Home base: PDX. 10 hour time limit. What amazing experience can we have?

May 19, 2018 12:48 PM

A romantic partner has 10 hours with me on my birthday (next Wednesday) before an evening flight. We're in our upper 30's, love novel experiences, prefer interactive experiences over passive ones, and live in the Portland area. He has suggested we spoil ourselves with something fun. A day trip to the coast was floated. But, anything that gives us an opportunity for an amazing memory is what we're after. And, anywhere we can drive to within said time limit is fair game. What should we do?
posted by pdxhiker to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)

Rent a boat and motor all around the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. It's really interesting to see the ships, the houseboat neighborhoods, the parks, the bridges, etc. Near the confluence you can see seals.
posted by carmicha at 1:01 PM on May 19, 2018

What about floating the Sandy? Looks like it’s supposed to get up to 85°F on Wednesday. Depending on how late his flight is, you might have time for an early dinner at Tad’s afterward (if that’s your jam).
posted by mumkin at 1:27 PM on May 19, 2018

A coast trip could be fun - you could do something like drive to Astoria, and do stuff as you drive down the coast to like Cannon Beach, etc., until you're ready to drive back to Portland. There's lots of places to stop and eat, hike, look at cool stuff, see some sea lions, etc.

If you like wine, you could do a wine tasting trip down in the Willamette Valley, or Hood River.

If you like hiking - there's a ton of options for cool stuff in the nearby forests, Mt. Hood area, etc. You could even consider driving up to Mt. St. Helens, or Mt. Rainier and doing some stuff near those parks and then drive back.
posted by FireFountain at 1:36 PM on May 19, 2018

You should go to The Barefoot Sage and get an amazing leg/foot massage!!
posted by mccxxiii at 5:19 PM on May 19, 2018

There are a whole bunch of cool-looking Portland activities on AirBnB Experiences if that's your jam. I don't like that you can't search for specific activities but I think if you keep scrolling down you can see them all.
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto at 6:36 PM on May 19, 2018

If you like views, views, views, I have three suggestions:

The Portland Aerial Tram (see link to be sure that their down time for maintenance is not during your 10-hour visit) and/or,

The Pittock Mansion. On a clear day, you can see the remains of Mt. St. Helen, Mt. Hood and Portland's beautiful sky line, as well as taking in some incredible gardens and possibly a tour of the mansion itself, if it's open.

Over in Northeast, there's Rocky Butte, where you can see Mt. Hood clearly on a clear day, as well as PDX, the Columbia River, and also learn a bit about wartime history in Portland.
posted by Lynsey at 2:10 PM on May 21, 2018

Thanks to everyone for the responses! Something I neglected to mention... I've lived here for 10 years. So, while these may be fantastic for someone new to the city, they're not unique to me, which is what I'm after....a new experience.

Our best idea so far is a bi-plane aerial tour of the gorge. :)
posted by pdxhiker at 2:45 PM on May 21, 2018