Category

Places to Explore

Tourist traps, museums, neon, places to grab a bite to eat, and rest your head.

Marquee for the 99W, a red, green, and white sign advertises the films playing, The Sandlot and Spider-Man.

Returning To My Favorite Place In Oregon, the Beloved 99W Drive In Theater

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Longtime readers will remember I loved going to the 99W Drive-In just outside of Portland in the small town of Newberg when I lived in Oregon. Unlike California, where drive-ins operate year round, the 99W is subject to the weather whims of Oregon, and operates typically late spring through early fall. Thankfully Pat’s sister’s wedding…

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Overall of the Sandy Jug, which is a building shaped like a jug, painted a pale cream. The very top is painted brown, with a gold stopper. Around the shoulder of the bottle are gold circles with roses painted in the middle. A door sits in the middle, with a blue neon sign reading "Cocktails" above, on either side of the door are windows of glass blocks.

Grabbing a Drink at Portland’s Only Bottle Shaped Bar, the Sandy Jug

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While living in Portland I would sometimes find myself passing by a massive jug, solidly painted maroon. Inside? A strip club dubbed Pirate’s Cove. I always sighed, and bemoaned the fact it was a strip club. Here was a beautiful example of programatic architecture, and it was a strip club? And not even painted well?…

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Sign reading "The Skeleton Key Odditorium"

The Skeleton Key Odditorium is Keeping Portland Weird

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Portland’s unofficial motto is “Keep Portland Weird” something stolen from Austin, Texas. And Portland certainly marches to the beat of its own drum. One place that is helping keep Portland weird is the Skeleton Key Odditorium, a 2,500 square foot museum filled with oddities, spooky treasures, and best of all, a spirit board collection. Visitors pass…

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Exterior of Grand Lodge, a Greek revival style portico with columns, with the building itself made of brick.

McMenamins Grand Lodge: 100 Year Old Freemason Retirement Home Turned Whimsigoth Hotel

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As mentioned earlier, we returned to Oregon for Patrick’s sister’s wedding. She chose to get married at a local campground with a beautiful lake. As her and her friends adore camping, many opted to pitch tents right on site. As for me I chose for Patrick and I to stay at McMenamins Grand Lodge, a…

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Exterior of the Sacramento History Museum, a two story brick structure in a simple style.

Unearthing Early California History at the Sacramento History Museum

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Old Town Sacramento offers visitors a look into how California developed from a rough and tumble western town into the bustling capitol it is today. At one end of Old Town visitors can find the Sacramento History Museum. Inside is a range of artifacts from the area, along with the viral printing press area that…

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Railtown 1897: Hollywood’s Favorite Railroad Nestled in the Sierras

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Last month Patrick and I ventured back to our home state of Oregon for his sister’s wedding. We decided to drive, taking some of California’s lovely backroads through gold country, and stopped at Railtown 1897, a wonderful rail museum nestled in Jamestown. While central and northern California are well known for their gold, the area…

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