Recommendations for Thunders Oregon Travels

thunderwagn

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I know we have some members here who reside currently in Oregon and some who have previously, and others who may have traveled there in the past. My wife and I are planning a trip there, a beercation of sorts, in late September. Our tentative plan right now is to stay in Bend for 2-3 days, then hit the coast for 3-4 days. We're looking for recommendations on where to go, stay, etc. We are also interested in any covid restrictions and how much that will affect our trip. I know things change constantly, but a general rundown of how open things are now and how the state is operating currently and advice would be much appreciated!
 
Group W is the authority on the Bend area, but we've visited several times' and have some favorite breweries both there and on the central Oregon Coast. For Bend: Deschutes, Worthy, 10 Barrel, Silver Moon, Good Times, Boneyard and Crux. Not sure if they've expanded into Whiskey yet, bit Good Times has an impressive Gin done with lime and all local botanicals. On the Central Coast, The Rogue brewery is on the South side of the bay in Newport and they also have a tap room on the North side.

McMennamins St. Francis School in downtown Bend has a Cigar and Whiskey bar with a good selection of both. Their beers are decent too.
 
Bend is great. Bob covered the popular ones. You might try Sun River Brewing also in Bend. On the coast Pelican is in Pacific City and FT. George is in Astoria. Not sure what part of the coast you will hit. Southern coast has a couple small ones if you are interested. Right now there are no travel restrictions but there is talk of them, so check before you leave.
 
Was just about to post Pelican. Damn decent beers and a fantastic beach and ocean view. If you get thirsty on the 45+ minute drive North from Newport, Rusty Truck Brewing in Lincoln City has a few nice beers and decent grub.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. We don't know where to go really on the coast. I grew up gulf side and been in Colorado for over 30 years so I miss the water. Somewhere with nice seafood and beer works!
 
Lots of nice places on the Oregon coast, but for beer and grub, I gotta go with Newport and the surrounding area. We're partial to Sharks and Rogue, but have eaten some good food at several other places on the Bay Front in Newport. Our daughter found some nice, and very reasonable AirB&Bs in the area too.

Touch bases with Group W for info on what to expect as far as COVID restrictions are concerned.
 
For seafood and beer Newport and Astoria are your best bets. With covid though menus have been reduced.
 
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Would you driving to the coast? Man, that is a looooooooong trip at roughly 18 hours. If it is a good highway though it should be relatively painless. The pallies and I went to Nashville last fall, 12 hour drive, but, easy as far as 12 hour drives go.
 
Chowder Bowl in Newport is delicious and has local beer. Rogue was already mentioned, also in Newport. My family went to Cape Perpetua (south of Newport) every summer to go tidepooling and hiking. There's a brewery in Yachats, also south of Newport, but they're small, and I don't know what their status is. Oregon is beautiful, have fun planning!
 
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Would you driving to the coast? Man, that is a looooooooong trip at roughly 18 hours. If it is a good highway though it should be relatively painless. The pallies and I went to Nashville last fall, 12 hour drive, but, easy as far as 12 hour drives go.
No, flying. We hope to make our marriage last another 25:D
Nashville is fun as hell, and will be going back for sure.
 
No, flying. We hope to make our marriage last another 25:D
Nashville is fun as hell, and will be going back for sure.
If I peg where you live correctly, there's not a traffic light until you get off I24. We've driven it with the kids a few times, rent a mini-van and drive home - I'm native to about 80 miles north of Nashville. Not bad but we stop about half-way and spend the night.
 
Okay, time to be brutally honest TW. Boise, Bend, Newport, Brookings, Crescent City and back is an awesome trip in normal times. Without getting into all the details, my humble opinion is to just support your local family owned small businesses and put this trip off for a year. :(
 
Sometimes brutal honesty is the best answer. My wife and I were going to be in Eugene for a week later this month, but we cancelled. Not a good time for air travel, and it is obvious that the food and drink scene just can’t be like it was when we visited last summer. In summer 2018 we visited Bend, and loved it. We were in Eugene back in spring 2017, too.
 
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@Group W @Herm_brews that's the type of answers and info I'm looking for and I appreciate the honesty. My wife and I have talked about postponing. Not sure what we will do yet. It's hard for us to get away just the two of us and our "kids" being at home right now are about the only ones we have available to watch over the farm. We are definitely weighing our options.
Oregon is our destination of choice though so now or in the future, all recommendations are still appreciated.
 
@Group W @Herm_brews that's the type of answers and info I'm looking for and I appreciate the honesty. My wife and I have talked about postponing. Not sure what we will do yet. It's hard for us to get away just the two of us and our "kids" being at home right now are about the only ones we have available to watch over the farm. We are definitely weighing our options.
Oregon is our destination of choice though so now or in the future, all recommendations are still appreciated.
I hear you on getting off the farm. We have a small hay farm and are tied down from April - September. As far as Covid goes, it’s masks required while indoors. At a pub masks must be worn to get in, but once seated they can come off. Places with outside seating are best. We haven’t tried any restaurants yet. Our favorites have gone out of business. The pubs in Central Oregon are hanging on. Plenty to choose from with Deschutes being the first to open in 1988. I heard lodging is running at 70% capacity. If you are RVing, Tumalo State Park is close to Bend. Not sure how big of a rig they can take. Newport has a Really nice RV facility operated by the Port right next to Rogue Brewery. If not camping in Newport, the Hallmark Resort on the beach is the way to go. I am glad to help and visit if you make the trek. Feel free to PM me if that helps.
 
If you decide to go, I have two places that I love. They are in totally opposite directions, though..............:)

I fell in love with Cannon Beach. Oh, it's too touristy, but the best tidepools I've ever seen are there. I'm NOT a morning person, but one day low tide was at 6 AM pacific time (ugh), and I went out there and had the most amazing experience. In the evening, there is a hardware store/beer place that had good food and beer. It's not far from Tillamook, and made a nice driving route.

The other place is Hood River. I drove to Mt. Hood Brewing (is that the name? Cool brewpub there) and had one and a meal, stopped to buy some fruit at a farm stand, and went on to Hood River were there is Pfriem (best beer around), Full Sail, and Double Mountain. I have no idea the status due to Covid, though, and it's probably not a great visit right now. I sat outside at Pfriem for a bit to watch the people on the river, but the seating is/was mostly inside.
 

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