Today we left Portland – I’m always sad leaving the city as it is one of my favourite places to visit on our trip. After coffee and juice at the hotel, we headed to Pine State Biscuits. We decided to visit the NE Alberta location and were happy to locate a parking spot within a block of the restaurant – we were also glad that there were only a dozen or so people in line. Mum got her biscuit with honey butter and I switched it up a little by getting a Chicken Club (I normally have the Reggie). We were both quite happy with our selections.
When we left the restaurant, the lineup was around the corner – yet again, we lucked out with our timing. We then headed to Otto’s Sausages to grab our sandwiches for lunch. I grabbed the Kitchen Sink (for the fifth year in a row) and Mum had a Californian (minus the avocado). For the first time, we were able to see them BBQ’ing outside the deli.
We grabbed our sandwiches and headed east, out of the city. We followed I-84 to Hood River, where I lucked out and snapped my first picture of Mount St. Helens. Then, after grabbing gas, we crossed the Columbia River into Washington. The bridge we crossed was an open metal-grated bridge that tested my driving skills and also nerves – I have never felt so not in control of a car as I did on that bridge. If I never cross a bridge like that again, it will be too soon.
Once we were across the river, it was a much slower pace – and a much-welcomed highway to travel on. We also had a nicer view of the Columbia Gorge. We also had a great view of Mt. Hood.
We continued along the north side of the river and then headed up US-97 through a huge wind farm. Windmills, or wind turbines as they are properly called, are something I love seeing – I’m not sure why, but I do.
Not long after we passed through the wind farm, we crested a hill and I saw my mountain in all her glory. I had been excited to see her from Portland, ecstatic to see her from Hood River, but I was downright giggly to see her that close. Every other year I have planned a side trip to Mt. St. Helens on the day we left Portland, and every year I have been disappointed by rain and cloudy weather. This year, I had decided to forego a visit, and of course, Murphy decided to give me a beautiful sunny day. Although we were 70 miles away, she still looked majestic.
Ninety minutes later, we arrived in Yakima. After checking into the hotel, we had our sandwiches and watched the Food Network for a while. It was a short day of driving, but because of the heat, seemed much longer. Tomorrow we are heading back west towards Centralia (for some Outlet Mall shopping), and then north to Olympia.
Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.
L