by Laura Oppenheimer,The Oregonian
Ah, Memorial Day.
Time to stash the parka until next year. Coffeehouses prop open their doors, festivals descend on Portland's waterfront. And weekend visitors arrive at our doorsteps, determined to experience Oregon before the rain returns.
Our first summer here, my husband and I hosted so many friends and relatives, we felt like we ran a B&B. Each guest flew into PDX armed with guidebooks and Internet research. "We've gotta see Multnomah Falls!" "Saturday Market sounds so cool!" "Is the Rose Garden still in bloom?"
We happily obliged. Multnomah Falls, Saturday Market, Rose Garden. Multnomah Falls, Saturday Market, Rose Garden. Lovely places. By September, though, we thought we'd puke if we had to visit any of them again.
We vowed to devise more-creative itineraries for guests -- and not just because we could lead Multnomah Falls tours blindfolded. There's an art to showing visitors what it's like to live in Oregon. To shop here and hike here and bike here, to eat here and hang out here. Now, visitors leave with a deeper understanding of our adopted home.
Read on for weekend agendas to suit three types of guests: friends, the family clan and parents.
Nothing wrong with mixing and matching these if you're hosting young-at-heart parents or a precocious 12-year-old. And you're welcome to squeeze in classic Oregon attractions. After all, they're famous for a reason: We're lucky to have them.
Keep reading for all the juicy details: Creative Itineraries for Visitors
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