Rachel once again picked a good restaurant. As a bonus our booth had a wonderful view of the coast.

Dad and I ordered a bowl of clam chowder. OMG – what came out of the kitchen was a monstrosity sized ogre cauldron. The size of the thing isn’t done justice by the photo. We also got our usual rootbeer – even though it wasn’t draft.

My dad or mom (I can’t remember who) convinced Jasmine to try a clam. You can see the photos of her reaction before and after. To summarize – she didn’t like it.

Oh the garlic infused fries that came with my french dip sandwitch were amazing. Vampires beware.

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It is hard to say what is more scenic – the coast or the gorge. I say they are both spectacular.

On the drive to the pacific, we stopped at ‘scenic outlook’ that as luck would have it – gave us an amazing view of Mt. Saint Helens. Pretty neat. We had such perfect weather today with great visibility.

We walked around the town of Cannon Beach a bit and strolled along the oceanfront.

We then drove south along the famous 101 – stopping now and then to take in the views.

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For dinner, I took them out to a Mongolian Grill. On the east coast, they have one in D.C. that they have been too. But us lucky Portlander’s have several around town. We all made interesting combinations. They said if they had one in their hometown they would be there every week.

It got a little awkward when the check came, we had a little tug of war – but I eventually won.

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Today we headed up to Mount Hood. It was a rainy misty drive which turned to a nice snow shower at Timberline Lodge. My parents were amazed.

I think they enjoyed the historic lodge atmosphere. The lunch was very good. Dad and I continued our taste testing of draft rootbeer and clam chowder.

Afterwards, Jasmine and I played ping ball while they checked out the gift shop.

When we got back down to Portland the sun peaked out.

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It can be a challenge selecting restaurants for guests. I had no idea if my parents liked German cuisine. But I gambled that everyone loves melty cheese fondue, which our local Gustav’s does a great job.

Well the gamble paid off, we all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. I think my dad ate enough for three people – he just couldn’t get enough of the flavors. (Rumors are he skipped breakfast the next day and ate a light lunch.)

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