Oregon Archives - Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com https://isaactchurch.com/tag/oregon/ Travel Blog, Photography, Reviews, Résumé, Music, Food Guides, and More Thu, 31 Aug 2023 19:46:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://isaactchurch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cropped-Site-Icon-2-32x32.jpg Oregon Archives - Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com https://isaactchurch.com/tag/oregon/ 32 32 Day 8: Mt. Hood // Columbia River Gorge // Travel https://isaactchurch.com/day-8-mt-hood-columbia-river-gorge-travel/ https://isaactchurch.com/day-8-mt-hood-columbia-river-gorge-travel/#respond Sun, 11 Mar 2018 21:49:27 +0000 http://52.200.201.133/?p=569 Mt. Hood, Columbia River Gorge, Hood River, Waterfalls, Portland

The post Day 8: Mt. Hood // Columbia River Gorge // Travel appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]>

I’m still not quite sure if it’s worse having jet lag going E->W or W->E. One thing’s certain, having DST change on the same day is not fun.

Breakfast - Dot Donuts

We awoke fairly early this morning in an attempt to get back on EST (we’ll see how that actually works out), and spent a fair bit of time packing. We finally left the hotel and headed a short distance away to Dot Donuts to continue our trend of dough-based breakfasts. We got a dozen (actually, a baker’s dozen) of a variety of flavors, ate a few in the store, and snacked on the rest as dessert throughout the day.

I don’t think we ever actually finished them, as we were fairly sick of donuts. I suppose we felt like we needed to get our fill while in the area of the country famous for donuts and coffee. At Dot, we got old fashioned, Bavarian cream, green apple, chocolate, blackberry, coconut cream, and maybe a few others–just look at the pictures and take your best guess, because I don’t really remember.

Mt. Hood

After breakfast, we started our exploration for the day. After a quick pit stop for gas, we headed towards Mt. Hood, which sits as a distant backdrop to Portland. It is an active volcano, with the last major eruption in ~1781 and some volcanic activity in the early 19th Century.

Mt. Hood

We drove about a two hour loop–plus stops–around the mountain, stopping a few places to enjoy the view. The area is popular for all types of snow activities. There were several feet of snow on the ground, and the roads were walled with pileup. At one overlook, we ran into a couple from Poland, and we had a lengthy conversation about my travels to Poland and their travels across the US.

Hood River

Finally, we arrived at the Columbia River, in Hood River, OR. Panorama Point provide a scenic view of the valley before we headed into town.

Lunch - Solstice

We decided it was time for lunch, so we headed to Solstice Pizza, an award-winning wood-fired oven pizzeria. By now, it was almost 60 degrees with a steady breeze, our warmest day yet, so we ate outside under the heaters (thus the orange glow on the food). Everything at Solstice was house-made, including the meats. We got two 11″ pizzas, a salad, and an order of Brussels sprouts. Pizza 1 had Canadian bacon and Italian sausage. Pizza 2 was more unique, and was the award-winning pie Solstice is famous for. It’s called the “Country Girl Cherry”, and has dried cherries, chorizo sausage, goat cheese, shredded mozzarella, and marinara.

I’m not much on cherries, but I have to say this was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten, and was certainly one of the best meals on this trip. The salad had pears, bleu cheese, dried cherries, candied walnuts, and a balsamic vinegarette. The Brussels sprouts were fried crispy with brown sugar and a bacon marmalade. The entire meal was outstanding, and we thoroughly enjoyed the food and the view of the river.

Solstice Pizza
Hood River, Oregon

They cook things under some serious heat, and it shows in the nice char on the crust and vegetables. The “Country Girl Cherry” was unexpectedly scrumptious.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Columbia river Gorge

After lunch, we began our drive through the Columbia River Gorge back towards Portland. There are an unbelievable amount of waterfalls in the Gorge, and a surprising lack of scenic overlooks to enjoy views of the river itself. We saw the Bridge of the Gods, where supposedly there was once a natural bridge that crossed the river, many waterfalls, and more. It was a very enjoyable drive, and we stopped frequently to see a waterfall, do a short hike, etc.
Columbia River Gorge

Historic Columbia river Highway

We attempted to get on the Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon’s much shorter equivalent of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it was closed, along with many of the waterfalls and overlooks. Apparently there had been damage from recent landslides. I was especially disappointed the famous Benson Bridge at Multnomah Falls was closed for repairs.

