Meet Toni Dassance

Straddling the Willamette River, Oregon’s largest city offers culture, history, coffee, and many books. While Pacific Northwest winters may be damp, outdoor beauty abounds year-round. Forest Park, a 5,200-acre space that provides refuge to native wildlife, offers easy access to hiking and mountain biking trails. For a scenic stroll, head to the Lan Su Chinese Garden, the Portland Japanese Garden, or the International Rose Test Garden.

Portland is home to many family-friendly attractions, including the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the Pittock Mansion, the Oregon Zoo, and Oaks Amusement Park, one of the country's oldest continually operating amusement parks.

Plus, readers rejoice—the City of Roses is home to Powell’s, the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Once you’ve picked out a book, grab a cup of coffee at Portland Coffee Roasters or Stumptown.

With a gilded pioneer atop its State Capitol building, Salem sits at the heart of the Willamette Valley, offering an historic downtown and a vineyard-covered countryside.

Salem is home to shopping centers, a Riverfront Carousel, and Willamette University. It also has a rich cultural scene, with movies and music at Elsinore Theater and an annual World Beat Festival, organized by the Salem Multicultural Institute.

Nearby, the Enchanted Forest features fairytale fun for the family. In the summer, beat the heat at Walter L. Wirth Lake or play disc golf at Cascades Gateway Park.