Venturing Into The Great Unknown

Well today was definitely an interesting day. We awoke to dismal looking skies, but at least it wasn’t raining. We had coffee and juice at the hotel before packing the car and heading east out of Portland on the south side of the Columbia River. We spent the first little while in drizzle and rain before finally finding the sun near The Dalles. I grabbed some pictures from a rest area and we continued along I-84 – by this time it was actually partly sunny.

Just after The Dalles (around US-97), we ran into wind farms on both sides of the river – I don’t think I’ve ever seen ones so big. The farms on the north side of the river (in Washington) continued for a good hour of driving. The ones on our side of the river (in Oregon) were harder to see from the Interstate, but I believe they continued for almost as long. I also saw my first American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) flying along the river near the shore.

What also surprised me was the topography of the area. I knew that Eastern Washington was flatter than Western Washington, but I didn’t expect it too look like the Badlands of Alberta. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining…I actually found it quite refreshing after the never-ending greenery and mountains that we have had recently. It actually got warm enough to take off my sweatshirt. Unfortunately I was unable to get any pictures of the landscape as I am not the kind of person that likes to stop on the side of freeway just to take a picture – okay I would pull over on a regular highway, but Interstates, not so much.

Then it came time to cross over the Columbia River into Washington…needless to say, bridges aren’t exactly something I want to go over right now. We crossed without incident and headed towards Kennewick, where we stopped at New York Richie’s for a lunch of thin-crust pizza. My mum ordered a deluxe slice (what they call Meat Combo), and I ordered a pepperoni and pineapple slice with a HUGE pickle on the side. When our slices came, mine was missing the pineapple, but the waitress was awesome and had the kitchen remake it; and let me finish the pepperoni slice that I already had (I ended up taking the remade slice to-go and will have it for our picnic lunch tomorrow).

We then grabbed coffee at Dutch Bros – at least I ordered coffee – I got a NASTY Americano that tasted like pure cream. I pulled away from the drive-thru, took a sip, and pulled a U-turn to return what they considered a coffee. It turns out that not only do they not know what milk is (I ordered my coffee with double milk and they had put in some cream/milk combo), but when they remade it, they topped it up with water. Needless to say, I was confused when I watched them. When I asked why they put water in my coffee I was told that is how they make an Americano, which confused me because I had ordered a coffee. Then they informed me that they don’t make drip coffee – why they didn’t tell me when I ordered a coffee is beyond me. I told them that I didn’t want espresso, I wanted coffee with caffeine and they them informed me it did have caffeine. For those of you that know me – you know those are fighting words. I asked for my money back and kindly informed them that espresso had less caffeine than decaf coffee – they didn’t believe me but did return my money. I headed to the Shell station just down the street and got a much better coffee (caffeinated coffee). With that crisis averted, we headed out of town.

As we were driving north I spotted my first American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) The weather stayed sunny for most of the trip up to I-90 and then it started spitting, then raining, but not as hard as the day we arrived in Portland. We continued east along I-90 and arrived in Spokane just after three. We headed down to Riverfront Park and although my mum had told me that she had no intention of walking anywhere, we ended up exploring around the falls at her suggestion. I will hopefully have some pictures to post in a day or two, but have way to many to go through first (I took almost 400 today). I was also able to get quite a few pictures of, what I believe is, a Yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris). There were several kits playing around, what I think was Mummy, and there were so photogenic.

After spending over an hour at the park we headed to dinner at the Elk Public House. I had a lamb sandwich (that I almost inhaled – it was sooooooo good), and my mum had the special which was a pesto linguine with asparagus. She wasn’t able to eat it all so that will be her leftovers tomorrow on our picnic.

After dinner, we drove the thirty minutes to our hotel in Coeur d’Alene – I can now cross Idaho off my to-do list. The day of driving; however, has tired me out and I am done for the night. I will leave you with a quick picture of the falls in Spokane that I grabbed with my iPhone – I hope you enjoy.

Talk to you tomorrow.

L

Upper Falls – Spokane, WA

We awoke to cloudy skies, but at least the rain seemed to be holding off. We grabbed coffee and juice again at the hotel, while we were waiting for rush hour to end, then we crossed the street to the Max Rail station. We took the train downtown and headed to grab a ‘real’ coffee and bite to eat before attacking Powell’s Books.

For those of you out there that like to read, Powell’s is, by far, the largest bookstore that you will EVER see. Both my mum and I look forward to this day in Portland. We plan this part of the trip ahead of time; making lists of books and double-checking availability (and location) of the books. Today was no different and we both made out like bandits. All the books (except one that is still cheaper, new, than it would be, used, in Canada) were used and at least 25% off the MSRP. Some of the books were even as high as 75% off retail – I mean how can you beat that?

