Going to organize in Portland for the summer

[Aptastik]

I'm an East Coaster going to organize for the summer in Portland and I wanted to know anything that I should check out while I'm there. Restaurants, bars, strip clubs (I hear you guys have a lot of them) general sight seeing type things...whatever you think is cool.

Can't wait to get out there, I hear it's beautiful. Hopefully I'll see some of you all during my field work!

[treblemaker]

1. What do you like?

There's a good variety of restaurants and bars, and more nature than you can swing a dead cat at.

Strip clubs too, yeah, if you're into that. Personally I think if you've seen two, you've seen 'em all. :D

[Permanut]

2. Glad to have you visit!

You can't throw a rock without hitting a strip joint, so if you can't find one of those, you're like, totally lame, dude. On the sightseeing part, Mount Hood and Mount Saint Helens are worth a look, Multnomah Falls, and the Oregon beaches are mostly accessible. State law treats them like state highways, so nobody can block them off. Seaside, Manzanita, Newport, Lincoln City, Astoria, there's a bunch of nice beach towns. If you go to Newport or Lincoln City, check out Mo's for clam chowder. I think there's a Mo's in some of the other towns too.

[Reader Rabbit]

3. Summer is the best time to come to Portland.

Let's see...

Waterfront Blues Festival

Oregon Brew Fest

Portland Parks Summer Concert Series

Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport


You should also check out at least one theater pub (Laurelhurst is my favorite) and take a tour of one of the microbreweries. And of course, no visit to Portland is complete without spending at least several hours in Powell's City of Books.

[Uncle Sinister]

4. For a very Portland experience featuring Live Nude Girls, see the vegan strippers at...

Casa Diablo. AFAIK, the worlds only vegan nude bar.

I will refrain from the beaver jokes.

http://earthfirst.com/the-vegan-stripper-casa-diablo-gentlemens-club-combines-hot-naked-ladies-with-animal-free-eatin/

http://www.myspace.com/casadiablo

Welcome to Portland. What/who are you organizing?

[upperleftedge]

5. Mo's is over rated

We have one down the street in
Tolovana and it is greasy and full
of sceaming children.
Don't miss the Goose Hollow Inn in Portland it is
the home of grass roots politics that
once elected a Mayer.

[sandnsea]

6. The one in Florence too

But it's still the place all the tourists think they have to go. Seriously though, for a tourist destination the Oregon Coast has got to have the worst food in the country. Don't you think? I don't know of one truly outstanding world-class restaurant on the entire coast.

[Aptastik]

8. Casa Diablo looks like my kinda place

I'm organizing with the BUS project. It's a youth-oriented political mobilization group.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

7. Let's see

There are tons of cool restaurants in Portland of all price levels and all cuisines. The bar scene is excellent...the all-age music scene, not so hot (but where is it, nowadays?) I'm not an expert on adult entertainment and strip clubs.

The city has plenty of gardens around, though they are probably better for viewing in the spring, any time from about March 20-June 20. Plenty of roses and exotic flowers in summer, though.

The Columbia Gorge is a must-see, not just because I grew up at the dry end of it. You can see huge waterfalls and lush rain forests, followed by a sudden shift to desert in less than half an hour! The Hood River Valley and Mt. Hood are spectacular, especially in October when the leaves change color.

There's desert just to the east of the Cascade mountains, and the coast is only an hour to the west. Plenty of historic landmarks all over Oregon, as well.

Summer is the best weather for most of Oregon. For seasonal beauty, however, the middle parts of spring and fall win out.