tell me about Oregon for a vacation

Yes yes and yes.

Portland is great if you want the city life but there's much more to OR than the city. Visit Bend, Klamath or Cannon. Even eastern Oregon is incredible.

PDX is cool. But not my cup of tea.

Oregon is great, a lot of variety to see. We're not really city people but we camped along the coast (Umpqau Lighthouse State Park) and spent a couple of days checking things out there, then drove on to Crater Lake and camped there. Just a spectacular view and beautiful spot. Then on to a hotel in Bend and some exploration of the area. It's a nice mix of mountains, desert, volcanoes, lakes. Most people love Bend, I found it a bit full of itself (like Boulder when I lived there) but the area is beautiful and there is lots to see if you like the outdoors.

We drove East from Seattle, through Ellensburg and the Yakima Canyon. We crossed into Oregon and drove the Columbia River Gorge, which was worth the trip alone. We passed right by Multnomah Falls, which was spectacular. We did a night in Portland, but we weren't impressed at all. We took our son to the zoo, only to be yelled out by some PETA tools. From there, we went to Cannon Beach. That was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There is a state park there... I think its name is Ecola, or something like that. There were elk everywhere and you come to this beautiful lookout at the end of the road. There was a pretty cool lighthouse there too. From Cannon Beach, we went north, back into Washington, to Cape Disappointment. That was the spot where Lewis and Clark gave up on the Middle Passage. It's a stretch if towering cliffs with the biggest waves I've ever seen. There was a lighthouse there too that you could walk right up to. All of the volcanoes are cool too. We stayed at the base of Mt. St. Helens, near Battleground, WA. There was one spot on the Gorge where we could see St. Helens, Rainer, Hood, and Adams. I want to go back. Definitely the best vacation I've had

Just went to Bend, OR this past July for 7 days. Bend is the coolest 80K pop. town ever. Clean and the downtown parks are great. Only 3 hrs or so to the coast and Portland, near Crater Lake and other mountains. Hiking, white water rafting/kayaking, and all things outdoors in abundance. We saw 3 free concerts in the parks there including ABBA, only 1 original member plus band. Just an amazing little city.