The hour and a half we spent book shopping made us hungry so we headed towards the food pods on SW Alder. Last year we arrived on a Friday, so most of the food trucks were closed for the weekend and we weren’t able to visit the one my mum had her heart set on. This year, I planned the trip so that we would be here during the week…man, I am so glad I did that. We went to The Frying Scotsman for fish and chips. It was the best fish and chips that I have had in quite a while – and from a food cart no less.

We finished our lunch and then headed back to the hotel, where we chilled for a couple hours. We then headed to the Lloyd Center, which is the biggest mall in Portland, and did some window shopping. We then had some dinner at Billy Heartbeats and I grabbed two pretzels for tomorrow’s snack before we headed to Pier 1 Imports. My mum and I are both fans of the recent commercials and decided to find something “that spoke to us”. My mum found a bowl and I found a ladybug whirligig for the lawn.

We then decided to call it a day and went back to the hotel where we watched some Food Network before my mum decided to turn in. Just after she went to bed I read about the bridge collapse on I-5, that happened earlier today. My mum and I drove over that bridge last Monday and had planned to drive over it on Sunday on our way back to Canada. I’m glad no one was hurt, but it makes one think…especially since it was on a major Interstate. I will try not to think about that as I drive over the Columbia River tomorrow when we head to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

I will leave you with a picture that I took outside of Powell’s Books today. Talk to you soon.

L

Carpe Librum @ Powell’s Books – Portland, OR

We awoke to rain…the kind of west coast drizzle that just makes things miserable. We decided against Cape Disappointment when we found out you need a park pass just to drive in there, so we headed towards Seaview for breakfast at Laurie’s Homestead Breakfast House. We then headed up the Long Beach Peninsula and discovered that ocean views required walking quite a ways (in the rain) and with the weather – we decided not worth the effort. We drove back down the peninsula and headed inland towards Rosburg.

In Rosburg, we found the covered bridge quite easily and took a few pictures before getting back on the road. The weather would clear on and off, but just after we crossed the Columbia River at Longview, the skies opened up and it teamed – the kind of rain that soaks everything – instantly. We pulled over to grab gas and just as soon as it started, it stopped. We grabbed a coffee from the gas station and headed to a park for lunch. McCormick Park in St Helens, Oregon is a cute little park. We were able to park and even put the windows down and enjoy lunch without rain – if you don’t like the rain out here; wait five minutes. I also got a picture of an oak apple, which isn’t really an apple at all, but sure confused me when I saw an oak tree with what looked like apples on it.

After lunch we headed to Portland. Although we arrived around 2:30, we still ran into a fair bit of traffic. After fighting our way across the city we arrived at the hotel and relaxed for a couple hours before heading out to Fabric Depot. I love this store, even though I don’t sew, as it has everything you could possibly want that is fabric/craft related. My mum was on a mission for a few things and I was looking for DMC floss as I am forever looking for a good place to find it. I was also looking for material for a friend of mine and hopefully, found something that she will like in lieu of the material she requested that they did not have.

After that we headed to Red Robin for a late dinner. I grabbed a ghost pepper burger with pretzels to start and my mum got a French onion soup and picked at my fries and pretzels. After dinner we were quite tired and did next to no wiki research, and just chilled in front of the television.

Tomorrow is still up in the air and will be dependent on what the weather is like. I will leave you with a few pictures and I will talk to you tomorrow.

L

Oak Apple

Gray’s River Covered Bridge – Rosburg, WA

Gray’s River Covered Bridge – Rosburg, WA

We woke up bright and early, and after considering how hard parking would be at Busick Court, decided to just have coffee and juice at the hotel. We got on the road and headed to the coast. Not long after reached US-101 we were detoured up Cape Lookout Road due to an accident that closed the road. We had initially planned to possibly do that detour up and around the cape, but this sealed it. It was a nice, but curvy and hilly drive that afforded one awesome viewpoint with parking, and several beautiful views that my mum described as I watched the road for potholes and dips.

We then arrived in Tillamook…my favourite cheese place ANYWHERE! The last two years we went to just the Tillamook Cheese Factory, but this time we also went to the Blue Heron French Cheese Company. It happened to be “sample day” at Blue Heron and we had a good snack of cheeses, dips, and sauces. My mum grabbed some Brie and I grabbed some white chocolate truffles and a homemade spicy blue cheese dressing. We then went up the road to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, where I grabbed a couple pounds each of Jalapeño Monterey Jack, Habanero Cheddar, and Garlic Pepper Cheddar. My mum grabbed an 8oz package of both old cheddar and a Jalapeño Monterey Jack. With our cheese mission accomplished, we were off again and heading north.

We stopped for a picnic lunch on Cannon Beach, close to Haystack Rock, and munched on last night’s leftovers from the Outback. Although the sun was shining on and off it was quite windy and, in turn, cold. I took a few pictures and then we headed back to the car to warm up. Off we were again up the 101 to Astoria.

