Trip Planning - Portland

[emily_in_nc]

+1 on Multnomah waterfall! We stopped there on our way to the city. Stunning area.

[Blueberry]

Finally replying to this - my life goes in exam blocks right now. Midterm this AM, catch up on "life" this afternoon. Rinse. Repeat.

GLC - we can't wait to see you guys! It's been too long!

So - first I need to find a place to stay. DH is a little sketched out about AirBnB - he seems to think that all owners do a lot of video surveillance (in a creepy way). (?!) Any truth to that? Any other good places you would recommend? I'd love a little kitchen so we can eat some meals in - but it's not 100% required. Other than "close to fun stuff" and "one of us is a student and therefore we have a budget" - I'm pretty open.

Car rental - undecided, but probably. I think we want to investigate the coast on a day trip, so we would definitely need one for that.

Bringing bikes - probably yes. We have the Bike Fridays, and our tickets are on Southwest. So - it's not *too* much trouble and no extra cost. We'll revisit closer to the date if it looks like there will be a deluge all week. The catch: I'm in horrible cycling shape. See exam block comment above. My riding will likely be pretty limited in range and I won't be going up any mountains. Otherwise, hiking/walking is great. Have rain gear (and I don't usually use an umbrella even in NC - much to everyone's shock).

Is TE headquarters open to visitors? Seriously, I would love to meet Susan and Jeff (and all the cool people I've talked to on the phone).

[Crankin]

My son and DIL have run an Air BnB for 3 years. They most certainly do not have cameras in their home! Of course, they *live* there. I think a lot of the stories you hear are people who actually buy homes/apartments for the sole intent of renting them as Air BnB places.

[emily_in_nc]

We have stayed in a lot of Airbnbs and VRBOs in the past few years of traveling, some for as long as 1-6 months. We have never seen any evidence of any type of video surveillance and have had very good experiences with most of them. That is either an urban myth or just the case of a small % of units. I'd never even heard of it! So, I wouldn't let that stop you. Read the reviews and choose a place you like.

We stayed way up on the north side of town in a hotel, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend that, though were able to ride and take the metro into downtown. I don't remember there being many hills -- nothing like Seattle! Needing a pet-friendly place limited our options, and we were only in Portland for 3-4 nights so not worth messing with VRBO/Airbnb IMO. Given how the weather may be for your trip, I'm not sure I'd bother taking the bikes, but then, I'm a cold- and rainy-weather-cycling wimp!

[GLC1968]

Where you stay can be pretty open as there is pretty good public transportation and bike-ability just about everywhere. The only big hills are between Portland and the westside (where I live) but that's avoidable if you aren't commuting. It's no where near as hilly as Seattle! Plus, Feb/Mar is not really the time of year to embark upon serious mountain climbing rides because above about 2000 ft, there is snow in most places. I haven't been riding since last summer, so I'm not exactly bike fit myself. My rear hurts just thinking about riding!

For lodging, I think there are lots of different types but most likely nothing is going to be super cheap (Airbnb is probably the best bet). Portland/Oregon is affordable in many ways, but living arangements (rent, real eastate, hotels) are usually not one of them and getting worse every day. Of course, Feb/Mar is not the big tourist season, so there are probably deals. I know nothing about AirBnB except that I have a friend who works for them here in Portland (in HR). I did just stumble on this place the other day and it sounds like a fantastic location to have as 'home base' here in Portland to get a good feel for the vibe here: http://tinyhousehotel.com/ Plus, it's super neat!

Depending on her biking schedule - we may be able to arrange at least a dinner date with Jeff and Susan while you guys are here! I think you'd like them both a lot...I do.