So, as promised, here’s part 2 of my trip to Oregon and Washington last week. This part will be far, far shorter, I promise, as it only includes 1 1/2 days of vacation.

Monday, August 18, 2008

So on Monday, Colin headed back to work, and Christy (who had taken the day off) and I took off for the Oregon coast. We had initially planned to visit Mt. St. Helen that day, but decided against it when we saw the weather report. A cold, rainy day on the beach may not be a picnic, but it’s better than hiking around a (probably) dormant volcano in the rain.

Our plan was to drive down into Portland and then take Hwy 26 up to Seaside. Then we’d drive down the coast to Tillamook, and then back to Vancouver when the day was done.

Our drive to, from, and along the Oregon coast on Monday

As the Weather Channel promised, it was cold and rainy on Monday. Well, colder than it had been, at any rate. I think it was around 60° on the coast that day. Quite a change from the low 100s we’d been experiencing just a few days prior. Still, there were lots of people out on the beach (though most of them were oddly decked out in shorts and heavy sweatshirts).

Seaside, OR. And yes, that’s a statue of Lewis and Clark. They’re frickin’ everywhere there.

We stopped for lunch at a little seaside diner, where I had a really excellent fried oyster po-boy and a cup of clam chowder. (It’s funny – I’d always associated clam chowder with New England, but it’s everywhere along that coast). We wandered up and down the streets, ducking in a few of the shops and being nearly tempted by the smell of elephant ears and funnel cakes fresh from the oven, but we decided to save our calories for ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory instead.

Yes, you heard right. Ice cream at the Cheese Factory.

So we left Seaside and made our way along Hwy 101 down the coast. At one point, the GPS unit had us turning off Hwy 101, which we knew would get us there. Instead, it had us taking this odd little road further inland. “What the hell?” we said. “Why not? Let’s see where it takes us.” Where it took us was this windy, narrow little road through the back country of the Oregon coast. Our average speed couldn’t have topped 25 mph, and whenever there was oncoming traffic, we had to move way over to the right to make sure we could both fit on the road. Eventually, we rejoined Hwy 101 and continued on to Tillamook. When we got home, we googled it, and sure enough, for a mere 20 minutes additional driving time, we saved ourselves 0.3 miles of road! Amazing!

Tillamook was fun. It looks like one of those small sleepy towns that’s been really built up in recent years and is now over-run with tourists (like ourselves). But it was still fun. We initially were headed for a coffee shop (we were both in need of caffeine, and we both wanted a little quiet reading time.) So, Christy used the GPS to find a coffee shop and plugged in the destination. “There only appears to be one in this list that isn’t a Starbucks,” she told me. “Let’s head there.” So we did.

As we pulled into town, the GPS let us know that we were approaching our destination. 0.5 miles ahead, and we figured we were in the right block. 0.2 miles ahead, still saw nothing. 0.1 miles, still nothing. 500 ft, and I say, “Christy, all I see is a vacant parking lot.” Then we saw. It wasn’t a coffee house. It was a coffee stand.

The Northwest is full of these little coffee stands. They’re just little trailers — most of them drive-through only. But they’re on every corner of every street in every city and town, no matter how large.

“Ok, plan B,” says Christy. “I saw a Starbucks up the street. Let’s head there.” So we did.

A few hours later, our caffeine addictions fed and our taste for reading satiated, we headed to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

The Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, OR

Despite what you may think, this is actually a really popular tourist attraction, as evidenced by the huge crowds there. The place was packed. We had to park in a secondary gravel parking lot off to the side. Inside, we got to see how and where cheese is made and packaged to sell.

We also got to eat ice cream. And despite the fact that it was rather chilly outside, the line for ice cream was quite long. Both Christy and I got Mountain Huckleberry, which was… well, it was beyond description. I was intrigued to find out later that Whole Foods over here actually carries Tillamook ice cream. I haven’t yet checked to see if they carry Mountain Huckleberry, but I’m in trouble if they do…

The trip home was uneventful, and we spent the rest of the evening watching Alias and reading. Yeah, we’re kinda lazy like that.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

I had to fly home on Tuesday, but I had a few hours in the morning free to get one more touristy thing out of my system before I had to return the rental car. So I headed down the river to see Multnomah Falls. I arrived quite early – around 8:00 – and the only other people there other than park employees were a couple of Amish tourists. (That so totally does not roll off the tongue – Amish tourists. Who knew?)

Multnomah Falls is apparently the US’s tallest year-round waterfall, and it’s absolutely spectacularly beautiful.

It’s a 1/4-mile hike up to that low bridge, and seeing as I had plenty of time before I had to head back to the airport, I took it. The view made it totally worth it. Despite my illogical fear of bridges, this one didn’t freak me out in the least, even considering it was built nearly 100 years ago, in 1914. And here’s my proof that I actually went up there:

View from the Benson Bridge at Multnomah Falls

And of course, my traveling sock WIP enjoyed the view, too.

After that, I made my way back into Portland and headed for the airport to return my car and board my plane. I had an obnoxious 3-hour layover in the Dallas-Forth Worth airport (not my favorite airport to begin with – I far prefer O’Hare for layovers), and then finally arrived home in Raleigh a little after 1:00 am. Work the next day was… excruciating. But I managed. And there you have it. My trip.