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Alaska Airlines Flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Portland (PDX)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Alaska Airlines, which operates 6 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Portland (PDX), departing between 6:30am and 8:40pm. The average travel time from Los Angeles, CA to Portland, OR is 2 hours and 24 minutes.
During your Portland vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
The Grotto--National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother
Although this forested 62-acre sanctuary is first and foremost a Catholic religious shrine (with a marble replica of Michelangelo's Pietà set in a shallow rock cave at the foot of a cliff), the gardens are quite beautiful. The gardens are at their best in the early summer and during the Christmas season when the grounds are decorated with thousands of lights and a choral festival is held. An elevator ride to the top of the bluff offers panoramic views of the Cascade Range, the Columbia River, and Mount St. Helens. There are also a couple of chapels on the grounds, a gift shop, and a coffee shop. The Grotto is open to visitors of all faiths.
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)
Located on the east bank of the Willamette River across from the south end of Waterfront Park, this modern science museum has six huge halls, and both kids and adults find the exhibits fun and fascinating. This is a hands-on museum, and everyone is urged to get involved with displays, from a discovery space for toddlers to physics and chemistry labs for older children. Simulated earthquakes and tornadoes are perennial favorites. There's plenty of pure entertainment at an OMNIMAX theater and the Murdock Sky Theater, which features laser-light shows and astronomy presentations. The USS Blueback submarine (used in the film The Hunt for Red October) is docked here, and tours are given daily.Between mid-June and late September, Samtrak (tel. 503/653-2380), a small open-air train, runs between OMSI and Oaks Park Amusement Center. OMSI is also the departure point for several different boat cruises up and down the Willamette River.
Japanese Garden
Considered the finest example of a Japanese garden in North America, Portland's Japanese Garden is one of the city's most popular attractions. Don't miss it. Not only are there five different styles of Japanese gardens scattered over 5 1/2 acres, but there's also a view of volcanic Mount Hood, which has a strong resemblance to Mount Fuji.While Japanese gardens are traditionally not designed with colorful floral displays in mind, this garden definitely has its seasonal highlights. In early spring there are the cherry trees, in midspring there are the azaleas, in late spring a huge wisteria bursts into bloom, and in early summer, huge Japanese irises color the banks of a pond. Among the gardens, there's a beautiful and very realistic waterfall.This is a very tranquil spot and is even more peaceful on rainy days when the crowds stay away, so don't pass up a visit just because it's raining. Also, on the third Saturday of each of the summer months, there's a demonstration of the Japanese tea ceremony in the garden's tea house. There are also many special events held here throughout the year (ikebana, bonsai, Japanese-inspired art).
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Portland area, including:
McMenamins Kennedy School
The Kennedy School is from the same folks who turned Portland's old poor farm into the most entertaining and unusual B&B in the state (see the listing for McMenamins Edgefield, below, in section 5 of this chapter). This inn, located well north of stylish Irvington in an up-and-coming neighborhood that dates from the early years of the 20th century, was an elementary school from 1915 to 1975. In the guest rooms you'll still find the original blackboards and great big school clocks (you know, like the one you used to watch so expectantly). However, the classroom/guest rooms here now have their own bathrooms, so you won't have to raise your hand or walk down the hall. On the premises you'll also find a restaurant, a beer garden, a movie theater pub, a cigar bar, and a big hot soaking pool.
Dolce Skamania Lodge
Boasting the most spectacular vistas of any hotel in the Gorge, Skamania Lodge is also the only golf resort in the area. Although golf is the preferred sport here, the hotel is well situated whether you brought your sailboard, hiking boots, or mountain bike. The interior decor is classically rustic, with lots of rock and natural wood, and throughout the hotel there are Northwest Indian artworks and artifacts on display. Huge windows in the lobby take in a superb view of the Gorge. Of course, the river-view guest rooms are more expensive than the forest-view rooms (which overlook more parking lot than forest), but these rooms are well worth the extra cost. There are also rooms with fireplaces available. The lodge was planning to add 59 new rooms in late 2001, so you might want to request one of these new units.
Portland's White House
With massive columns framing the entrance, semicircular driveway, and in the front garden, a bubbling fountain, this imposing Greek-revival mansion bears a more than passing resemblance to its namesake in Washington, D.C. Behind the mahogany front doors, a huge entrance hall with original hand-painted wall murals is flanked by a parlor, with French windows and a piano, and the formal dining room, where the large breakfast is served beneath sparkling crystal chandeliers. A double staircase leads past a large stained-glass window to the second-floor accommodations. Canopy and brass queen beds, antique furnishings, and bathrooms with claw-foot tubs further the feeling of classic luxury here. Request the balcony room and you can gaze out past the Greek columns and imagine you're in the Oval Office. There are also three rooms in the restored carriage house.
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