Today we woke early as we had a long day ahead of us. We got a quick bite at the hotel and then headed downtown to the hardware store. Mum needed to grab some Ball canning lids and she also lucked out and found the 7″ baking pans that she was looking for. We then jumped on Hwy 99W and headed out of town.
We spent most of the day driving…or should I say, I spent most of the day driving. 625 kilometres in total. We joined the I-5 at Red Bluffs and continued on until Weed. I had several requests from friends to stop here and grab souvenirs, so I obliged. I was also way past needing a pit stop so I was very glad to stop. I also found a store that carried State of Jefferson souvenirs and was able to kill two birds with one stone.
We continued up the I-5 until Ashland, where we decided to stop for lunch. I decided to use my Waze app to direct me to Lithia Park, rather than just following the signs. For reasons beyond my comprehension, Waze decided to route me up a single-lane cow path that overlooked the park instead – I am just happy that I was able to turn around without tumbling over the side of the cliff. After navigating back down the “road”, we found the correct route to the park and found a great spot in the shade to eat lunch.
We were able to get some pictures of the local wildlife – that seemed oblivious to our existence – as we left the park. We jumped back onto the Interstate and continued on the long drive north. About an hour outside of Eugene, the weather changed and it started to spit. This is the first rain that we have seen all trip – we really haven’t even seen clouds. I guess we can’t really complain. After five or ten minutes the spitting stopped, but the clouds remained.
We arrived in Eugene without further incident and drove straight to the hotel. We spent some time at the hotel doing some wiki-research and also trying to decide where to eat dinner. We noticed that there were a couple of new restaurants since we visited here last year and after finding out that one was a block from the hotel, we chose that one. Eugene Fish Market is a definite fish market – complete with the fishy smell. It is, however, remarkably affordable and delicious. Mum had Grilled Shrimp & Chips with Honey-Poppy Seed Coleslaw and Oriental Express Tartar Sauce (wasabi, soy & ginger). I had Grilled Cod & Chips with Cilantro-Lime Coleslaw and Ragin Cajun (spicy cajun, green onion & garlic) & Tijuana Terror (jalapeno, lime & cilantro) Tartar Sauces.
On our way back to the hotel after dinner, we encountered an interesting man who was wearing ivy around his head like a wreath. Just as we were passing him, he looked at us and said “boo” – totally weird. We walked a few more feet and noticed that the road ahead was blocked off by police cars and as we rounded the corner, noticed the other street was also blocked off by police cars. We asked a person sitting next to the road if she knew what had happened but she was only able to tell us that she had heard an ambulance about a half hour earlier. We decided to walk down to where the police were and see if we could find out anything else. We asked another person closer to the scene if they knew what was going on and he said that there had been a shooting.
We walked back to the hotel and I called Hubby to fill him in on our day. We then did some more wiki-research and I watched some TV while Mum turned in early. (I have since found out what happened and have provided the link here). Tomorrow we are going as far as Olympia. We plan on having breakfast at a restaurant recommended by a friend of mine. We will then be dropping by Portland to grab some honey from New Seasons Market and also some hot sauce from Fire on the Mountain Wings before hitting the outlet malls in Centralia.
Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.
L
