Favorite Coastal Town: Cannon Beach
My wife and I discovered Cannon Beach a several years ago and have since wanted to visit anytime we thought of going to the Oregon Coast. If you have never been to the Oregon Coast you should take time to see it. It is not your typical beach environment since the weather is never too hot there, so getting in the water is almost never an option. More often than not it is raining or at least very overcast but on those rare days when the skies are clear and the sun is out, it is one of the greatest places to be. Cannon Beach is great for these days because it has a long strip of beach with plenty of houses to look at along the coast line as well as a monolith for viewing, which I believe is the same section of rocks from the movie "The Goonies" that leads them on their adventure. The town of Cannon Beach is one of the smallest that the coast has to offer but it is full of shops and a few great restaurants to experience. The laid back lifestyle of coastal living paired with the great environment of that area makes for a fun weekend getaway.
Favorite Mountain Retreat: Sunriver, Mt. Bachelor
We recently had the opportunity to spend a weekend at Mt. Hood about 20 miles south of Timberline Lodge and then this past weekend spent our time at Sunriver at a house which is about 30 miles from Mt. Bachelor. Having been to both of them within a weeks time made it easy to compare the two so here is my verdict. While Timberline Lodge is a historic site among mountain goers and has some amazing scenery, I would have to say that Mt. Bachelor wins this one by a slight margin. First of all the drive to Sunriver is longer than the drive to Timberline, but you get to go over some amazing mountain ranges with incredible views of snow capped peaks, burnt woods and some stunning lakes. Once you are there, Sunriver has many things to offer for entertainment if you are not at the slopes. They have fitness centers, swimming pools, outdoor water slides, golf courses, bike and jogging paths, restaurants and shops. The feeling of Sunriver is that you are part of a tiny mountain community enjoying life away from the daily grind we are most accustomed to. I don't have a lot of experience snowboarding or skiing but Mt. Bachelor seems to be a good place to learn and along the way there you will pass Hoodoo which is probably the best beginner slopes in Oregon if you want a slower transition to the bigger mountains. Bend, Oregon which is the closest town near Sunriver, does not have much to offer in my opinion, but that is generally the least of my concerns since Sunriver has so many things to do and maybe best of all, just relaxing and enjoying the company you are with and the high desert and mountain views.
Favorite Big City Getaway: Portland
Do I really need to say anymore? Portland is really the only big city in Oregon and even at that, it doesn't have too much of a "big city" feel. Maybe that's just because I lived nearby for a couple years and got to know it pretty well. Portland has great things to offer, particularly some amazing restaurants and galleries. They have many hotels to stay at that range from being classy to ones that are more quaint. We have enjoyed staying at the Nines and the Heathman Hotel when we visit. The Portland Trail Blazers are also a good attraction, even if they are not an elite team in the NBA but they are good enough to make most games great to watch, no matter who they are playing.
Pictures taken from the following sites in respective order: http://www.flickriver.com/places/United+States/Oregon/Cannon+Beach/;http://www.relocatinginformation.com/states/Oregon.html;http://www.budgethotels.com/budget-hotels-in-portland/
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