My husband has around 12 years of contract delivery driving experience in Oregon.  He knows the roads here as well as anyone — he’s driven every major road in the state, most of the minor ones, and a lot of roads that most people never knew existed.  Every once in a while, we’ll go on a drive and take a detour down one such road.

This mossy service road near Oakridge, Oregon was barely marked and almost unnoticeable from the main road.  But at some point in his travels, my husband had noticed it, and wanted to show me where it led.

The Middle Willamette River fork is dammed off to form this reservoir, which we reached shortly after turning off.

We drove about 20 minutes more, followed Staley Creek down yet another service road, and found ourselves in a beautiful gorge.  McKenzie said that although he’s seen signs of human activity there (the road is paved, after all), he’s never seen another person anywhere nearby, and therefore he considers it his own.  We explored around the creek for a while.

I’ve only seen water this blue in Bermuda and in Oregon.

McKenzie remembered that he’d planted a geocache somewhere in this gorge back in 2002, and hadn’t checked on it since.  Whaddya know, we stumbled upon it while we wandered, and we were both surprised at how many visitors it has had over the past 8 years.

There were about 15 entries in the logbook, and lots of new items in the cache.  McKenzie had loaded it up with lots of items to begin with, and we’re hoping that the person that took Bridge for Dummies is enjoying the game that brought us together.  Some of the entries were from hunters who stumbled upon the cache accidentally.  A particularly amusing entry read: “I was worried it was a bomb, so I made my husband check it out.”  Most thanked McKenzie for helping them discover this lovely gorge.  We left an updated entry and went on our way.

There are places like this all over the country — some of the most beautiful spots on earth are barely known or seen by humans, even when they’re just a short trip outside a major city.  Who says there’s nothing left to discover in North America?

Located practically in the center of The Palazzo’s casino floor, Fusion Mixology Bar is a unique kind of oasis.  The circular bar has its own music piped in, and Fusion definitely has its own atmosphere — a hip, chill escape right in the middle of casino chaos.

Each month, Fusion mixologists create a new specialty cocktail.  With St. Patrick’s Day in mind, mixologist Wendy Verdel created The Height of Folly to be March’s featured cocktail.  The drink is a beautiful mix of Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Half n Half syrup, and simple syrup garnished with a green white chocolate swirl in the glass.  It tastes like pure joy.

Far more than bartenders, Wendy and her fellow Fusion mixologists are true artists.  Tell them what you like and they’ll create something you didn’t know you could love so much.  In addition to their monthly specials, mixologists will create personalized cocktails for your parties, weddings, or just whatever mood you bring to the bar.  Stop by Fusion and prepare to be blown away.

If I had grown up in Portland, flying in and out of PDX, I’m certain that I would have become a pilot.  The views on a clear day are just spectacular.  Here’s a brief look inside my love affair with the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington.

Programming note:  I’m trying new things here.  This is my first attempt at using a gallery and I’m not sure I’ve done it right.  In fact I’m fairly certain I’ve done it wrong.  But in any case, click on the first thumbnail here and then you can navigate through this installment of The Window Seat, and I’ll work on figuring out a way to make it prettier for the next one.

I know it’s not cool for a journalist to get all giddy in her reviews.  We’re supposed to be experts in our field — we’ve seen and done it all, and we’re jaded.  We’re not supposed to use superlatives; we’re not supposed to impress easily.  But I’m more blogger than journalist, and I’m honest.  You guys — Zine is superlatively impressive.

A good blogger also writes about more interesting things than what she had to eat for dinner — but you guys!  Let me tell you about what I had for dinner!

Now that I’ve broken all those rules, I’ll break one more and admit that I’m not an expert food critic.  My friend Alex loves to laugh about the time I was helping him cook for a party and he asked me to hand him the ginger.  I failed, because I didn’t know what ginger looked like.  My complete lack of cooking knowledge precludes me from ever being a real food critic, but I have fully functional taste buds, and they were thrilled with my meal at Zine, the luxurious, authentic Asian restaurant on the casino level of The Palazzo in Las Vegas.

Have I mentioned yet that I’m not a food critic? I don’t have a food critic’s vocabulary, but one word is all I need to describe the taste of each of my five courses: exceptional.  I never knew a salad could pack so much flavor, but you’ve got to try the mandarin salad at Zine if you want to have lettuce that tastes intense.  And I’ll bet you thought tofu was tofu, right? Not so. Room chef Danny Choi created a tofu masterpiece for my main course — braised tofu with veggies and mushrooms, and vegetable fried rice.

The real food critics have already decided, without my input, that Zine Executive Chef Simon To runs one of the finest Chinese restaurants in the United States, and whether my input matters or not, I agree with them.  Each time I tasted one of the dishes set in front of me, my first thought was “Oooh!  This is my favorite!”  You just can’t go wrong.

The atmosphere inside Zine is perfect for a quiet, romantic date night.  Take a time out from the wild and crazy Vegas experience and enjoy your evening in this beautiful restaurant, decorated in a contemporary Asian style.  Soft, almost unnoticeable music and gentle orange light create a very peaceful environment to relax and enjoy the best meal available on the Strip.

