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Association of Administrative Law Judges

Portland Guest Program

Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce our guest tours for the 17th Annual Educational Conference in Portland. The brochure describing the tours and the form to sign up for them are attached at the end of this announcement.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

City Tour

9:00 am – 4:45 pm Fees: $37 per person, based on 45 – 53 passengers, includes all fees and guide

 

Leave the Doubletree, Lloyd Center Hotel, beginning with a quick tour around the Fourcourt Fountains, back to Naito Parkway to see parts of Tom McCall Waterfront. As we move down the street, we will view Salmon Street Springs water fountains spraying with over 185 jets programmed to change with the city’s moods and recycling over 4,924 gallons of water per minute, look quickly to see the nations smallest dedicated park-Mills End Park, which is 24 inches and only one visitor at a time. You can see across the river the Blue Back Submarine, then we will be able to view the Battleship Oregon Memorial, built in 1956 to honor an 1893 ship. Next we will view the Japanese American Historical Plaza dedicated to the memory of those who were deported to inland internment camps during World War II, this was dedicated on August 3, 1990. One hundred ornamental cherry trees link the plaza northward to the Friendship Circle.

 

Stop for a look at the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. A Garden of Awakening Orchids, inside a walled city block, an exquisite mix of pavilions, rocks, plants and walkways surround an 8,000 square foot pond. An oasis inside the city, you won’t want to miss.

 

Go back up town and view Pioneer Courthouse Square, considered Portland’s Living Room. You can see many interesting things here such as: road signs to Russia, a weather machine –25 foot tall kinetic sculpture that predicts each noon whether the day will bring rain, sun or storms and bricks in the square with names on them that people bought to help build the square.

 

From Pioneer Courthouse Square, we will drive to Nob Hill, one of the oldest settled parts of town and the main center is NW 23rd Avenue. It is known as Nob Hill or the Alphabet District because each street is named in alphabetical order. This area is part-upscale, part-bohemian and could well be the epicenter of Pacific Northwest panache. Here we will let you off to scout out lunch on your own and enjoy the trendy, or funky stores. The area is rich in different restaurants. If you choose, you can stroll some of the side streets and admire many of the city’s first craftsman homes built in the 1800’s.

 

From Nob Hill, we will re-board the bus and drive to the Pittock Mansion, home to Henry and Georgiana Pittock from 1914- 1919. Henry Pittock took ownership of the weekly Oregonian in 1860 and it is still the main local newspaper in town. The mansion has eclectic architectural design and richly decorated interior, including family artifacts. Besides the beauty of this mansion that sits almost 1,000 feet above downtown Portland, you can see mountains, rivers and our beautiful city from the front lawn. We will have a tour of the mansion then to round out the day, we will drive a short distance and experience Portland’s International Rose Test Garden, the oldest official, continuously operated public rose test garden in the U.S. More than 8,000 roses of every color of the rainbow bloom here, filling the air with rose perfume. The garden does not just have roses but fountains, paths, and statues.

 

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Columbia River Gorge/Mt Hood Loop tour

8:00 am – 5:00 pm Fees: $40 per person based on 45 – 53 passengers, includes bus, all fees, guide and box lunch with drink

 

Load bus from the hotel and head east to the town of Troutdale. A quaint little town with lots of antique stores, a bronze foundry and fun shops that you can view as we pass through on our way to the old historic highway that will take us to Multnomah Falls and Lodge. The first stop will be at Vista House on Crown Point which sits 733 feet above the Columbia River. This is only a stop for photos as you will take your first look at the most breathtaking view of the Columbia River Gorge area. The road winds past flowers, trees and many waterfalls before we arrive at Multnomah Falls. The falls is 620 feet tall and the second highest year-round waterfall in the nation. You will have time to view the falls, the Lodge built in 1915 of stone, the gift shop or even walk quickly to the first bridge.

 

From Multnomah Falls, we will get back on the freeway and head to the town of Hood River. This small town has become the windsailing hot spot of the world. We might be lucky and have the wind blowing and see them on the river. Just outside of Hood River, we will stop at the Apple Valley Store for dessert of home made apple crisp, ice cream with coffee or tea. You will be able to walk through this great little store and feel like you stepped back to grandma’s house 100 years ago with the wonderful aromas of fresh baked pies, jams, etc. They will have samples for you to try as you wonder through while waiting for dessert or after you have finished.

 

Board the bus again as the bus winds its way through apple, pear and peach orchards on the way to Mt. Hood. We will be coming in the backside of the mountain and will be able to see wonderful views of the mountain as we wind up the hill. Once we get up the mountain, you will have time to explore Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark constructed of mammoth timbers and native stone, built in 1937.

