The Historic Columbia River Highway and Food

Sadly we have found that there is not a lot for tourists to do in Portland, or at the least things are not as convenient here as they were in Seattle. Thus, we decided on taking one of the many scenic drives to be found in Oregon. The Historic Columbia River Highway began construction in 1913, is the first scenic highway in the U.S., and is considered one of the greatest engineering feats of the modern age. But we needed breakfast before we could venture on our trip.
We went to Pine State Biscuits, a place Johanna had seen on Food Network’s Diner’s, Drive-ins and Dives. George ordered The Reggie (fried chicken with bacon, cheese and sausage gravy on a biscuit. Johanna ordered the Flank Steak (steak lettuce tomato’s and bleu cheese dressing). And we ordered a biscuit with butter and honey. YUM!!! As with all our meals we shared back and forth. The Reggie was the far superior biscuit as far as the two sandwiches go. Because the restaurant was small and packed we took our food to go and ate it in the car.
Once we had finished our breakfast we took off toward the scenic byway. We actually only took half of the route because it took us 4 and a half hours to go less than 40 miles. Between the slow speed limits (switch backs and narrow roads) and stopping to hike to waterfalls, we actually thought we made pretty good time. We chuckled though when we made it to interstate 84 and found we were less than 40 miles outside Portland.
The weather started out in the morning pouring rain, but by the time we were leaving the hotel it had cleared up nicely. Our drive was, for the most part, clear and rain free, with a few drizzles towards the end. The scenic drive began in Troutdale (Mt. Hood Community College is located here). It’s a quaint little town, and one we could actually see ourselves in. The drive took us past scenic outlooks over the Columbia River and to gorgeous waterfalls that rushed down the mountainside. It is so vibrantly green with tons of wild flowers popping up everywhere…so beautiful.
By the time we passed Multnomah Falls, which is pretty much the halfway point of the scenic byway, we decided to head back to Portland for dinner. Our diner choice was another Diner’s, Drive-ins and Dives choice, a BBQ joint named, Podnah’s. We ordered a wedge salad, a small basket of rib tips, a brisket sandwich, a pulled pork sandwich and a piece of pecan pie. The homemade bbq sauce, yeah…it had mole in it! SO YUMMY!!!!