Multnomah Falls
Union Pacific Railway
Multnomah Falls

Vista House

Regardless of the closures, we had a great time on the drive. We stopped at the Vista House on a point high above the river, and were able to get on the Historic Highway there. The wind at the Vista House was so strong we could barely stand up, let alone take a picture, but the views were beautiful. We drove the highway for several miles before we were forced to turn around and head back to I-84. At least those miles afforded us an opportunity to view a few more waterfalls and sites.

Vista House

Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls

Latourell Falls
Latourell Falls
Latourell Falls
Shepherd's Dell Falls
Columbia River Gorge
Shepherd's Dell Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls
Columbia River Gorge
Columbia River Gorge

dinner - Killer Burgers

We headed back to Vancouver, WA and started searching for a quick bit to eat. We settled on Killer Burgers, a local burger chain where everything comes with bacon and bottomless fries. It was a very excellent, unique burger, with a special sauce that stood out. Mom and I got their standard burger, and Dad got the farmyard burger–which came with an egg and grilled ham.

Travel Home

After dinner, we drove back across the river to Portland and headed for Portland International Airport (PDX). We returned our rental car and walked across the sky bridge to check our bags and head for our gate.

PDX
Departing PDX

We boarded our flight around 21:40PST, and we took off about 40 minutes later.

A short and bumpy 4h 45m later, we landed in Charlotte at 06:12EST, exhausted and ready to be home. We took the shuttle bus to our car, drove back to Granite Falls, and immediately all settled down for hibernation. We finally woke up after lunch and unpacked, bringing our trip to an official conclusion.

Arriving in CLT

Conclusion

This has been a great trip, and thanks to all who have followed us. As always, I’ll keep you posted about future trips, and I might even do a few miscellaneous blog posts (I’m thinking about doing a series about our favorite meals in Western NC). As of now, there’s nothing on our travel radar, but who knows!

Final Thoughts

  • We all agreed our favorite day on this trip was the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.
  • Our only disappointing meal was Gordy’s Pizza in Port Angeles, WA.
  • Our favorite meals were Red Fish Blue Fish in Victoria, Creekside Restaurant on the Olympic Peninsula, and Solstice in Hood River.
  • My biggest disappointment is that we didn’t get to visit Mt. Rainier National Park or North Cascades National Park due to mountains of snow (pun intended). Maybe one day…
  • My second biggest disappointment is that I didn’t get any Japanese/Asian food, specifically the renowned Nasai Teriyaki in Seattle.
  • I’ve learned on this trip that though I strongly dislike cherries, I do enjoy dried cherries.
  • Our least exciting day was our first day in Portland.
  • Our favorite non-scenic activity was visiting the Tillamook County Creamery.
  • Our biggest surprise was how beautiful the ferry ride was from Tsawassen to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island.
  • People didn’t ask as much about our accents (mainly Mom and Dad’s) as they did in New England, but they did ask!
Mt. Hood
Mt. Hood

The post Day 8: Mt. Hood // Columbia River Gorge // Travel appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]> https://isaactchurch.com/day-8-mt-hood-columbia-river-gorge-travel/feed/ 0 Day 7: Oregon Coast https://isaactchurch.com/day-7-oregon-coast/ https://isaactchurch.com/day-7-oregon-coast/#respond Sat, 10 Mar 2018 07:08:33 +0000 http://52.200.201.133/?p=498 Oregon Coast Highway, Tillamook, Crescent Beach, Arcadia Beach

The post Day 7: Oregon Coast appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]>

If I were to have a superpower, I think it would be finding cheese stores and bakeries (or donuts shops) in strange places. Today I managed to put my powers to good use as we headed a couple hours drive east to explore the northern part of Oregon’s coast.

But first, let’s talk about breakfast.

Pine State Biscuits

We headed to a place on the northern side of the city called Pine State Biscuits. Three guys from NC who moved to Portland were homesick for biscuits, so they decided to start a food truck at the farmers’ market that eventually evolved into three restaurants.

Once again, we had a case of eyes-bigger-than-stomach at breakfast (seems to be a trend, but hey, who doesn’t adore breakfast food?). We can also plead ignorance, because to be fair, we didn’t realize everything on the menu was double the size one would expect.

I got a biscuit with sausage gravy; Dad got the “Reggie Deluxe”, a biscuit sandwich with chicken, bacon, sausage gravy, cheese, and an egg; and Mom got a biscuit with honey and apple butter, an egg, and sausage.

