Category Archives: oregon

Columbia Gorge Hotel, Hood River Oregon

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Mini Vacation time!    Heading to the Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Oregon.    We’ve never been there but it’s supposed to be really neat – perched next to a huge waterfall with great food and historic ambiance:

Built in 1921 by timber tycoon Simon Benson, the Columbia Gorge Hotel was known as  the “Waldorf of the West.” A magnificent villa perched on a scenic cliff, the Hotel offering sweeping views of the majestic Columbia River as well as the very finest accommodations and dining in the northwest.

The Hotel was a favored retreat for movie stars like Clara Bow and Shirley Temple, presidents like Roosevelt and Coolidge, and other social and political dignitaries. These were the days of steamers and speakeasies, of Valentino and the Model T; a time when people were dancing the Charleston and listening to jazz at The Cotton Club.

Hmmm – I hope I don’t have to dance the Charleston….

Oregon Coast Highway 101 – The Pacific Coast National Scenic Byway

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Whenever I travel out of Oregon, which is pretty often,  I can’t help but make comparisons with the geography in other states and countries.    Although I’m a big fan of California which is a lot like Oregon, and a fan of the longer detailed histories you’ll find in other countries and states, it’s very hard to find things to compare with the natural splendor of the things we’ve got right here in my very favorite state.

The most recognizable natural wonders here are the Oregon Coast and Crater Lake National Park (Crater Lake NP is featured on the official Oregon Quarter!).   Crater Lake is spectacular as are the sweeping mountains, rivers and cityscapes but I think the most unique feature of Oregon is our 363 miles of unspoiled, almost 100% gorgeous coastline.    In fairness to other states with great coasts Oregon lacks the warmth of, say, a Waikiki or even Los Angeles beach, but we make up for that with scenery that is unmatched anywhere on earth.   Over at the Oregon Coast blog I’m starting to post pictures of the coast with comments and hoping to get some guests adding their own take on our wonderful Oregon Coast.

The Oregon Coast Mile by Mile Website is from the Official Printed Guide to the Oregon Coast and covers every city along the coast as well as attractions, hotels, and more:

Astoria to Seaside
Cannon Beach to Manzanita
Manzanita to Tillamook
Tillamook to Lincoln City
Lincoln City to Newport
Newport to Yachats
Yachats to Florence
Florence to North Bend
Coos Bay to Port Orford
Port Orford to California

Cape Arago Highway
Highway 6
Three Capes Loop Highway

The People’s Coast

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The Oregon Coast is arguably the top “branded” destination name in the state, and one of the top destination brands nationally, so it strikes me as very odd that some very high priced marketing firms are suggesting they rebrand our beautiful Oregon Coastline as “The People’s Coast”.

In addition to suffering from geographical vagueness and ambiguity, “The People’s Coast” is unlikely to conjure up the imagery the Oregon Coast deserves – powerful crashing surf, beautiful sandy beaches, rocky sea stacks towering majestically just off the shore, a lush blue spruce and fir forest sweeping down to the shoreline, and so much more.

Sure, the Oregon Coast is a “People’s Coast”, just like Viet Nam’s where the “People’s Coast Guard”  stands watch, but I’m not feeling how this brand is going to take off, let alone bring more folks to the state.   More importantly terms like the People’s Coast diminish the current powerful theme of the Oregon Coast which not only promotes that region but associates it with the rest of Oregon.     I’m partial to my own region – Southern Oregon – which I promoted online for many years and which includes portions of the magnificent Oregon Coast. whoops, I guess I mean that Southern Oregon contains portions of the People’s Coast…

Christy Lee Cook and the Country Folks Restaurant, Selma

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Here in Southern Oregon we were rooting for the “other” Cook in American Idol Christy Lee Cook, rather than American Idol winner David Cook.    On the way home from California Sunday we dropped in to the Country Folks restaurant of Selma, Oregon.  My wife and daughter had been there before but I hadn’t.     In addition to being “Christy Lee Central” for local fans who would watch the show from there every Tuesday and Wednesday, Country Folks has simply *outstanding* home cooked food, so I really wanted to put in a plug for them.

