My wife and I were in Portland with my sister and brother-in-law and we stopped after the grotto…read morefor this overlook that had a huge rush of water, I read somewhere that it had the second most volume of water in America, but it seemed far-fetched. The view was pretty, but from where we were standing, it seemed to have a lot of blocking obstructions, I know big problems, but hey.... We stayed for about 10 minutes and were on our way again. Hey, it was free, I think the other side of the river would have been better.

I mean... who doesn't love a good scenic overlook? When in Oregon... amirite? :P…read more On a recent trip to the Beaver State, my girlfriends and I knew that we had to take a sec. to appreciate all of the beauty that this state has to offer. We were driving to Clackamas to do some shopping--the tiny town of Happy Valley itself is cute and cozy. Hungry to explore the town, we pulled off of the road to the scenic overlook. The fresh, cool, and crisp Oregon air was blowing and the Willamette river was rushing straight and fast into the Willamette Falls. Surrounded by mountains, it was truly a sight to see. As a true Hawaii girl, it was surprising and interesting to say the least to also see so many historic "American" buildings. Close to the pull-over, there's a bunch of old paper mill, and industrial buildings. Interesting fact I found out: Willamette Falls is the largest falls (by water volume) in the West.--second only to Niagara Falls.

Will you open already?…read more I've been inconvenienced by the closure of this bridge almost daily for the past 18 months. And while I don't expect the re-opening in October to magically solve the I-205 snarl through West Linn, it certainly can't hurt. My observation is that the closure has been particularly disruptive to the business owners in downtown Oregon City. What was once an easy jog from West Linn to Oregon City became much more of an ordeal during the commute hours. And sometimes it just isn't worth the effort. To coincide with the reopening of the bridge, they've been repaving and refreshing Main Street in downtown Oregon City, so things may finally get back on track for customers and businesses next month. Aside from the transportation aspect, this small bridge has a fun little spot in my heart as a West Linn resident. The West Linn-Oregon City game is the longest continuously played football rivalry west of the Mississippi. Because the high school football fields are located within a mile of the bridge on either side, in the old days it was common for one school's players and fans to march across the bride to the other school's stadium with a police escort, no less. The football game is known as "The Battle of the Bridge." Another fun fact for the engineers out there is that this is the only bridge in Oregon encased in gunite, which protects it from corrosive sulfur dioxide emissions from paper mills south of the bridge. The re-opening will be part of the Willamette Falls Festival (aka Lock Fest), October 12 - 14: http://www.willamettefallsfestival.com/.

It's Finally Going To Open!!! This bridge has been dearly missed for the last 2 years. After 90…read moreyears of service, it was due for much needed repairs and restoration. Willamette Falls Festival will celebrate the reopening with a 3 day festival October 12 - 14th. Lots of events, tents, races, fireworks, art and even a mass vow renewal ceremony on the bridge October 14th at 1pm. Married couples can register online for this FREE Vow Renewal ceremony and even a Reception at the Pacific Crest Grand Ballroom. Register by October 8th at www.willamettefallsfestival.com This will be a great event and a perfect way to celebrate the bridge finally reopening!!!

Willamette is such a key piece of Oregon history. My first visit was when I was about 8 years old…read more My aunt & uncle lived a couple blocks off of what is now main street. If you drive the side roads you will see beautiful historical homes with the most amazing flower gardens everywhere. It truly has a old school/hippy vibe to it but most of those homes are over a million now. Ha Ha! The little ma and pa places that are left make it wonderful! It feels like it's further away from Portland than it is. A nice escape for a drive or lunch. I commend the zoning/planning dept for keeping the architecture and area looking and feeling like it originally was in the olden days.

"Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky…read moretacky Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes all the same..." [1] When people think of the suburbs, I think many focus on the blandness of sub-developments and master planned communities. But in Oregon, some of our deepest roots lie Southwest of Portland in the communities of Oregon City and West Linn. As a history buff, I enjoy exploring these places and am lucky to live near Old Willamette which is a National Register Historic District. At first glance, you might think the storefronts along Willamette Drive are some developer's idea of turn-of-the-century charm. And you would be partially right. They've actually tried to preserve as much of the original commercial row as they can, and then new development matches the style, but has all the modern conveniences. Between Willamette Drive and the Willamette River is the Old Willamette Neighborhood with many homes from the 19th Century, mostly preserved in all of their glory. You can tour many of these homes in the fall as part of the Willamette Living History tour (http://www.historicwillamette.com/attractions/historic-willamette-events/). They go all out with period costumes, a horse-drawn buggy and volunteers act out little vignettes around town. I recently met the president of the Willamette Falls Historical Society who lives in one of the homes and was a font of local knowledge. She also said that they pick a particular year for the tour, most recently 1908. She has different clothes for different time periods and was very excited that they are going to set one of the future tours around WW2, when women finally have the vote. She has been a suffragette for many a moon since most tours are in the years prior to 1920. Keep that in mind ladies when you vote this week! There are maps available from several local merchants if you want to take the self-guided walking tour. This area is the heart of many of West Linn's annual festivals, including The Old Time Fair which is down the hill in Willamette Park every July. During the summer months, this neighborhood is also home to the West Linn Farmer's Market, which always feels like a street fair, on Wednesday evenings. One of the funniest historical traditions is that you will see old fashioned baseball in Willamette Park several times during the summer. The boys wear the old uniforms and play without gloves, while the ladies are in full dress and ready with a glass of lemonade. That never goes out of style. [1] Made famous by the television show, Weeds. Lyrics by Malina Reynolds.

How freakin' cool is this?!…read more It's historic architecture and it's FREE! So fun! Can't believe I'm just now realizing how 'cute' Oregon City is. Easily the best of the Portland 'burbs.

What a site! This is historic Oc. From the real OC to across the bridge into WestLinn. At night the…read moreelevator lights up. There's also a staircase.

Came here for the heritage holiday event, which includes free entry to both the McLoughlin House…read moreand the neighboring Barclay House. We enjoyed it. People were dressed up in period costumes and showed us around the McLoughlin House - it was neat to learn the history, though it could have been made more engaging, particularly for younger people. The house is very dark and it's hard to see - it will be nice to return after the renovation to see it in a better state. The Barclay House is half office, with the other rooms set up as a gift shop and multi-purpose room. Also, the McLoughlin's are buried on the grounds, so that was interesting.

So glad this important piece of history was saved for posterity! John McLoughlin is the Father of…read moreOregon - even through he was a British subject, Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Ft Vancouver, Oregon Country. Oregon City is well worth a day to explore - and this museum should be part of your day. 5 excellent historic preservation stars!

Super cool historical site in Oregon City…read more There was a great and informative guide and games to play in the living room. We learned about the family who used to live there and then my husband was allowed to play the piano and found some sheet music for two songs all about Oregon. He played the songs and we did our best to sing along. Later the guide told us that the women who used to live in the house, loved music, played the piano herself and often hosted musical evenings in that very same living room. How beautiful is that!

This hidden-gem should not be overlooked by visitors to Oregon City nor residents. It offers an…read moreopportunity to step-back to another century and take in the architecture, amenities and lifestyle that our ancestors enjoyed.

This was one of the best experiences of my life as I not only learned a new skill and met wonderful…read morenew people, but was also able to receive close instruction from the artist herself. True is amazing and made us so comfortable in her home. She generously offered me a cup of coffee before we started the class. Her home was also in a cute little neighborhood where parking on the street was easy to find. I grew up watching Bob Ross as a child and am absolutely in love with everything about him. It was really nice to be able to learn his style of painting and to be able to use the different tools for the different affects on the canvas. The overall experience was very therapeutic and I was so happy that my painting turned out so beautiful and amazing. I even brought my Bob Ross wig for the final pic of all of us together. I would definitely do something like this again and highly recommend True as an instructor if you would like to learn oil painting (Bob Ross style).

True is amazing. I took a private lesson today and I learned to much. I would recommend her hands…read moredown! I can't wait for my next lesson!