Here is a great website with some other lodging options in the Hood River area.

I see on your site that you have already visited the historic highway through the Gorge, but it would merit a visit again, and the fall colors should be reaching peak color around the time or your visit.

You may also be interested in the Hood River Fruit Loop as your timing will put you at the peak of harvest season there, and yet more fantastic fall color.

Do the entire loop around Mount Hood following Highway 35, and make a stop at Timberline Lodge to get up close in personal with the mountain. It may even greet you with some fresh snow.

There are tons of great rides in the Columbia Gorge, 60 miles from Portland. There are no mountain bike trails of that length in PDX itself, but Forest Park has fireroad riding and very limited singletrack.

The Oregon Brew Fest (in July) for one thing! Several street fairs & take place in July/Aug too, also Sunday Parkways . If you like sports, don’t miss a chance to see the Timbers (our soccer team) play at home!

I’d check out Astoria and Canon Beach, see this blog entry. I would take I-5 to Hwy 38 to the coast and down to San Francisco.

I am so pleased you’ll be visiting our amazing state. And September is the very best month to do so, in my humble opinion. Here in Central Oregon the skies are a bit clearer and warmer than the rest of the state. And while it can be tricky to find this regions’ roots buried under the growth and culture that has come our way in the last decades, country/western is where we began! You can still wear cowboy boots and find bluegrass and country music in these parts. I suggest you check out one of our ranch-style resorts – Black Butte Ranch, Brasada Ranch, Suttle Lake resort, or Five Pine resort – for an authentic western experience. Have a wonderful time!

It’s typically too warm in Oregon, but there are producers with excellent late harvest/dessert wines. Try Trisaetum or Seven of Hearts Wine Here’s an article I wrote last year about Oregon dessert wines with other recommendations. Enjoy!

Lots of family friendly events in Portland, check out Around the Sun, & my site.

Lots of summer beer & neighborhood festivals in Portland! Check out this site for beer events. Lots of wine nearby, too. When you’re here check out my blog for events!

You’re definitely thinking of Lincoln City, where they set out more than 2,000 colorful blown glass “floats” between October and May. The program began in 1999, to celebrate the millennium, and now the “Float Fairies” are at work every year. The floats are modeled on the traditional Japanese blown glass fishing floats, in green and blue, that used to wash up on these beaches. They’ve expanded the program to include a “blow your own” glass foundry, and local galleries also specialize in these floats. Happy hunting! http://www.oregoncoast.org/glass-art-blowing/