reflections could be bigger

So people at night bring wood out here and have fires then just leave whatever wood didnt burn in the sand after they put it out. on such a pristine beach, just didnt expect to find this here.

The road is boring as hiking most roads are but it is different scenery than the trail so that was fine. Get to the top at the Hikers camp and the view out onto the water from there was meh so we head down the lighthouse view path which was pretty nice; had a couple viewing outlooks to see the lil island with the lighthouse on it. On the way down, a bird crapped on Mike which he did not appreciate. After hiking, we get in the car and drive down to Tillamook which had a beautiful drive through a valley. Went to Werners for lunch and beer which was great as the food was delicious (especially after all that hiking), but the beers were extremely limited as they are moving production locations. Head to the Tillamook creamery to get a tour and it was very uninspiring for what I was expecting. There was no tasting of cheese, the line for ice cream was hella long, and the wait to get into the building to do a selfguided tour was also long - all due to covid. Eventually we get in and do the self guided tour which is informative and what not but lets be honest, I really went to try all the cheeses :) After we are done there, we head over to De Guarde brewery to meet Trevor, see the building and try some of their beers. So many options and all were incredibly delicious; my favorite was this chamomile sour beer - I dont usually get much flavor from softer floral ingredients but this beer was delicious. The place itself is very rustic feeling and the brewery is organized chaos and pretty impressive; it was unlike any brewery I think I have seen previously/since - they have oak barrels everywhere and no fermenters as they ferment in the barrels. Head back to cannon beach through that same beautiful valley we came in on and go to Toms fish and chips for dinner; it was ok but definitely overhyped and tastes very commercially not like fish and chips Ive had at pubs and what not. Back to the place and grab some beers to go walk along the beach for sunset and having some beers while we chill. Once we are done enjoying the scenery, head back for bed.