Renthead Mommy Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 The husband has a professional meeting in Portland next week and we are going with him. Suggestions on things to do? It will be me and the stb 11 year old during the week, and all three of us over the weekend. We will have a car, but our hotel is also right on the subway line and we are staying in downtown area. So what is there to do in and out of town with a stb 11 year old boy? We are east coast/NYC/NJians, we have never done the west coast before except for Seattle. So where would you go? We already know about VooDoo Donuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 My kids love OMSI. http://www.omsi.edu/ The Zoo is one of the best in the US. http://www.oregonzoo.org/ You should also check out Mutlnomah Falls, it's an easy drive from downtown. http://www.oregon.co...multnomah_falls They have a Saturday Market. http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/ Powells Books is a huge fantastic bookstore http://www.powells.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 My kids love OMSI. http://www.omsi.edu/ The Zoo is one of the best in the US. http://www.oregonzoo.org/ You should also check out Mutlnomah Falls, it's an easy drive from downtown. http://www.oregon.co...multnomah_falls They have a Saturday Market. http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/ Seconding all of these suggestions. I'll also add the World Forestry Center (which is right next to the zoo). It sounds kind of dry, but it's actually quite fascinating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 OMSI is pretty cool. You could walk over the bridges to get there, very nice with views of the dragon boat races. They have an IMAX theater. If you like books, Powells is great and walkable from anywhere downtown. The whole area around downtown Powells has lots of neat little shops like this which is WAY better than VooDoo (but you have to do VooDoo once): http://saltandstraw.com/ There's a rock museum just west of town if you're into that. There's a killer aviation museum about 40 minutes out of town (car only) which also has a small wave park. Lots of groovy walking tours- This looks fun and mentions the food carts, which are groovy: http://www.discoverportland.net/maps/4-maps/540-the-4t-route Not sure how mature the content is, but this underground tour is supposed to be rad: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g52024-d663253-Reviews-Portland_Walking_Tours-Portland_Oregon.html The zoo is great, accessible by Max train. I like the art museum downtown, and the blocks around it are neat for walking around, but that kinda depends on your particular 11 yob. You can take a boat ride through the downtown corridor and I think you can also kayak and such. Have a great trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug's Mom Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 We were just there in Sept.(and hoping to go again this year) We all enjoyed OMSI (dd still talks about the submarine tour) Hop on a street car and ride the whole route. I saw Salt & Straw mentioned...yummy! Powell's was amazing. If you guys like video/arcade games, we had a blast at the Avalon Theatre & Wunderland : http://www.wunderlandgames.com/locations.asp If you like weird/ creepy stuff, the Freaky But True Peculiarium is fun. http://peculiarium.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahliarw Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 If you have a car, drive out to the Evergreen Aviation Museum. Absolutely fantastic. My kids LOVED it (and they weren't big on OMSI). You get a movie with your ticket too, and it's a big IMAX screen. We spent the whole day there and my kids (3, 5, and 8) were begging me to not leave - and it was definitely geared more towards the 10+ crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 The Japanese garden is beautiful! (near the zoo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Omsi has a Mummies of the World exhibit about to open. The art museum has a new exhibit about the history of bike design which is supposed to be great. The historical society across from the art museum has a new exhibit of presidential memorabilia that's supposed to be the biggest outside of the Smithsonian. Second the recs above too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 We love the Oregon Zoo. OMSI is fun too, and I recommend Washington Park if you like gardens. There is a rose garden there(gorgeous this time of year), a holocaust memorial, and a Japanese Garden. There are tons of things to do in Portland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 When you get to Powell's (even the airport one if you're flying in) get a copy of Portland Bingo. They need to have a spot for a juggling panhandler and the guy who rides a unicycle around town playing the bagpipes. You can go to Float On for a session in a sensory deprivation tank. Seriously awesome. That area of town is very stereotypically Portland. If you've seen Portlandia, you will instantly recognize elements from the show. Nicholas Restaurant is fabulous. So is Swagat. I live far from any ethnic restaurants now, and I miss both of these terribly. My friends love Salt & Straw but I haven't tried it. OMSI is a must. Their "Mummies of the World" exhibit starts the 14th. You just missed Mythbusters. Have fun and enjoy Portland's perfect summer weather. Not too hot, not too cold, not humid or buggy ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Another idea is the Chinese Classical Garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanitaL Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 We loved the Portland Farmers Market and Multnomah Falls. As long as you're that close, I would make a side trip to Mt. St. Helen's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 We lived in Portland for 9 years and loved it. Miss it! All the suggestions above are great (made me a little homesick). Just wanted to follow on to the recommendation for the rock museum. It's the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals and it is fabulous. http://www.ricenorthwestmuseum.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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