They will however let you fill the tank on a motorcycle after they hand you the nozzel. They don't like getting yelled at for dripping gas on the tank. My truck has a 38 gallon fuel tank, I usually fill up just before the OR state line, then can make WA without having to stop in OR for diesel. Hate having to wait for them when I'm in a hurry and they are not.

 

I got a tank full of 87 while up there. Made dude siphon it out than fill up with 93.

 

I was just in Portland for BrewFest. I like how there are food trucks all over, no sales tax, fairly laid back people/places, Breweries (Deschutes), and a lot of different outdoor activities to offer from coast to mountains.

There are a lot of strip clubs out there. Awhile back Portland had the most strip clubs per capita. We went to a few and the best was Casa Diablo. Don't expect the Spearment Rhino, but girls are cute (If you like the rocker/tattoo look).

Yes, there are homeless, hipsters, and weird people around but like they say "KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD"

 

I was there for a week


IT WAS FREAKING AWFUL!!!!!


Porkland oregon, I am not fat, I am in portland shape.

 

Care to elaborate?

Im not looking to live in the Downtown are of Portland so the strip clubs and homeless wouldnt be an issue, likely a suburb around it like Hillsborough or Happy Valley or somewhere. I think we're going to plan a trip this winter to scope it out.

 

I was in the middle of down town. The hipsters and homeless have over run that place. I stayed at the Monaco and the hotel was great. My cousin lives in Grisham for another month then moving to nor cal.

 

Gresham...

I lived in Oregon for almost 30 years. I say stay out of Portland area unless you like what is said above. Hillsborough is ok, I used to live out in Beaverton and wilsonville area for a bit but spent most of my years out by Multnomah Falls area. Not sure how the job market is since I left 8 years ago when it crashed. From what family say the weather the past couple of years has been really mild and more like bay area. I honestly miss living up there and would love to go back.

 

Good info! Yeah we would probably only be going to downtown Portland for food or entertainment. Kind of like what we do now with SF or downtown SJ. My boss said traffic was pretty bad when he was there a few years ago, is it worse than San Jose?

 

Please take all the above with a grain of salt, and go there yourself and have a blast. I was born in Portland before it was cool, and spent a bit of time there over the last 30 years or so. As a kid my experiences really cannot compare but I remember driving around the city a lot. As an adult, my wife and I try to get up there as often as possible but have not been able to much in the last couple years. I could blame a tiny little baby but that would be bad form!

Anyway, we usually stay downtown in the Mark Spencer, and have always had a great time. Always. I am a huge fan of Deschutes and their brewpub up there does not disappoint. Rogue's is right around the corner. We had Christmas dinner there in '09.

It's a city, so - you are going to see traffic and probably a person or two you would not want to snuggle with. This time of the year through September is perfect. If you like music and live shows, grab one of those papers and flip through it while getting a coffee or something (I think it's called Metro, not sure).

Also, Rock Bottom's pub downtown is really fun and upstairs is all pool tables if you are into that sort of thing. There are some fun museums, the Rose Garden if you are bringing a ladyfriend, and lots more. Sometimes you can catch a show if you are into Broadway type stuff at the Schnitz (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Somesuch Hall Etc). The Pearl District has loads of nice little places to grab a snack and it's really nice to walk through. There's lots of cool little restaurants and pubs and such. If you're like me, and I know I am, you are big into audio gear - so I always go over to Fred's Sound of Music on E. Hawthorne but that's a bit out of the way. Anyway, Portland is awesome. Sure, some people might not like it but I say - go there yourself and form an opinion.

I am not sure how much time you have, but the coast up there is one of my favorite places I have seen. You can take HWY 26 west for ~2hrs, then south on 101 into Canon Beach and the Manzanita area. Oswald West State Park is a mindblowing old-growth forest you can walk through that leads down to Short Sands Beach where the end of Point Break was filmed. Such an awesome spot. Manzanita is sweet, and there are a bunch of bed-n-breakfasts there as well. Definitely worth the trip! Sure, you could head north to Astoria to see the Goonies house but the towns south are so much nicer, and the beaches are better Canon Beach and southward. Anyway, lots of fun stuff in the Pacific Northwest!

People say the same things about Seattle but, I have been up there for work 5 times now, went up to see my brother at UW for couple years, visiting another friend up there, and building a Datacenter in Tukwila - I have seen rain maaaaaybe twice. "But it always rains in Seattle."

Opinions vary though, I mean, if there were a huge handle in the sky that I could reach up to and grab, then watch Los Angeles and especially Irvine swirl around in a big bowl and then gurgle through a drain, I would do it. So, YMMV.

 

at least its not rock wood

 

As I said ****ING HIPSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Traffic is awful !!!! people crossing the river to go home after work is just nuts.

 

A Co-worker, and subie owner, moved from PDX area few yrs ago - said its not salt, but instead volcanic(?) ROCK/DUST they put down in snow season so that they don't hurt the fishy-wishies in the wivers

Front of his '04 looks like he lived in saudi arabia.

 

Thanks for all the great info! We plan to head up, get a rental car, and just drive around different neighborhoods along with checking out the local attractions.

 

With the cost of a car rental it may be worth it to fly and rent up there when you need it.