Pine State Biscuits

We also got an order of hash browns and a homemade apple-cinnamon pop tart to split. Everything was excellent, but we didn’t even come close to finishing it all, although I would have liked to.
Pine State Biscuits
Portland, OR

Generous portions and generous amounts of butter in/on everything make this a delicious breakfast spot.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Tillamook Creamery

After breakfast, we sluggishly dragged ourselves back to the car and drove west of Portland through Tillamook State Forest towards the coast. We stopped at Tillamook County Creamery to tour the facility and, of course, sample some products. They had a very interesting exhibit talking about the entire dairy process, and I learned a lot.

We sampled some cheese, and decided to get some small ice creams and postpone lunch for a while. I wish I could have brought several pounds of cheese back with me. Mom got Oregon dark cherry and Oregon strawberry ice cream; Dad got Tillamook mudslide (lots of chocolate stuff) and caramel buttered pecan; I got Tillamook mudslide and sea salt honeycomb toffee. This was THE BEST ice cream I’ve ever had. By a long shot. We weren’t even hungry from that gigantic breakfast, but I didn’t even care.

Tillamook County Creamery
Tillamook County Creamery
Tillamook Creamery
Tillamook, OR

This was our first introduction to Tillamook products, and we’ve been hooked ever since. They have awesome ice cream, and the experience is made even better through the excellent museum, and the plethora of free samples!

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Lighthouse

We attempted to drive to a nearby lighthouse, but the road was closed.

Manhattan Beach State Park

Disappointed from our failed lighthouse excursion, we decided to head to another nearby location, Manhattan Beach State Park. It was relatively flat and uneventful, but still beautiful, and we walked down to the ocean for a while.

Next, we stopped at several overlooks along the Oregon Coast Highway, pausing to take some pictures and enjoy the scenery.

Neah-kah-nie Viewpoint

The next section of the highway was the most beautiful yet. The road ascends in to the mountains, and winds around a head (peninsula), with many scenic overlooks. One could see the coast from above, as well as the ocean crashing into the rocks beneath towering cliffs.

Cannon Beach

We rolled into Cannon Beach, the home of famous landmark Haystack Rock. It was quite a long walk to get to the beach, so I ran down and snapped a couple quick pictures, and then we moved on.

Crescent Beach
I included this one with people for scale

Ecola State Park

After descending to Cannon Beach, we reascended to Ecola State Park, just north of the city. The park has stunning views of the beach below, as well as several waterfalls that plunge into the ocean below. We enjoyed the views, and I hiked around for a bit before we left to find an afternoon meal.

Ecola State Park
Ecola State Park

Norma's Seafood

We stopped for food in Seaside, OR, at a place called Norma’s Seafood. Mom got a mix of scallops, halibut, and prawns; Dad and I split a crab sandwich with Tillamook cheddar and a seafood platter with prawns, halibut, salmon, squid, oysters, and razor clams. I got a cup of chowder (the best thing I ate today), and Mom and Dad each got a side salad (which came with shrimp on top). Dad’s salad came with a huckleberry vinegarette, which was very unique and tasty.

Ice Cream Hunting

After dinner, we decided we would visit Safeway, a local grocery store, to find a small carton of Tillamook Mudslide to split. It was the only flavor that was sold out, so we decided we didn’t need dessert after all.

Disappointed Dad

Pacific Sunset

It’s been on our bucket lists for a long time to watch the sun set over the Pacific, so we set out to accomplish that goal. We drove past Cannon Beach back to the Neah-Kah-Nie viewpoint in the mountains, and had an incredible vantage point to see the sunset.

Arcadia Beach

After the sun had fully dipped below the horizon, we drove down to Arcadia Beach to enjoy the afterglow.

Conclusion // Day 8 preview

On the way home, we stopped at a Safeway back in Vancouver and managed to find the chocolate ice cream we’d been searching and longing for, to Dad’s great delight. We took it back our hotel and enjoyed a bit of it before heading to bed for the night.

Tomorrow, we head for the Mt. Hood area, and explore the Columbia River Gorge. Supposedly, there are many waterfalls to behold. Tomorrow night we take the red eye back to Charlotte, so I likely won’t get tomorrow’s blog post up until later.

Thanks for reading!

