The Cove Restaurant in WA

 Just a reminder that I continue to post political stories on Daily Kos here. Some go mostly ignored  with around 100 readers while on occasion some get around 1,000 or more. There seems to be little rhyme or reason as to why stories with some, in all modesty, with original takes on politics and very clever wordsmithing get bypassed. For example in my most recent story I suggested Trump thinks of himself as the Second but better than the first Coming.

If you happen to find yourself at Portland airport (PDX as it is referred to by locals) and want to go out to a nearby quality restaurant to eat there are two excellent choices, Salty's located on the Columbia River (website) which is in Oregon and The Cove (website) which is just across the Columbia River in Washington. Since Salty's was closed when we dropped someone off at PDX yesterday at 11:00 we planned to go there but called and found it didn't open until noon. Since it was 11:00 we called The Cove and since it opened at 11:30 we made reservations and headed there. 

Once across the 205 bridge you drive a few miles towards Vancouver on Rt. 14 and then exit and end up on a dead end tree-lined road through an industrial section, then past a section with apartments or condos and just at the end of the road you see a very large parking lot for a large condo complex and The Cove is the last building next to it.

The Cove isn't exactly on the Columbia River, it is on a cove (called The Tidewater Cove) adjacent to the river. You can barely see the river from there but you can see PDX and watch planes taking off. It was too hot to sit outside so we sat inside at a table with a good view. The meals were gourmet quality.

As for the setting compared to the restaurants on the Vancouver waterfront there's no comparison since those all are right on the Columbia River and you can enjoy the recently expanded Waterfront Park (see website):

Here are a few photos (click to enlarge):

seafood thermidor bucatini

butter poached lobster, sea scallops, prawns, meyer lemon, sherry, garlic cream, tarragon, mustard, trumpet mushrooms, reggiano parmesan, oregano crumbs

Market Seafood salad: crab, poached wild prawns, smoked sea scallops, crispy calamari, house smoked salmon, avocado, tomato, marinated edamame, pickled egg, croutons, green goddess dressing

What a concept: I actually used a paper map (remember those) to get an idea as to where The Cove was located from PDX. Of course I used navigation to actually get there.

Here's a website with numerous photos of the Tidewater Cove area.

From a blog

There's a trail along the water which begins next to the restaurant in front of the condos shown above, but it was too hot to explore it. Here's a blog posted by someone who did.

Misspelled local graffiti

 This was on the side of a fence by the Chevron station of the corner of McLoughlin and Courtney in Milwaukie, Oregon. The writer misspelled the word destruct. It isn't possible to determine whether the commentary was meant as a reaction to high gasoline prices or a more general gripe.

The question as to whether we, as human beings, are hard wired to self-destruct can be seen as a profoundly philosophical and psychological one. I'd like to find the author of this and ask what they really meant.

A car parked at Fred Meyer Oak Grove:

Here's another car:

Government Camp at Mt. Hood

 I departed at 6:00 AM and arrived at 10:00 AM at Government Camp:

Government Camp is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, on the base of Mount Hood and north of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain. It is the only town within 5 miles (8 km) of Mount Hood and therefore is the de facto "mountain town" or "ski town". It is the gateway to several ski resorts, with the most popular being Timberline Lodge and Mount Hood Skibowl. Government Camp also has its own, smaller ski resort, Summit Pass.

The community is located within the Mount Hood Corridor on U.S. Route 26 (the Mount Hood Highway), near its intersection with Oregon Route 35 and the Barlow Passsummit of the Cascade Range. As of the 2010 census, the community had a population of 193.^[1] The government's 2016 estimate indicated a population of 121 persons.^[2]

 (from Wikipedia ).

This is where I had a giant omelet ($17.50) for breakfast. Here are a few photos. Click to enlarge.

Along the way:

The first glimpse of the mountain to the left of the glaring sun:

Breakfast:

Below: From their website

This is from Wikipedia:

Click below for more information:

The ultimate destination at Mt. Hood whether you ski or snowboard, want a great dining experience, and/or want to stay overnight is Timberline Lodge. It is high up on the mountain so in winter four wheel drive and sometimes chains are recommended. Click below for information.

More about Mt. Hood 

I've been to Timberline Lodge years ago just for lunch. If I recall getting there adds an hour to the drive so it will be a major excursion left for another time. 

Shirtless man on a motorcycle

 

This story (which I posted on Daily Kos) was inspired by seeing this shirtless man wearing pink sneakers while he was riding his Honda motorcycle in Milwaukie, Oregon.