The food critics will tell you essentially the same thing, with fancier words and probably more to say about the food itself — but writing as someone who likes to eat dinner, Zine is the place to do it.  Zine is open from 11am to 1am daily.  Call (702) 607-2220 for reservations.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the lobby at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas was the exceptionally satisfying click my heels made on the elegant marble floors.  The high domed ceilings surely helped the echo, but the real key was the absence of other noise.  To open any door in this town and not hear the ding-ding-ding of slot machines is a rarity.  One of few non-gaming hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, the Four Seasons Hotel is a true desert oasis.

Vegas is perpetually bright and busy, but inside this hotel, you’d never know that you’re just steps away from the hustle bustle of the Strip.  The hotel lobby and meeting rooms are on the first two floors, but the rooms and suites are high above the city, occupying the 35th-39th floors of the Mandalay Bay tower at the far south end of the Strip.  Strip view rooms offer spectacular views of the entire Strip — you can literally see all the way up to the far north end — but you’re far away from the noise and the hurry of it all.

A stay at the Four Seasons is not, however, the anti-Vegas experience.  You’re still on the Strip, connected to Mandalay Bay and its casino and amenities, and a short walk or ride from many more Vegas sights and sounds.  But those sights and sounds can be overwhelming when you’re surrounded by them all the time, which makes the Four Seasons a blissful escape.

While you’re here, you’ll definitely want to visit the spa, where every treatment is customized to your specific needs and wishes.  I recommend the Vitality of the Glaciers Facial, which uses mineral rich glacier water to cleanse and rejuvenate your skin, or the Four Seasons Desert Oasis Body Treatment, a sensory massage treatment using different essential oils each season.

The Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas is the perfect place to stay when you want to be in Vegas without being surrounded by Vegas.  When you’re vacationing, you crave two things — entertainment and relaxation.  The Four Seasons offers the best of both.

Craps is my favorite casino game.  Everyone’s playing together, rooting for the same thing (except that a-hole betting the Don’t Pass — he can suck it), the dealers are the friendliest in gaming, and the house edge is small enough that even with a small bankroll, you can usually play for a long time.  The rules are complicated, but the basics are simple and the dealers and other players are always helpful.

Last night, I was on a pretty hot streak at the Sahara.  I was having a lot of fun and I had a lot of money on the table.  I usually only play the pass line, one come bet, and odds on each number, but every few rolls, I try to tip the dealers with a two-way hardway bet.  (Two-way bets are one bet for me and one bet for the dealers on the same roll.)  On one roll, I had a dollar chip on the hard eight.  When the guy next to me rolled a pair of fours, I was feeling frisky, so I called out “Parlay!”  I’ve never done that before — usually when a bet wins, I take my money and run, but by parlaying, I was letting my winnings ride, hoping for the 10-to-1 payoff to turn my original $1 bet into a black chip.

My neighbor rolled forever.  I am good at math.  I knew it was very unlikely to see that hard eight again, but I was watching for it eagerly, getting excited over the possibility of my big payout.  With every roll of the dice, my heart beat faster.  And I mean it, this guy rolled for ages.  He rolled about a dozen 3’s, 11’s, and 12’s, but didn’t hit his point or any 8’s.  After about five minutes of this, my heart was pounding like I’d just run a marathon, and I wasn’t even moving!

I could tell that the rest of the table was feeling the same way.  This guy wasn’t rolling 7’s, but he wasn’t hitting any numbers, either.  We were all on edge, and every time the dice went out, we’d all lean forward and look — then I saw a 4… My eyes darted around for the other die — ALSO A 4!  Before the dealers could call out “HARD EIGHT!” I was screaming like a teenager at a Justin Timberlake concert, jumping up and down and hugging the shooter.  I collected my black chip and took down my hard eight bet.  The next roll?  Seven out.

I think that roll is why my muscles are sore today.

Lagasse’s Stadium is a new theme restaurant at The Palazzo on the Las Vegas strip.  That’s Lagasse as in renowned celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, and Stadium as in where you go to watch sports.  This is the restaurant part of The Palazzo’s sports book, and it’s like no other sports book in Vegas.

Chef Emeril, a big sports fan, has been heavily involved with every aspect of this restaurant to ensure visitors an enjoyable dining, sports, and gaming experience.  The menu choices include stadium classics like nachos, burgers, and beer, but also steaks, seafood, fancy soups, salads, and sides, and delicious desserts.  It’s the selection and quality you’d expect from a world class chef, but the prices aren’t what you might guess.  Menu items start at $6, and lots of entrees are under $15.  Next week, Lagasse’s Stadium will introduce a new menu with expanded vegetarian options.

In here, even the worst seat (I couldn’t find a bad one) offers better views than 90% of the seats at any sports book in town.  Each table in the restaurant has at least one flatscreen television to itself, or you can sit in the super comfy stadium seats that face the big screen at the front of the restaurant.  You won’t have to fight over seats with your buddies, because you can all see whatever game you want to see from anywhere in the place.  You can place sports book bets while you eat, and with the PocketCasino gaming devices available here, you can place bets from the comfort of your own seat — and more bets than you ever imagined.  In a football game, for instance, you can place a bet on every down.  Lagasse’s Stadium is the only place on the strip that has PocketCasino.  You could say that Lagasse’s takes the sports book and kicks it up a notch!  (Couldn’t resist.)