We arrived in Astoria and headed straight to the Oregon Film Museum where we took a look at the different films that were shot in and around Oregon. The number one movie that interested me was, of course, The Goonies. I am a Goony at heart, so I was like a kid in a candy shop with all the memorabilia from the movie (My mum has still not seen the movie and was not as impressed). One cool thing that they had was a room filled with quotes from a lot of the movies that were filmed in the area and if you could match ten different quotes from ten different movies you win a prize. This helped get my mum into the mood and she was just as excited as I was, when we were able to get the ten movies. The prize was just a plastic gold coin that represented One-Eyed Willie’s treasure, but it was fun and something that brought my mum and I together with a common goal. I also bought myself a T-shirt that says “Hey You Guys”. (I bet all you Goonies out there read that in Chunk’s voice). After we finished up at the museum we drove to the Goonies House where I had a nice chat with the current owner of the house and thanked her for keeping the dream alive (including the “THE GOONDOCKS” sign on the front porch). After leaving the Goonies House I drove over to John Jacob Astor Elementary to take a picture of the school where Kindergarten Cop was filmed, and then the house where Ally Sheedy lived in Short Circuit. After that, it was off  to dinner…

We had dinner at the Wet Dog Café & Astoria Brewing Co., which is right on the water (Columbia River). I had a blue cheese and peppered bacon chicken burger and my mum had clam chowder and a Greek salad. Not only was the food extremely good, but the atmosphere itself was perfect. They had cute signs on the walls and our waiter, albeit new, was great – I even picked up a cute T-shirt (that read “In dogs beers, I’ve only had one) as a gift. With dinner done, we headed across the Astoria Bridge and into Washington; staying in the quiet hamlet of Ilwaco.

Below are a handful of pictures from today; I hope you enjoy.

Talk to you tomorrow.

L

Oregon Coast from Cape Lookout

Haystack Rock – Cannon Beach, OR

Oregon Film Museum – Astoria, OR

Goondocks SIgn – Oregon Film Museum

Sign at base of Goonie House – Astoria, OR

Goonie House, – Astoria, OR

School from Kindergarten Cop – Astoria, OR

Short Circuit House – Astoria, OR

Cute Sign – Wet Dog Café – Astoria, OR

Astoria Bridge – Astoria, OR

Today was a good day. After waking up to a crisp 2°C temperature and frost on the motel roof, we headed to breakfast. We had seen signs up and down I-5 for the Black Bear Diner, so we decided to try it for breakfast. Not only did it look like a nice place to eat, but it was conveniently located between our motel and the onramp to the I-5. We had a great waitress, and we both thoroughly enjoyed what we ate. After breakfast, while I was waiting to pay, I looked at the souvenirs that they had for sale. They had cute black bear souvenirs, but they also had some from the “State of Jefferson“. I heard of this “state” when I watched the show How The States Got Their Shape, and think it’s the coolest thing that I was actually there.

After breakfast we headed north up the I-5 and stopped in Grants Pass to check the hotel we stayed at on Day 2, to see if my mum’s nightie was in the lost and found…it was. We grabbed gas and coffee and then continued back on our way, and stopped in Eugene for a picnic lunch. We drove to Skinner Butte Park and had leftovers while watching some Western Scrub Jays play in the nearby trees. (I was able to get some good pictures but will post when I’m less tired). One of the leftovers that we had was the English Muffin from Model Bakery – it was a very good baked good, but it was NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, a true English Muffin.

After our picnic, we headed back to the Interstate and north to Salem, where we checked into our hotel and relaxed before dinner. I had originally planned on going to Willamette Valley Grill, but we decided that it wasn’t what we were in the mood for. On a whim, I googled the Outback Steakhouse and was tickled pink to see there was one close to the hotel. I realize that this is a Food Network tour, but I absolutely LOVE a blooming onion and haven’t been able to find one elsewhere; and unfortunately no longer live anywhere close to an Outback since the only Canadian locations are Edmonton and Niagara Falls.

We went to the Outback, I got my blooming onion and Alice Springs Chicken and my mum got steak – now we have leftovers for tomorrows picnic. After dinner we headed down to the State Capitol to take a short walk around the park and, of course, take tons of pictures. (I will post some soon, I promise). After the Capitol we came back to the hotel, did some wiki research and now, blissfully, going to bed.

Talk to you tomorrow.

L

Update: Pictures included below

Eugene from Skinner Butte

Oregon Pioneer on top of Capitol – Salem, OR

Western Scrub Jay – Skinner Butte Park

Western Scrub Jay – Skinner Butte Park

Mount Shasta – Yreka, CA

Oregon State Capitol – Salem, OR