 

Now we board the bus one more time for the trip back to the city. On the way back we will be traveling through many small towns along the way.

 

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Mt. St. Helens Tour

8:00 am – 5:00 pm Fees: $58 per person based on 45 – 53 passengers, includes bus, box lunch/drink, guide, all fees

 

View North America’s only volcanic preserve. A stop at Johnston Ridge will let you see what happened on May 18, 1980 and also the new activity that began again in October 2004 and is still strutting its power every day with new growth. This center is also the closest visitor center to the mountain and it is built like a bunker into the surrounding landscape and focuses the visitors attention on the smoldering crater some six miles away. You will have a tour and have enough time to view the observatory. After this, we will travel back to the Forest Learning Center where information on the eruption, the effect on the environment and Weyerhaeuser’s effort to speed the recovery process is presented in a wonderful and interesting way. It is about a two hour ride each way but there are lots of interesting towns and scenery along the way. Well worth it and one of the most popular tours out in the northwest.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Seaside, Cannon Beach

8:00 am – 5:00 pm Fees: $56 per person based on 45- 53 passengers, includes bus, box lunch/drink, guide and all fees.

Leave the hotel for about a two hour ride over the Coast range through the Tillamook Forest, (this forest was once filled with rainforests of mixed old growth evergreens 150 -400 years old and then in the 1930’s and 1940’s, these forest were burned to the ground. It is exciting to travel through the forest now with its lovely trees, and plants) on the way to the town of Cannon Beach. This town is not just the typical beach town. The town is bracketed by sea-splitting headlands and miles of wild sands and rising above all this is stoic Haystack Rock. Haystack Rock is a sensitive habitat for crabs, sea anemones, nudibranchs and you may see Cormorants and Tufted Puffins and other shorebirds. Two miles out, you can see the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse that has been perched there since 1880.

Downtown, you will find every form of studio art, painting, sculpture, custom furniture, blown glass, up-scale clothing stores as well as beach clothes type stores and then there is just a good walk along the beach.

From Cannon Beach, we will travel a short time to the town of Seaside, Oregon. This is the town where the Lewis & Clark Expedition built a salt-making Cairn in 1806. Seaside also has the famous promenade (called the prom) at the end of Broadway Street. This is a two mile wide sidewalk along the beach. This town has a small aquarium which is pretty interesting, arcades, bike rentals called surreys and antique shopping. You may take advantage of renting a surry, or viewing the aquarium. (fees are included)

From Seaside, we will travel a short distance further down the coast to the town of Astoria, located near the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River. Astoria was discovered in 1792 and while there you can view the Astoria-Megler Bridge going to the state of Washington, it is 4.1 miles long and this is the home of cruise ships, fishing charters and the famous Astoria Column. We will view, climb if people want to the top of the column which is 125 feet high and 164 steps winding to the top in a circular fashion. Built in 1926, you can view the surrounding rivers, bay, forest, mountains and the ocean. It is the world’s only large piece of memorial architecture made of reinforced concrete with a pictorial frieze in sgraffito technique.

From the Astoria Column, we will ride down to the waterfront and catch the trolley to have about a 45 minute ride along the waterfront, many times viewing sea lions as you go by. After all of this, it is time to board the bus for the trip back to Portland.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Wine Tour – (Washington County)

Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Fees: $69 per person. Includes lunch, guide and tasting fees,

Travel to Forest Grove to visit Sake One. This is a Sake plant, and we take a one hour tour and tasting. Extremely interesting and not very many Sake plants around. When you tour Sake One plant, you will learn things like: Sake has no sulfites and half the acidity of wine and the premium Sake is virtually hangover free. Learn how this 6800 year old beverage is made from special rices, to drinking it chilled.

Lunch will be at the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove. This is an old restored orphanage, past Mason Lodge and who knows what else but a great place to have lunch and check out part of the building. It is now one of the McMenamin’s properties, known for their ales and wines. Artist have put their touches on the ceilings, pipes and much more.

From the Grand Lodge, it is off to Elk Cove Vineyards to taste Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling, as well as the highly sought after “UMTIMA” dessert wines. The view is great but sometimes in September, it gets pretty busy with the grape harvest, you might only get to view the grape plants in the vineyard but the tasting room is still warm and inviting.

Our last stop will be Montinore Estates Winery for samples of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Mull-Thurgau and White Riesling. We can view the vineyards that sit on 265 acres and see the Montinore mansion that was built in 1905. There are many gardens to enjoy and one garden has a gazebo constructed of grapevines and the garden outside of the tasting room features native Oregon plants. Minimum of 30 people

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