September 27th, 2016

Travel 2016, Portland, Oregon, Ram’s Head Bar, Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, A National Historic Place

This has been my year for traveling.  But you know what?  “Do me a favor…Stand up, walk to wherever the nearest window is, and just look outside.  You may not know this, but there’s an entire planet-worth of summers, friends, sunsets, street lamps, songs, late nights, great films, and night skies waiting for you.  Your life is as amazing as you want it to be, but first, you have to let it be that way.”  chad sugg

I took off for Portland, Oregon, to visit a friend that I had not seen since 1973.  We had so much fun.  The weather was pretty good in Portland.  I had no idea that it does not snow.  Maybe once or twice through the years.  What they do have for a winter is a day like we have had today at the Delaware Beaches…..grey and wet.  They don’t even get thunderstorms.  It is a drizzle.  That is probably why their soil is fertile and the wine is delish.

Arriving in Portland the first thing that caught my eye from the airplane was Mt. Hood. Towards the end of my stay we decided to go up to the mountain to check out Timberline Lodge.  The lodge was built in 1937.  Some of the scenes of the movie The Shining were filmed here.  They used aerial shots of the Timberline Lodge as part of its opening scene and also some other shots outside of the fictional Overlook Hotel.

The inspiration for the Lodge was the mountain.  The architects used 3 themes to illustrate the regional heritage: hand-hewn timbers and hand-crafted furnishings to pay tribute to early pioneers, carved wood and wrought  iron designs to capture the Indian spirit, and carvings of animals and paintings of wildflowers to represent wildlife native to Mt. Hood.

The timbers used were huge.  The lodge had the fire going.  It was rainy and cold.  Plenty of hikers last week.  We were hungry and thirsty so we decided to try the Ram’s Head Bar which is uniquely located on the second floor circular balcony.

We ordered some drinks.  I decided to try Grady’s Spill…It is the short glass on the photo.  “It’s advocaat sir, it does tend to stain. I’ll just set my Bourbon and Advocaat down…right here”…from Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Shining” Eastside Distilling egg nog advocaat liqueur, Jack Daniels, angostura bitters; served on the rocks with nutmeg, cinnamon and hazelnuts.  It really tasted like an egg nog.  It was good!!

And speaking of hazelnuts, Oregon is the largest producer of hazelnuts.  We ordered Smoked Hazelnuts and Charcuterie.

A delicious Puree of Mushroom Soup with smoked hazelnuts, and green onions, and a Fire Roasted Tomato Soup with a rosemary crouton, and olive oil garnish.

The weather was conducive for a warm and comforting soup.  But this was just a tasting.  A dinner reservation was waiting in Portland where chefs are preparing some amazing dishes.  Talk to you later.