In August, I’m going to be taking a trip out to Montival and hang out with my brothers for about a week. It’s pretty rare that the three of us are together without wives/girlfriends, parents, kids, etc. There will be much gaming, eating, visiting of bookstores, and drinking of beer. I’m looking forward to several days of sibling nerd-bonding!
That doesn’t mean I have no time for other people, though, so I thought I’d toss out my approximate itinerary to see if anyone up in the Northwest is interested in a little QT3 meetup.
Seattle: Flying in on Wed Aug 16, going to a Mariners game in the afternoon. I’ll be staying the night with my friend Paul before heading south.
Portland: Taking the Bolt Bus from Seattle to Portland on Thu Aug 17. I’ll be in town through Wed Aug 23, and fly out early Thursday morning to head back to Michigan. We have plans to go to the Thorns game on Sat Aug 19 and drive down to Salem on Mon Aug 21 to view the eclipse (at the Salem Volcanoes minor league baseball game).
Anyone in the area that wants to grab a beer or something, let me know!
Awesome, you picked a great time of year to visit - the rain/gray that mostly typifies the area for roughly nine months of the year will be nowhere in evidence. It will be hot by our standards, maybe not so much by yours. For instance I’m a bit concerned that temps are creeping into the mid 80s this week mainly because like many of us out here, I don’t have air conditioning.
Anyway, I’d like to say I’d meet up for a beer or whatever but the best I can do is tentatively commit. I have two small kids, so I’d have to negotiate a short furlough with the wife while she hangs out with them. Can be done, just takes planning. Either way, enjoy your trip.
Not totally the same as the original topic, but the most recent Portland thread…
Will be flying into PDX tomorrow about noon (Chicago weather permitting) and we’ll be sleepy and hungry. Grabbing a rental car to drive down to near Corvallis.
Any suggestions for quick not-national-chain food and/or better-than-Starbucks coffee?
Seconded. Some are even hotels, if you need a place to stay.
I usually try to go to Burgerville at least once while I’m in the northwest. Fairly standard fast food, but I like it and they’re not anywhere else in the country. For something nicer but a little less quick, see Mcmenamin’s above.
As for coffee, it’s not really my thing but I can tell you that you’ll be spoiled for choice. Ask Google when you get there for local coffee shops and you’ll likely be inundated with options.
There are piles of great little restaurants that meet your criteria. Killer Burger is my current favorite burger shop in the world. Little Big Burger is also pretty terrific. Double Dragon makes some great bahn mi. Jade Dragon tea shop has lovely Chinese food and French-style pastries. Whiffies pies. Pine State Biscuits is a great diner.
You can’t throw a stone without hitting a better-than-Starbucks-coffee in the Pacific Northwest. Look for any place that isn’t drive-through, and you can’t go wrong.
Thanks for the suggestions, folks! The Killer Burger in Happy Valley looks like a reasonable stop nearish to the airport. We’ll have to check that Mcmenamins in Corvallis is open on New Years Day, and then see if my dad wants to drive in to the big city to eat.
It’s a very short Oregon visit, then on to SF, but at least I know my way around the Bay Area pretty well.
