Top Ten Things to do in Portland

1. Pioneer Courthouse Square (Downtown, a short walk, SW 6th & Morrison) - Portland’s Living Room, if you haven’t spent 10 minutes there, you haven’t seen the City
2. Powell's Books – (Downtown, Streetcar, NW 10th and Burnside) – If Portland is a City of Books, this is it’s heart, Powell's is the largest independent book store in the country.
3. Brewpubs. (Throughout the City) – Craft Brewing Magazine has called Portland the microbrewery capital of the world, with more than 70 operating in the City. Whether it be the unique chain of brewpubs owned by the McMenamins brothers or a nationally known beer like Widmer, they are everywhere.
4. Ride a Bike (Throughout the City) – Named Best Bicycling City in America for several years running, Portland prides itself on being friendly for two wheeled transportation. From the Eastbank Esplanade to the Springwater Corridor, borrow a bike and get out and see the City.
5. Portland Streetcar and Light Rail (Downtown, a short walk) – Portland has been operating light rail since 1986, streetcar since 2001, it is one of those things that makes Portland, Portland.
6. Chinese Garden (Downtown, bus ride, SW 3rd & Everett) – An urban oasis of tranquil beauty and harmony. An authentic all-seasons Ming Dynasty classical Chinese garden with a teahouse built by artisans from Suzhou, China.
7. Oregon Zoo (MAX Light Rail, SW Portland) – Oregon’s Zoo is also home to the deepest light rail station in the country. The zoo is world renown for its elephants.
8. Portland Art Museum (Downtown, a short walk, SW Park & Madison) – Portland’s very own, which is one of the 25 largest museums in the country.
9. Multnomah Falls (45 miles east of Portland, a drive) – The falls are the second highest year-round waterfall in the nation at 620 feet. Take in the beauty of the Columbia Gorge and the historic Columbia River Highway during the trip.
10. Portland’s Aerial Tram (South Waterfront, Streetcar south terminus, SW Gibbs & SW Moody) – Portland’s newest venture into transportation, it is a unique urban development tool to connect the Oregon Health Sciences University with an exciting new neighborhood.
    

By DAVID LASKIN - NY TIMES Travel http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/travel/15hours.html

"NICE” is an adjective that Portland, Ore., can't seem to shake. But below the fleece-clad and Teva-wearing exterior lurks a cool and refreshingly unneurotic city that marches to its own cosmopolitan beat. Truth is, Portland doesn't want to be Seattle, its highly caffeinated neighbor to the north. With less traffic, better public transportation and Mount Hood in its backyard, this self-styled City of Roses doesn't stand in anybody's shadow. Its vibrant downtown overflows with urban pleasures like chic restaurants, funky nightclubs and spritely neighborhoods crackling with youthful energy, but nobody's boasting. That's another nice thing about Portland.

 Guest Tours as Part of the Program

Portland Tour by Land & Water
Monday, July 16th, 8:45 AM to 2:30 PM; Meet at Registration
Cost: $40 pp (12 years and over), $25 per child under 12 years
This is a land and water tour you won’t forget! The Portland Duck is an unsinkable amphibious tour vehicle you will take for a 2½ hr tour. View the city’s favorite sites and then splash into the Willamette River
– all without ever leaving your seat! There will be a no‐host dim sum lunch at the Fong Chong Restaurant. Dim sum (“little token” in Cantonese) is a light meal served with Chinese tea, with a variety of choices from savory to
sweet. Rates are very reasonable and you pay by the number of places you have after you are
through eating! Please bring small bills. After lunch, you will walk just two blocks to the Classical Chinese Garden (Lan Su Yuan is Chinese for “Garden of the Awakening Orchids”). Winding walkways, a bridged lake, and open
pavilions frame this exquisitely arranged landscape of over 500 species of plants, trees, water, stone, architecture and poetry. We will have a special tour guide show us the details of harmony and tranquility with surprises at every turn in this incredibly beautiful place.

Portland Walking Tour (Waterfront & Underground)
Tuesday, July 17th, 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM; Meet at Registration
Cost: $35 pp (12 years and over), $15 per child under 12 years
Downtown Portland is filled with artwork, fountains, old & new parks, and interesting architecture. This walking tour tailored for our group begins with Pioneer Courthouse Square, the center of today’s downtown and home to countless festivals and exhibits. The tour continues through downtown, past art galleries, antique shops, the Pearl District, and the riverfront with its walkers, cyclists and people just admiring the view! We will walk about 1‐1/2 miles and take 2‐1/2 hours to do it. After the walking tour, we will head for Hobo’s Restaurant for a sandwich and soda served on their terrace. After resting and eating, we will descend into the city’s unsavory past. We will be guided underground for an oral and visual history of this notorious environment that gave Portland’s old waterfront a bad reputation. These “Shanghai trade” tunnels survived from 1850‐1941. We will see holding cells, deadfall trapdoors, unearthed artifacts, and incredible underground architecture. The Portland Underground Tour is unique and has been featured on the History Channel, Discovery Channel, Weird U.S., and more. It is 1½ hours
long. Be prepared for stairs, ladders, and dirty conditions. Dust masks will be available.

Self-Guided Multi-Modal Brewery Tour

Sunday, July 15th, 7:30 PM to Close
Meet at registration (although the self-guided tour can be done at anytime)
With Oregon in the top ten of hops and barley production in the nation, Oregon is
home to over 80 breweries, of which 38 are located in the Metro Portland area, the
most for any metro area in the WORLD. The self‐guided brew pub tour takes you to a
sampling of local brew pubs in Portland on foot, streetcar, bus, and light rail. You will
be able to taste various brews such as McMenamins Ruby Ale, Bridgeport Ales India Pale Ale, and Rogue Brewery’s
Dead Guy Ale. For more information about the breweries and brews, please visit the conference website.

Recommended Trips by LAC Members

Jennifer Rosales - My day trip recommendation: Multnomah Falls is only a 45 minute drive from Portland... there's great hiking trails near the falls and one that takes you to the top of the falls! I recommend driving the old historic highway back to Portland and stop at many other waterfalls and great vistas along the drive.

Massoud Saberian - Oregon Coast is one of the more popular places to visit. For sandy beaches and calmer seas the northern Oregon coast is the place to see, and for tremendous waves crashing on the rocks and whale watching Depot Bay is the place to go. You could spend days if not weeks to explore all of it, but to pick and choose what to see while here check the link .

Randy McCourt – Mt. Hood is only about a 90 minute drive from downtown Portland, one of few places with summer skiing on the glacier of Mt. Hood up at Timberline Lodge. There is great hiking, biking and summer attractions to be found all around Mt. Hood Ski Bowl Adventure Park. If you want to take a different way home, driving on Oregon Highway 35 to Hood River puts you in the heart of windsurfing heaven on the Columbia River (about 60 miles form Portland on I-84) and on the drive home you can stop by Multnomah Falls.

Events Around the Conference Dates in Portland

Washougal Pro Motocross Nationals. Amateur racing starts on July 26^th, pros on July 29^th. Washougal is a nationally-famous track and this is a great opportunity for motocross fans to get a chance to ride the track and/or watch all the big name professional riders. www.washougalmx.com

Oregon Brewers Festival, July 26^th through the 29^th. You can get a blurb from the web page, but you probably know that this is a huge event for beer lovers. www.oregonbrewfest.com