The post Day 7: Oregon Coast appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]> https://isaactchurch.com/day-7-oregon-coast/feed/ 0 Day 6: Tacoma // Castle Rock // Portland https://isaactchurch.com/day-6-tacoma-castle-rock-portland/ https://isaactchurch.com/day-6-tacoma-castle-rock-portland/#respond Fri, 09 Mar 2018 04:49:54 +0000 http://52.200.201.133/?p=487 Mt. Saint Helens, Portland, Otto's Sausage Kitchen, Pie Spot

The post Day 6: Tacoma // Castle Rock // Portland appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]>

Today was a relatively uneventful day, so this will be a short post. It provided some much needed R&R after five overbooked days of exploring.

Breakfast - Legendary Doughnuts

We didn’t leave our hotel in Tacoma until almost 10:30, and headed to Legendary Doughnuts in Tacoma for a late breakfast. We got a box of donuts to split, including a GIANT apple fritter, a few mini Bavarian creme filled, a salted caramel doughsant (a cross between a donut and a croissant), a lemon jelly, an old fashioned, and a double chocolate Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, and we couldn’t even come close to finishing them all. The donuts were good, but nothing special; however, the apple fritter was incredible (in addition to being huge).

Mt. Saint Helens

After breakfast we drove about an hour and a half to the Mt. Saint Helens Visitor’s Center in Castle Rock, WA. The volcano was not visible because of the rain, but the center was fascinating, and it was fun to learn about the eruption and the history of the volcano. The damage was much more serious than I expected, and it was incredible to see before and after pictures of the mountain.

Mt. Saint Helens
Mt. Saint Helens
Eruption Sequence
Shortly after the eruption, a new lava cone formed in the crater
Before/After 1980 Eruption
Before/After 1980 Eruption

Portland

After spending well over an hour at the visitor’s center, we drove further south down I-5 (which, by the way, has some of the worst traffic I have ever encountered) to Portland. We crossed the mighty Columbia River, and stopped on Hayden Island to visit Sierra Trading Post, an outdoor apparel store recently acquired by the T.J. Maxx/Marshall’s/HomeGoods family. It was neat to look around, but it would soon be time for lunch/supper.
Portland, OR

Dinner - Otto's Sausage Kitchen

We headed to a deli/market called Otto’s Sausage Kitchen and Meat Market for supper. It’s a meat market on the south side of Portland that specializes in dozens of kinds of house-made sausages and smoked meats. They operate a grill by the front door during daylight hours on which they grill various dogs. They also offer a variety of sauces and toppings, many homemade.

We each got half a meatloaf sandwich; Mom got a hot dog; Dad and I got pork sausages; and Mom and Dad split some potato salad and coleslaw. It was an excellent meal, and was a unique setting for sure.
Otto’s Sausage Kitchen and Meat Market
Portland, OR

An interesting little deli and market with delicious meats, sandwiches, and sides. You can smell the sausages cooking as you drive by!

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Pie Spot

We headed back to the northeast part of the city to Pie Spot to get three miniature pies for dessert. We got lemon vanilla bean, chocolate hazelnut, and marionberry (an Oregon specialty!) with homemade whipped cream. They were all very good, and just the right amount (about 3 bites) of sweet.

Conclusion

Now safely back across the Columbia River in Washington State, we arrived early at our hotel in Vancouver. Yes, there is a Vancouver in Washington and one in British Columbia. Both cities are named after the same British explorer; however, the Washington city is 24 years older. We all headed to bed very early in preparation for an early start tomorrow.

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, we’re heading to the coast of Oregon. I’m planning for us to visit the ocean, a cheese factory, and more! It will certainly be much more eventful than today.

The post Day 6: Tacoma // Castle Rock // Portland appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]> https://isaactchurch.com/day-6-tacoma-castle-rock-portland/feed/ 0 Introduction // Church Trip 2018 https://isaactchurch.com/introduction-church-trip-2018/ https://isaactchurch.com/introduction-church-trip-2018/#respond Wed, 28 Feb 2018 20:16:49 +0000 http://52.200.201.133/?p=72 Preview of our trip to the Pacific Northwest // British Columbia, Washington, Oregon

The post Introduction // Church Trip 2018 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]>
I woke up at 04:30 to see the Super Blood Blue Moon thing, but all I got was this panorama of Boone.
I woke up at 04:30 to see the Super Blood Blue Moon thing, but all I got was this panorama of Boone.

As I promised a while ago, here’s the introduction for the Church family’s latest adventure! But first, I guess I’ll do a family update…

Church Family Update

It’s been an eventful few months since I last posted on my blog. Shortly after our second road trip to the Northeast, I started my final year of graduate school (having finished my MS in Accounting) to pursue the second part of my degree, an MBA in Analytics, and Mom and Dad resumed their normal lives.