We ordered fried chicken and an open faced turkey sandwich with stuffing, potatoes, and gravy.    The chicken was excellent, but the sandwich was a country cooking work of art –  a plate brimming with fresh mashed potatoes, rich gravy, juicy turkey, a scoop of dressing, and cranberry sauce on the side.   After that meal I can’t imagine eating anywhere else along route 199 – Oregon’s very scenic road from I5 to the Coast past Cave Junctions (near the Oregon Caves National Monument), through the Redwoods, and on to the sea.

Local Newspaper Article about the Country Folks Restaurant

Retire in Oregon

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Think about it.  You could retire in Oregon!     OregonRetirement.info is a project I’m working on with friends in Ashland, Oregon and if you are thinking of retiring in Oregon you’ll want to check out the details about the many great retirement lifestyle choices your can make here in the state.   We’ve got a lot of detail about each region, from Portland Area to here in Southern Oregon, and there are thousands of links to many other categories.

Wow, how obvious is this attempt to get our site to rank well for the term “retire in oregon” [answer: obvious].  Yet this should be considered perfectly legitimate “white hat” SEO because users would really, really want to find that site if they were looking for information about a pending Oregon Retirement or if they were searching for “Retire in Oregon“.   Right?

 

 

 

Bullfrog Stew in Beijing

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Bullfrog Stew 158
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Bullfrog Stew was one of the more interesting dishes we sampled in Beijing.   It was tasty – spicy stew with the bullfrog meat very soft and tender.   The tiny bones, however, made it kind of hard to really savor.

Pictured is Kevin Wu, my friend and Medford Oregon Dentist.

Bill Richardson calls us “Ore-Gone” … twice. NO VP FOR YOU!

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Bill Richardson is one of the short listed guys for an Obama VP, and he’s been a vocal supporter of Obama.   However I’m listening to Richardson on CNN right now talking about upcoming primaries and mispronouncing our state name with very reckless abandon.     

I’ve always been sympathetic to the fact that many people how have not visited Oregon might call us Ore-Gone, and I forgive relatives who can’t seem to get it right even after they’ve been told many times how to pronounce the name.   Also I fortive Wisconsonites who are used to the city of Oregon, WI which generally is pronounced “Ore-Gone”.

But Come on BILL RICHARDSON!   You are Governor of a nearby state and have run for President and could *be* President some day.    At the VERY FRICKING LEAST I think a Presidential aspirant should be able to pronounce all the state names accurately.    Is that too much to ask?   

So, until you get your Oregons straight I say  NO VP FOR YOU!

Medford Oregon Dentist

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Medford Oregon Dentist – Wu Family Dentistry Review

I’ve lived in the Rogue Valley of Oregon for over twenty years.  There are many excellent dentists in the area but in my opinion the best Medford Oregon Dentists are Dr. Kevin Wu and Dr. Julie Wu of Medford.    Kevin is a Table Tennis pal of mine and we recently returned from a trip to China, but that’s not why I’m recommending Wu Family Dental as the best in Medford Oregon.    When my son was to have his wisdom teeth extracted his dentist recommended an oral surgeon.    I asked Kevin for a second opinion and he wound up doing the extractions in a very short and painless procedure.  My son was very pleased with the efficiency of Dr. Wu, his staff, and his office as well as the fact that he recovered from the procedure much faster than his friends who had gone elsewhere.

I’ve also had work done by Dr. Kevin and his assistants and found Wu Family Dentistry to be the most professional, friendly, and modern dental facility in the Rogue Valley.    High tech, low invasive X ray equipment, excellent technicians and office staff, and waiting room snacks are the types of people and amenities you won’t find in some of the other dental offices in the Medford Area.

So, this is an unsolicited endorsement of Wu Family Dentistry as the Best Medford Oregon Dentists.

 

 

Craiglist Prank = horse stealin’

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I’m reporting a remarkable local story from Jacksonville, Oregon that strains even one’s interenet sensibilities about a guy in Jacksonville who had his horse and property stolen after Craigslist postings said it was up for grabs.   The incredible part is that after the guy returned home the people would not stop taking his stuff, citing the Craigslist ad as some sort of permission!     http://www.webguild.org/2008/03/craigslist-prank-listings-lead-to-major.php