In addition to stadium, table, and bar seating, Lagasse’s has a year-round patio, with heaters for when it gets chilly, and great views of the Treasure Island show across Las Vegas Blvd at night.  Then there are sky boxes — semi-private box seats at the top of the stadium — and luxury boxes — private rooms available for group rentals.  The luxury boxes accommodate groups of 5 to 50 people, and each is equipped with televisions, an iPod dock so you can play your own tunes, and a Wii console stocked with lots of games.  Fun fact: Vanna White uses luxury boxes 4 & 5 as her dressing room when she films Wheel of Fortune in Vegas.

Inside one of Vanna's dressing rooms

Lagasse’s Stadium is still a brand new addition to the Vegas restaurant scene, but it’s already become a favorite hangout for celebs and tourists alike.  If you want seats here for a big game, you’re going to need reservations.  For really big games, you’ll need reservations way in advance.  Call 702-607-2665 to reserve your spot at Lagasse’s Stadium.  This is a must for any sports fan.

Las Vegas is one of my favorite cities on the planet.  I guess you either love it or hate it, but I’m firmly in the love it! camp.  Because cards are kind of the thing in that city, and I’m kind of a card player, I get to go a lot, but this week is the first time in a long time I’m going to Sin City and NOT playing bridge 14 hours a day.

I’ll only be in town for five days, not quite enough time to sample every craps table, night club, performance, and wine bar on the strip, but I’m going to do my best!

Stay tuned for a week of updates from the Entertainment Capital of the World!

I’m watching a live webcast from Hilo Bay in Hawaii.  It looks ominous, but from what I’ve heard from friends in Hawaii, everyone near the shores has been evacuated.

If you want to follow along, watch here.

According to Twitter updates under the #hitsunami tag, whales have disappeared from Kawaihae Harbor.  They seem to know something.

Here’s hoping it’s not as bad as Hawaii is preparing for.

For most of us, it’s not like we have a choice which airports we’ll patronize.  We find the cheapest tickets for the most reasonable trips and we go where the airlines and geography dictate.  Sometimes, though, it’s worth an extra $50 in airfare or an extra 45-minute commute to avoid our least favorite airports when we can.  I know that if I can avoid connecting at LAX (Los Angeles) or JFK (New York City), I will, and I’d rather fly out of WAS (Washington-Reagan) than IAD (Washington-Dulles) or BWI (Baltimore), and that if I’m flying out of Florida, my first choice is TPA (Tampa).  I’m also eternally grateful that my home airport, PDX (Portland), is so completely wonderful, because I don’t have a choice about that one.  According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 North America Airport Satisfaction Survey, most of the country agrees with me.

Among the large airports (30 million passengers per year or more — mostly large hubs), I would stop short of calling the top-ranked the “best,” and probably just think of them as the least bad.  Basically the survey boils down to how efficient an airport is — can you get in and out quickly, with minimal hassle?  In large airports, the answer is almost always going to be no.  Some are more efficient than others, certainly, and those are the ones that perform best in this survey, but if you’re checking in at a huge airport, expect longer lines just about everywhere, including on your way in and out — baggage retrieval at hub airports always takes FOREVER.

Another main factor in the survey is airport comfort — how good are the amenities inside the terminals?  Shopping, food, internet access, comfy chairs, etc.  Large airports tend to have great selections for food and shopping, but again, long lines…I find that unless I have a long layover, I almost never have enough time to grab lunch at a hub while waiting for my connection.  So in general, I’m not a fan of large airports, though some are certainly better than others.  According to the survey, America’s favorite large airports are DTW (Detroit), DEN (Denver,) MSP (Minneapolis-St.Paul), and DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth).

JFK and LAX both scored very poorly on the survey.  I especially loathe these airports because of the way their terminals are set up, each with its individual security checkpoint.  That means that often when I connect at one of these airports, I have to switch terminals and go through a whole new security line, even though I’ve already done it once that day.  I’ve missed a lot of connections because of this — waiting for trains to move you from one terminal to another is enough of a hassle, but it would be nice if these airports would at least put some trains on the cleared side of the security gates.

Medium-sized airports are the best, in my opinion.  They’re small enough to get through check-in and security without too much of a wait (I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by how fast and efficient the TPA security line was), and large enough to offer a nice selection of retail and dining inside the terminals.  These airports are also usually served by low cost airlines like Southwest, JetBlue, and others, whereas these airlines often don’t fly to the largest airports. And most of them offer free wi-fi.  Topping the survey of mid-sized airports (10 million – 30 million passengers per year) were MCI (Kansas City), PDX (Portland! Woo!), and TPA (Tampa).

Most of us don’t choose our destinations based on the airports that serve the area, but you can choose routes that avoid certain hubs, and most large cities have at least two airport choices.  Do you have any favorites or least favorites?