We’ll tour the International Rose Test Gardens where more than 500 varieties of roses grow, and Japanese Garden. Next, activities include a walk on the waterfront to the historic Skidmore/Old Town District, including Powell’s City of Books, America’s largest new and used bookstore, filling an entire block with 750,000 books.

Day 3 - Day trip to see the beauties of the Columbia River Gorge, with stops at Vista House, Multnomah Falls — Oregon's most famous and tallest waterfall at 620 feet, the second highest year-round waterfall in the US, Hood River, "the windsurfing capitol of the USA," Bonneville Dam and Cascade Locks and a river tour on the sternwheeler “Columbia Gorge.” Whew!

Day 4 - Day trip to the Evergreen Aviation Museum, where we’ll see the world’s largest airplane, the Spruce Goose, and the world’s fastest and highest flying jet, the SR-71 Blackbird. We just may stop at a winery or two also before returning to Portland.

Day 5 - Leave Portland, hitting the coast just north of Lincoln City on the way to Newport. On the route will be a covered bridge, great scenery and maybe we’ll see a sea lion. Whales can often be seen, although the majority are there in early spring. Along the sea wall north of Depoe Bay’s harbor is the Spouting Horn where natural rock tubes are flooded by the incoming tide and spout geyser-like sprays, sometimes reaching over US 101. South of Depoe Bay, just past Otter Rock, is Devil’s Punch Bowl State Park where a bowl-shaped rock formation fills with water at high tide creating a roar. Stop in Newport, an old resort community (100 years old) at the entrance of Yaquina Bay. Stay 2 nights.

Day 6 - Our highlight today will be a narrated 2-hour tour on the Discovery, a deluxe accessible!! 65 foot ocean-going excursion boat. There aren’t any guarantees for what we’ll see (wild critters being wild, after all) but, depending on weather, we may see gray whales, harbor porpoise, seals, sea lions and a variety of marine birds. Just being out there will be great! The rest of the day, depending on weather, time and whim, we may just enjoy Newport or take a coastal drive.

Day 7 - We’ll head back to Portland today, with a covered bridge along the way, Albany, Salem (Oregon’s capital), maybe another winery or two. Farewell dinner.