My wife and I are considering an 8 night trip flying into and out of Portland in late July.

We plan on renting a car and making a loop from Portland, to Bend, then cutting west to the Oregon coast and following it up from say Newport to Astoria, then back to Portland to fly out. I think its about 12 hours of driving total so never more than two hours in a car in a day.

I am very outdoorsy (hiking and fishing) and really enjoy Lewis and Clark history and she likes bed and breakfasts, the beach, relaxing with a glass of wine, nice quaint shops, so we are thinking we might compromise and tent camp half the time in state parks and go B&Bs or nice hotels the other four nights.

We are thinking one night in Portland on the front end, a night camping on the way to Bend, a night in Bend, a night camping as we make our way towards the coast, a night in Newport and another night camping in a state park along the north coast and finally a night in Astoria before we drive to the airport.

Any must see items or recommendations on food or lodging? How about day beautiful hikes or sights?

I am worried it might be too much window time and not enough relaxing so we might cut out Bend if it gets to be too much.

Anyone ever been to Crater of the Lake, we probably won't get that far south on this trip unfortunately but am considering trying to squeeze it in.

I tried doing a search on this and not much popped up so sorry if this area has been discussed recently. Thanks

Sent you a pm.
You definitely want to do the loop into Bend. Here is a very quick run down of recommendations for the first part of your trip.

From PDX, go 84E into Columbia Gorge. In the gorge, these things are outstanding:
Bonneville Dam Fish Hatchery this is worth the stop for the sturgeon alone. Really amazing fish. The fish ladder at the dam can be interesting as well. It really depends on timing.
Take the scenic drive and stop at Crown Point and then Multanomah Falls.
If you are up for the adventure, hike the Oneonta Gorge. Note, you will wade through water and it will be cold, but it is a really unique experience.
https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/oneonta-gorge-lower-oneonta-falls/

Then head up to Hood River. Home of Full Sail Brewery. Take the scenic drive through the fruit orchards up HWY 35 to Mt. Hood. Lots of stops available for fresh fruit.
Once you hit HWY 26, decide if you want to head up to visit Timerline Lodge. You probably won't want to spend more than hour at the lodge.
Take 26 to 97 into Bend.
On the way, you will pass through the Warm Springs Reservation and then drop down to cross into the Deschutes river. Warm Springs is the start of the high desert and the drop in precipitation is noticeable in the terrain.
Between Madras and Terrebonne, stop and stretch your legs at the Peter Skene Odgen State Park really just a 15 minutes top, but a very impressive canyon view.

Just up the road is the world famous rock climbing destination of Smith Rock. You probably don't have time for it, but the Misery Ridge Trail is outstanding.
From here, head into Bend.
Bend in July is incredible. Great weather and TONS to do. Here are the hikes I would recommend:
Tumalo Falls once you pass the top of Tumalo falls, keep hiking 2-3 miles for a series of waterfalls. You will be almost by yourself after you make it to the top of Tumalo Falls (main waterfall) as the crowds don't keep going.
Drive the Cascade Lakes Hwy to Elk Lake and have a burger and beer at the cabin. Or keep driving to Cultus lake and eat there.
On the way you can hike Green Lakes Trail this one is very, very popular. 8 mile RT hike along a stream to a beautiful lake situated between Broken Top and South Sister mountains.

Bend (in town) has a ton of breweries, concerts and restaurants. If I am in town, I will be happy to give you an insiders tour.

When you depart from Bend, head to Sisters (HWY 20) and then over the Santiam Pass. And then down 126 towards Eugene. Hit these places:
Clear Lake - If you have time, stop at Clear lake and row boat around for an hour. This lake stays below 43 degrees year round. Water is so clear that you can see trees submerged 100 ft standing upright that were killed 3000 years ago. Really a site to see, however Sahalie/Koosah and Tamolitch should not be missed so if you don't have time skip the boat ride and just take a look from the dock.
Sahalie and Koosah Falls Park at one and hike the short trail to the other.
Blue Hole (Tamolitch) pictures don't do this place justice. This is one of the TOP hikes in all of Oregon.
Belknap Hot Springs Great spot right on the McKenzie River. Take a soak in the hot springs note the old, old lockers from Shiner Texas in the changing room.

I would camp som where around this area. Once you start heading towards the coast, camping is more limited until you reach the coast.

After the soak, head into Eugene and then on to Florence. This route to the coast is much faster than driving through Salem or Corvallis.

Note: it requires some backtracking but you could initially drive over the McKenzie Pass and hit these items in reverse order and then head to the coast through Salem.

Would be a major shame to miss out on southern oregon coast and dunes.. Gold Beach, Bandon through Florence.

I live in Portland. There is a lot of incredible food here, so it's hard to recommend something for just one night. Do you have any specific questions about the city for your night here?

Oh man, don't miss the Columbia Gorge & waterfalls. There's beer on the OR side & wineries on the WA side - so skip back and forth. Land at the airport, get car, and head straight east to Hood River. You can backroad around Mt Hood and camp a night on your way to bend. The rest sounds good. Maybe detour from Tillamook back inland to see the Spruce Goose if you are a plane buff. It's surrounded by wineries, so the Mrs can drop u off if shes not into it.