Dad is keeping the bustling metropolis of Granite Falls functioning after surviving a massive fire and a spree of tornados, and Mom has now “officially” retired (aka finally filed for retirement).

Our Christmas was quite the eventful time…

Mom managed to spill a bag of flour in/around/all over the pantry on Christmas morning. While I was cleaning up handfuls of flour, Dad went to the basement to get some new shelf liner, only to discover our water heater had emptied its contents on the basement floor. Eventually we got it fixed, but the only temporary solution was to shut the water off for the entire house on Christmas Day, since the valve on the water heater was broken.

I finished out Christmas Day by getting choked on a piece of steak in the afternoon. I didn’t die, and everything worked out thankfully! I guess after years of relatively normal holidays, we were due some excitement.

In other happenings, I’ve been even more involved lately with the worship team at ABF as we undergo a personnel transition, have worked on a few web design projects on the side, and have managed to clean out and reorganize all the storage areas in our house.

Spring Trip

As I mentioned before, a short while ago I wrote a post recapping the end of my trip to the Alps (which you can read about by clicking here), which detailed a fabulous experience with the airlines that resulted in getting my flight delayed several times, staying awake for 25+ hours, and on the positive end of things, getting a generous travel voucher.
That being said, our family has taken advantage of the free flights and decided to go somewhere over my spring break. Dad and I originally planned to fly to San Fransisco, but then the unexpected happened…

Mom has decided to fly with us. No, I’m not making that up. This might be the most significant event of the 20th and 21st Centuries. The last time she was on a plane, she was ~17 years old when she rode in an 8-seat crop duster over the ocean at Long Beach, was severly traumatized, and has refused to go near a plane ever since. If the tickets weren’t un-cancelable, I’m not sure I’d believe she was coming along. This is an even bigger step than taking our first road trip to Maine two years ago.

If you’ve gotten over your shock, I guess it’s time for the big reveal: we’re heading to the Pacific Northwest! We tossed around the idea of going to San Fransisco, a combination of the PNW and SFO, or a few other places, but eventually settled on this trip for a complicated variety of reasons of which I will spare you an explanation.

Olympic National Park, Image Courtesy of Flickr.com
Olympic National Park, Image Courtesy of Flickr.com

Yes, it will be somewhat cold; yes, it will be raining; yes, it’s a long way from home; but we are all thoroughly excited about the trip!

Vancouver British Columbia Canada Downtown Skyline with Mountains
Vancouver, BC - Image Courtesy of Flickr.com

As always, along the way we expect to encounter plenty of scenery, plenty of good food, and plenty of unexpected adventure. 

Our current plan is to visit Seattle, WA; Vancouver, BC; Victoria, BC; Portland, OR; and the surrounding areas.

Panoramic photo of Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon.
Haystack Rock, OR - Image Courtesy of rockymtnrefl.com

Follow Us

If you’d like to follow our adventures, you can always visit the website, or subscribe to the newsletter.

If you’ve subscribed in the past, you’ll continue to receive email updates. Be sure to add postmaster@mail.isaactchurch.com to your address book so the newsletters don’t get caught by your spam filters.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to once again sharing our adventures with you!

Subscribe
Mt. Rainier National Park - Image Courtesy of Flickr.com
Mt. Rainier National Park - Image Courtesy of Flickr.com

P.S.

If Mom doesn’t make it past the first leg of our flight out, we’ll need a volunteer to drive to Houston to pick her up at the airport there…

P.P.S.

Not to give too much away, but here’s a quick, abbreviated list of exciting things about this trip:

  • This will be the first time Mom and I have seen the Pacific Ocean.
  • Weather permitting, we’ll be visiting the snowiest and the rainiest place in North America (Mt. Baker and Hoh Rain Forest). It’s not looking good for Mt. Baker though, since the current snow base is around 20 feet deep.
  • We’ll visit the westernmost point in the contiguous United States.
  • Waterfalls
  • Volcanos
  • We’ll potentially cross 3 national parks (Mt. Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades) off our list – I’ve set a personal goal of visiting all 59 in my lifetime.
  • Food (of course, did you think I’d forgotten?)

The post Introduction // Church Trip 2018 appeared first on Isaac Church // isaactchurch.com.

]]> https://isaactchurch.com/introduction-church-trip-2018/feed/ 0