Crater lake is about 5 hours.... looks like i'm attempting the drive in the weekend i'm going..... this will be fun, haha!

Couple of ideas on places to visit (close-in and not a long drive from central PDX):

World of Speed - Wilsonville - Cars & Coffee every Saturday morning, 8am, regardless of weather

Evergreen Aviation Museum - McMinville - Stuff is going away but the Spruce Goose, SR-71, engine displays, and many other cool exhibits are still out there

Bonneville Dam visitors center - Not too far out the Gorge, big sturgeon to see

Forrest Park - lots of hiking

Tryon Creek State Park - quick hike on developed trails

Magness Tree Farm - demonstration forest south of Sherwood, part of the World Forestry Center - good hiking

I don't know if it is open but oneota gorge (in the Columbia gorge) is one of the most beautiful places ever.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneonta_Gorge

Easy access

You will get wet.

Pretty as a calendar.

Should be on the short list.

I don't know about you, but how brain dead do you have to be to sit through a video like that?

Overall, online video, be it news, vlogs, youtube is a total waste of time for me. If it was written, I could gather the information in 10% of the time and would not have to listen to some idiot trying to sound smart.

At any rate, I made it through the first 3 neighborhoods. Doesn't sound too terrible, just find an nicer hood, right?

On the subject - my main worry would still be the weather. I was in Portland once for a week long conference and it rained day and night for the week straight. Rough ...

G

I5 at the WA border, rush hour. It's worse than CA in the sense no one can drive.

Oh and all I can say: Bollywood Theater (restaurant) :)

rjp

I just looked it up - it's Cape Lookout State Park. The drive out there is pretty nice, too.

It's easy to avoid seafood at Pok Pok. I'm not sure what you mean about avoiding the wings because of that - they're chicken wings. They've got fish sauce on them, but so does probabyl 2/3 of the menu. If fish sauce is something you have to avoid, then it might be a problem. Pok Pok immediately transformed what I think of Thai food. I was in New York last weekend and made sure to walk down to their restaurant in Cobble Hill to eat there.

Sherwood area is beautiful, and some nice wineries a little further down 99 if you are into that sort of thing.