Oregon

on location: west ❖

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isitors to Oregon undoubtedly expect an experience that is clean, green and even pristine, but a recent familiarization tour hosted by Star Destinations of Carroll, Iowa, showcased the state to a group of bank travel directors via a packed itinerary of activities ranging from mild to wild.

melinda hughey An enthusiastic group of club directors joined Cathy Greteman, Star Destinations president and current NTA chairman, on the week-long adventure co-sponsored by Tour Oregon, exploring destinations as diverse as the lush Willamette Valley and beautiful Pacific coastline.

Blessed with a climate favorable to flowers and vegetation, Oregon’s abundance of agri-tourism sites, including

inviting fruit farms, surprising wineries and lush botanical gardens like Portland’s International Rose Test Gardens, make it an ideal destination for garden buffs. The city’s famed Rose Festival and Parade, held each year in early June, brings out throngs of tour groups to enjoy a “rosy” celebration indeed with flower-festooned floats, a Rose Queen and her court, and marching bands in the morning, followed by

Oregon

Wine tasting, mustard making, dune buggy rides and stunning scenery highlight an adventure-packed FAM tour itinerary

Odyssey

Larry Geddis/TravelOregon

Sheer cliffs, forested mountains and grassy plains make up Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

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Larry Geddis/TravelOregon

The snowy summit of Mount Hood, Oregon’s highest mountain, forms a dramatic backdrop to the Portland skyline.

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shortcake served on a terrace overlooking the farm.

The massive Oregon Garden in Silverton provided even more blooming fun. Groups can tour by trolley, viewing more than 20 specialty gardens featuring annuals, perennials and more.

Sprawling, yet intricately designed floral spaces give way to richly forested areas,

showcasing nature at her finest. Elsewhere on the property, an authentic Frank Lloyd Wright house built in 1957 is open for touring, and the gorgeous Oregon Garden Resort Inn provides the perfect setting for a group retreat, garden club tour or girlfriend getaway.

Before leaving the area, a stop in the Bavarian-themed village of Mt.

Melinda Hughey

rose garden tours in the afternoon.

Our group was treated to all that and more, including a series of experiences that allowed us to soak up the region’s natural beauty, starting with a trek down the Willamette Valley’s wine trail. A visit to the well-known Ponzi Vineyards offered not only tasting and an entertaining history of this familyowned Italian winery, but culminated in a rousing game of bocce ball. Nearby, the relatively new Ardiri Winery offered tasting and an elegant Tuscan-style, al fresco lunch around gorgeous fire pits on a covered terrace overlooking hillside vineyards.

Continuing with the agrarian theme, a visit to a local farm dazzled with a colorful array of summer blooms for sale. Boarding a giant wagon for a hayride tour of the massive spread, we toured acres of crops before being taken to a barn where animal lovers in our group could pet baby goats. The afternoon visit concluded with homemade strawberry

Bank travel club directors visit Ardiri Winery in the Willamette Valley.

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on location: west ❖ Angel allowed for a festive lunch at group favorite Mt. Angel Glockenspiel Restaurant, located in the shadow of the village’s two-story Old World Glockenspiel that chimes on the hour with a charming musical performance of “Eidelweiss” by a Bavarian boy and girl.

On the outskirts of town, the Mt. Angel

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Monastery and its order of Benedictine sisters provided the setting for a mostunusual group activity: mustard making.

Since 2005, the nuns have manufactured their award-winning Monastery Mustard, providing a continuous source of financial support for the monastery’s charitable endeavors.

Oregon’s commitment to all things green is perfectly embodied in the spectacular scenery of the quarter-millionacre Columbia River Gorge, which spans Southern Washington and Northern Oregon. The scenic drive features countless waterfalls, including the grandest of them all, Multnomah Falls, which attracts more than two million visitors a year. Cascading from 620 feet, the falls provides a stunning photo backdrop from a viewing area reached by an easy-to-navigate paved path.

As our tour proceeded from Portland to the coast, a stop at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville gave us an up-close look at The Spruce Goose, the mammoth plane commissioned by eccentric magnate Howard Hughes. A guided tour of this massive, hangar-style facility showed us more than 200 aircraft and exhibits before allowing us access inside The Goose, where we were shown a crosssection of its all-wood construction (a result of wartime restrictions on metal use). The stop at Heceta Lighthouse involved a scenic hike to the landmark, set on a point offering a jaw-dropping view of the Pacific below.

Arriving in the coastal community of Newport, we checked into the cozy, beachfront Elizabeth Street Inn, where every room affords a view of the vast Pacific. The inn specializes in offbeat experiences for the groups it hosts. For us, it was a sunset beach bonfire featuring s’mores roasted against the backdrop of crashing waves.

A few miles farther south, in Florence, is where things turned a bit wild - and fun - thanks to a tummytwirling turn on enormous sand dunes traversed by massive dune buggies.

Groups looking for a taste of adventure suitable for just about anyone will find this experience a sure-fire memorymaker. These dunes are among the LeisureGroupTravel.com

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ent metropolitan experience. Rich in culture, shopping, entertainment, and culinary experiences, the city itself is irresistibly walkable and emits a tranquil, laid-back vibe not readily found in similar-sized major cities.

June’s cooler temperatures, combined with the lure of the Rose Festival, make early summer an ideal time to visit. Itineraries can be customized for any tour taste and the city is easily accessible by major air carriers. For flycoach groups, Portland and its environs form an ideal nucleus for hub-andspoke tours that can encompass a broad region. LGT

Travel Oregon

largest on the Central Oregon coast.

Driver-guides navigate king-sized buggies accommodating more than 20 people over nearly 10 miles of sand.

From sand to sea, a sailing expedition aboard the Marine Discovery Cruise afforded us a firsthand look at just what goes into catching Dungeness crab, while toward the end of our voyage, our craft was guided out into the Pacific for a true ocean-going experience.

Back in Portland, we toured the city’s scenic Willamette River via an entertaining dinner cruise aboard the Spirit of Portland. The vessel offers both lunch and dinner cruises throughout the city as well as nearby Columbia River Gorge.

Portland, with its tree-lined streets, scenic parks and system of free public transportation, is picture-perfect for groups looking for a delightfully differ-

Multnomah Falls is the nation’s second highest year-round waterfall.

Obtain Oregon visitor guides and itineraries – and contact groupfriendly suppliers directly – at leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info

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