Here’s reason #1027 why we love Portland International Airport (PDX).
Homegrown Straightaway Cocktails now has a bar at PDX where passengers can get a bite to eat and enjoy a mixed drink.
And when it’s time to fly, travelers can take those same cocktails to go in small bottles or cute 4-packs of cans.
The 1,000-square-foot, 32-seat bar is located in the B Gates. It draws inspiration from the golden age of travel with green-textured banquette seating, wavy wood walls and a dark blue bar.
In addition to a full line of Straightaway’s cocktails, the bar is serving an airport-only Bloody Mary and a new Roma Spritz, made in collaboration with Alaska Airlines. And for snacks, they’re serving specialty hot dogs from the Dapper Dog program and Italian side dishes and grab-and-go items from local Italian bakery and deli, Sebastiano’s.
The bar’s soft opening was Wednesday. Regular hours will be 7 am (!) to 9 pm daily.
(Bar images courtesy Straightaway Cocktails)
In Las Vegas, visit the jungle at the Bellagio
As is everything in Las Vegas, the seasonal horticutural displays at the Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens in the lobby of the Bellagio hotel and casino are giant.
And, as always, way over the top.
Free to visit 24 hours, this summer’s installation (on view through September 12) is called Paradise: Nature’s Most Beautiful Creations.
Wander through and you’ll find larger-than-life animal sculptures, cascading vines and towering palms.
100 employees worked around the clock for six days creating this jungle. They used 900 pounds of brown and golden flax seeds to make the coats on the giraffes and 8,500 goose feathers on the tigers.
What happens to all the plants when the seaon is over? They’ll get removed and composted. And then a new, wild garden display will take its place.
Be sure to bring your camera.
(Images courtesy MGM Resorts)
Go fly at kite
The Pacific Northwest is kinda kite crazy.
The seaside town of Lincoln City, OR brings back its Summer Kite Festival on June 27 and 28, 2026..
Look up to see the skies above the beach at Chinook Winds Casino Resort transformed into a colorful display of professional kite performances, precision flying, synchronized routines and giant inflatable show kites.
Kite making workshops, an art kite display, carnival games and a walk-through wind garden are also on the agenda.
But wait, there’s more.
Lincoln City’s Kite Festival is just a warm up for the Washington State International Kite Festival hosted by the World Kite Museum in Long Beach, WA from August 17 to 23, 2026.
This will be the festival’s 45th year of filling the skies above this popular Pacific Ocean beach with ichoreographed kite ballets, stunt kite routines, mass ascensions, enormous inflatable designs and handmade traditional kites.
This post: A cool airport bar, a flashy hotel lobby + kite fests appears on StuckatTheAirport.com.
