re: Portland | Crater Lake | Oregon Coast - Suggestions?

That is gorgeous. Make sure you have time to spend there, because it would be a shame to spend that kind of money and get in late and get up early. Be sure to stay up for the sunset.

I recommend stopping at the Pelican Brewpub in Pacific City. Great view and kid-friendly. They have root beer that they brew on-site, too.

ETA: Kiwanda Point is right there (a couple hundred yard walk) and is spectacular in it's own right.

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I'm going to make a strong pitch for the Pelican Brewpub.

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Do that. Take the kids up that hill on Kiwanda point, and let them slide down the hill. They might get a little sandy, but it will be an experience they will never forget.



View from the top.


Interesting with the light polution. Not that surprising, because the Oregon coast is not that populated. The rest of the state, outside of Portland, is not very populated, either...

jax, looking at a trip to portland in mid nov (likely a thurs-sun deal with about half the day friday involving a trip to salem for work-related stuff---otherwise should be able to check out breweries and such the rest of the time)

The email? Yes. Ale Apoth is getting $$$$...

I'll answer soon. I got the message on my phone and hate replying to emails on my phone...

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Coater - get my contact info from Kim. Weather may be wet, but hey, it's Oregon. It shouldn't be too bad, and it's always beer drinking weather. I know you are all about the quality of the beer, but is your wife coming with you? If you can swing it, let's plan on getting together to tilt a couple back.

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sounds good. yes, mrs coater should be coming too, along with a few other couples. i'll let you know once we have solidified our plans

If you get a chance, go to scenic Ft Lewis, WA. There is a resort camp there that even after almost 50 years I still remember very well.

There are great views of Puget Sound just west of the main resort area and they allow you to run up and down the hill between the activities area and the sound as one big happy group (they call it a formation) to see the view several-numerous times a day.

"Up the hill, down the hill. Airborne Rangers. Air ... Borne ... Rangers ... Airborne Rangers. I wanna go to Viet Nam. I wanna XXXX old Charlie Cong. Up the hill, down the hill. Up the Hill, Down the hill, Airborne Rangers... Airborne Rangers.

Catchy tune, we sang it all the time.

Then they have these nifty low crawl pits full of bark chips that seem to get into your under ware right away, and exercise yards for the kids, with push-up, running and sit up events, along with what they call "hand to hand" training that is an absolute must do activity.

Ah - Low Crawl - You'd be crawling along in the pit, having a wonderful time and your staff Guy "Call me Drill Sargent or call me Momma, Shithead" would slip up and kick you in the rear end and remind you that "Old Charlie will put a round right through that arse if you don't keep it down, shithead."

They have this unusual activity they call the tear gas chamber that is a must do (literally) event for the whole family.

Let me just say this right now in case you don't understand me - The camp staff is a real hoot.

My favorite activity in the 8 weeks I was there was probably gun shooting - what they called marksmanship training. Each day, they would bring around these vehicles that look a lot like cattle trailers (isn't that cute!) anyhow, the whole group is invited to go for a ride to go shoot, which is nice because you get to ride - when most other events are walk/run to get there activities. Why they made everything a 3-6 mile run away from each other I will never understand. Anyhow, when you ride in the cattle trailers, sometimes your camp counselor/DI will stand outside of the trailer and jokingly tell you that "If you stupid SOB's don't start mooing like a bunch of Got-Damn cows, we are all gonna get off and do some low crawl until you learn how to moo." Riding in the cattle trailers was great fun and quite safe, since they would put 80 campers in a 40 camper trailer. Shooting your gun was fun too. They had these little man shaped targets for your to shoot at. They called all of them by the same name "Charlie".

Oh I forgot - we shot our weapons - not our guns. I still remember, "This is my weapon (hold it up) and this is my gun (grab it). This (the grabbed part) is for fornication and this (the held up part) is for fun." You would think I would keep that straight after all these years.

Oh! The food! At dinner, your kids will laugh their ears (or some body part) off. There is this staff guy they call the "Mess Sargent" and he wanders back and forth chatting with you as you try to eat, saying, "I can't believe you worthless shitheads are still in my mess hall. Eat up and get your sorry asses out of here, before I shove your tray up your arse!"

If you get a chance, take the kids by Ft. Lewis. They will cherish the memories for the rest of their lives.