It's all Portland Metro Week: Links to Websites

NOTE: all links are in orange.

Take a backroad to a Carlton, Or. winery!

Whether you are a visitor, new to the area or even a long time resident, there are things that you can learn about Portland if you do some research online. While a few websites like City Search or Urban Spoon are just a given, there are others that give you a more personal and less commercial view. Those are the ones I want to share with you. I hope you find this helpful.

MIX Magazine (online edition) is published by OregonLive.com and is an arm of our local newspaper, The Oregonian. We received this magazine with our newspaper for a whole year and I was hooked. The online edition will give you a lot of information. The very best of all restaurants in town are featured along with enticing pictures and personal information on bartenders, chefs and owners. I love this website.

Old Wheeler Hotel, Manzanita, Oregon
On the Oregon Coast

Portland Magazine (online) This online magazine aimed at the Portland Metro area consumer has it all. You can find information on everything from food to real estate. The current issue has an article on a day trip of even an overnight stay in Manzanita that appealed to me. The Old Wheeler Hotel is only $99 per night so it is affordable. While the magazine is available on magazine racks I find that the online version is enough for me!
PortlandNeighborhood.com bills itself as the "insider's guide to Portland". Really, Portland is not a big city but the trendy and historical neighborhoods are spread out across the city. Some of the best neighborhoods are not that easy to find. If you take an insiders advice you can see a lot in not much time.
Around the Sun is a website for those of us that are looking for something to do but don't have a lot of money. If you are just wanting to fill a day this may be the place for you to go.
Explore the Pearl Map Portland's Pearl District is the location of one of my favorite book stores...in the world. Powell's Books located on the corner of Burnside and 9th Avenue may be the largest used book store in the United States and even the world. The online map of the Pearl is a must for any visitor to Portland. In fact if you love to just look, shop and eat this is absolutely the place for you. Be sure to check this map and the attached website with all the ads for businesses in the area.
BikePortland.org is a website devoted to people that love to ride in the urban area. Bicycle is a big deal here in the Portland metro area. I am not saying that everyone in the area loves it but it is not going away. People here are trying to find ways to get around, exercise and enjoy the outdoors without climbing in their cars. Events like the Criterion and Bridge Pedal are a huge draw for the downtown area.
Public Transportation Our metro area is linked by a beautiful and very useful train line that this supplemented by bus routes. We live outside the city and are about 3 blocks from a Max Line station. We can pay a senior citizen fee and ride Max to downtown Portland in less than 45 minutes. The trains run into the city center and after arrive downtown you can catch a trolley into the Pearl or even go as far as the PDX airport. It is a very good idea to check on this system if you are visiting. Parking, and traffic cease to be a concern. All you need is an all day ticket and a good pair of shoes. From downtown you can go to the Washington Park Zoo, Washington Park Rose Gardens, the Japanese Gardens and even the Children Museum. Hiking in Washington Park is very popular with locals.
Day Trips from Travel Portland Website You really should either rent a car if you have flown in a take at least one day trip. You can go in any direction to find what you want. Wineries, the Columbia Gorge, the Oregon Coast, Mount Hood are all possibilities. This website lists several suggested day trip. The concierge at any hotel can help you our with this type of planning. Sometimes a drive down country backroad can give a person the most pleasure. The point is there are lots of choices.

Portland is one of the most beautiful urban area you will find anywhere. The climate, people and setting will just blow you away. I hope you find something useful here.

Five Little Ducks...stories played out!

The children's song about the little ducks leaving the nest to fly away has always been one of my favorites. Every mother has seen their babies fly away and rejoiced. Life comes full circle. Animals live that same cycle. Babies grow up. Birds leave the nest. Life goes on. So when the three ducks show up every year near my patio I am not surprised. But I am puzzled that it always seems to be the same three. Something just doesn't seem right. It appears the one did not fly away at all. Five little ducks Went out to play Over the hills and far away. The mommy duck went "quack, quack quack," Four little ducks came swimming back... And then Three Two and One. A drake, a female duck (a hen) and a not quite a drake but still not a hen gather here on the 5th green of the golf course. She leads and the other two follow along obediently. They eat, sleep, and guard each other. Each and every day this time of year they come. I have not named them. Jinxing them would be very pos...

How to be a 12 Month Snow Bird

Vacation Rental in Mexico I live around snowbirds 6 months of the year. I have heard those people say that they all want to live the "snowbird" lifestyle when they go home. But it just is not possible. They are isolated and cold. Social activities with friends and beautiful weather are greatly missed when they return to the realities of their "real" life. One couple I visited with lately returned to Florida this morning where they own a home. The woman is a nurse and works in the summer. They are not going home until May this year. It is too cold in Michigan in the spring so they are hoping to extend their good weather season by simply staying away. Besides that they love their Florida lifestyle a lot. Last week I visited with a woman that lives the snowbird lifestyle year around. No going home to the Midwest in the spring. They essentially vacation 12 month out of the year. And I thought their solution for avoiding unpleasant weather and keeping their lifestyle in...

If You Build It, They Will Come...Maybe!

It all began with a antique window in front of a local shop. It had been painted yellow, the glass was loose and all of the hinges and latches were gone. My old friend Betty would have approved...she would tell me it was just broken enough and damaged enough for me to drag it home. When my dear husband saw it, he wondered what he was meant to do with it. Imagine his surprise when he was presented with the plan to build a small neighborhood library exchange. It wasn't the first time he had heard me ask "How hard could it be?" Now it is six weeks later and we mounted the darling little library exchange on two posts in our front yard. I love it. Now the question is, will they come or has the time passed when people actually read something made of paper? Our association president stopped by and admired the box but left after telling me that he only read books on his Kindle. We will see. Would you bring a book and take a book? b+

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