On The Road To Portland (Part 2)

It took us six days to make the drive from San Diego to Portland. Why, you ask? Why did it take us 6 days to drive the 1,000 short miles? Well, because we were pulling a trailer and going under the speed limit, but also because we wanted to catch as many of the destinations along I-5 on our way as we could. In the first four days we went roller coaster riding in Santa Clarita, spent a long day driving most of California to Redding and then two adventurous days in Redding itself (I wrote about those four days here). Here is how we spent the next two days, ON OUR WAY TO OUR NEW HOME IN PORTLAND! :o)

Thursday morning we woke up in Redding and got back on I-5. Within minutes of getting on the interstate we were greeted with gorgeous vistas of Shasta Lake. I had noted in the atlas that we'd be passing by this lake when planning our route, but had not expected it to be as magnificent as this. The views we saw that day strongly reminded me of the views we'd seen off of the Sea-to-Sky Highway in Vancouver, BC and we were both blown away by the natural beauty.

View of Shasta Lake from I-5

Shasta Lake

Soon after passing the lake we rounded a bend in the road and were presented with another amazing site- snow covered Mount Shasta, the fifth tallest peak in California at 14,179 ft. The view of the mountain got better and better as we got closer (I probably took a million pictures, thinking each was better than the last) and eventually we were directly next to the imposing mountain.

First glance of Mount Shasta

Getting closer!

Mount Shasta!

Not thirty minutes later we passed the last exit on I-5 in California. This might not seem that interesting, but it was exit number 796, meaning that I-5 stretches almost 800 miles north and south through the state! Right after crossing the border into OREGON! we also passed another I-5 landmark: Siskiyou Summit, the highest point on the I-5 at 4,310 ft elevation.

The last exit in California on I-5

Welcome to Oregon!!

Our destination that day was Ashland, a super cute little town tucked deep in the Rogue Valley. We'd heard great things about Ashland, and my Pacific Northwest guide recommended it as a culinary delights destination, which is always a huge plus in my book. The town was located conveniently right off of I-5 and we had no trouble finding parking for our truck and trailer on one of the side streets right off of Main Street.

Walking around Ashland

Main Street in Ashland

The biggest reason we decided to make a stop in Ashland was because it was also home to one of my favorite bloggers, Patti from One Road At A Time (Patti wrote a great write-up on Ashland here). After living in the Bay Area in California for over 30 years, her and her husband Abi decided to shake things up by moving to Ashland, buying a Bed & Breakfast and renovating it! Today, two years later, they are running a successful business and have gone on several exciting adventures around the US and abroad. I really like reading Patti's blog because she is totally open about what it's like to run a B&B, and haven't we all wandered and dreamed about what it would be like to open and run a B&B some time in our lives? Well, I know I have, and I really enjoy reading the "behind the scenes" stories. Patti also writes a second blog on behalf of their B&B, On the Road to Abigail's, where she shares up to date interesting information on what's happening in Ashland and the Inn.

Abigail's Bed and Breakfast in Ashland

So! After wondering the town we made our way to Abigail's Bed and Breakfast and Patti gave us a true "behind the scenes" tour of the B&B. It was awesome to hear about the before and after progress they made on their renovations. Then the four of us made our way back down Main street to one of Patti and Abi's favorite restaurants, a quaint Italian place called Pasta Piatti, and we spent the rest of the evening swapping blogging secrets and sharing funny stories. It's really funny how the four of us would have never met had Patti and I not accidentally found each other on this huge world of the internet. How amazing is it to find friends like that?

Abi, Patti, Sky and I at dinner in Ashland

The following morning we'd planned to drive to somewhere between Ashland and Portland, to arrive in Portland on Saturday, but we couldn't help our excitement and drove all the way to the city. On the way the weather could not make up its mind and we kept passing under grey clouds and light rain and then blue skies and bright sunshine. Right before we drove into the city limits we were greeted with a huge and beautiful rainbow that seemed to begin right at the side of the intestate and stretched far into the countryside. Does this mean we've found the end of the rainbow? We've found the gold? I sure hope so! We plan to call this place home. :o)

The rainbow right off of I-5

Huge rainbow over Oregon!

Now we've spent the last week running around Portland, trying to get all of our affairs in order before I start my new job tomorrow! I have lots to say about this last week, and plan to write about that soon.

To see more pictures of Ashland, click here.

Happy New Beginnings!

M.

Our Little, Big News!

Just when we thought we had our plans all figured out (at least until after Russia), we got one more life curve-ball thrown at us, and once again our plans have morphed into something completely new. So, without further ado, here is the big announcement…

Here's The Plan, Stan

After many, many long conversations we've finally come to some kind of a decision about how we will proceed from here. Without further ado, here it is:

- We have decided that ultimately we want to live in Portland, Oregon next.

Aberdeen, WA

After driving up the Oregon coast, we crossed the highway 101 bridge from Astoria into Washington, and followed the highway north into Aberdeen.

Driving along the Washington coast

West of Portland: The Oregon Coast Part 2

We finally made it to Seaside and settled in at our Couch Surfing hosts's home. In Seaside we had another great Couch Surfing experience (I know...but I promise I'm not being paid to say all of this...although if Couch Surfing did want to chip in, that would be OK too). When looking for someone to couch surf with, we decided to try out the "display my travel plans to local couch hosts" option. Neal, a very kind host from Seaside, contacted us and let us know that we were welcome at his house.

West of Portland: The Oregon Coast Part 1

After spending a month in Portland, we tore ourselves away and drove to the coast. Our first stop was in Tillamook, famous for the Tillamook cheese factory.We found easy street parking for the night, and in the morning decided to bike a portion of the Three Capes Scenic Route. I say a portion because the total ride is over 30 miles long, and very hilly, and after running 8 miles the day before and Sky playing 2 hours of soccer, we only had 23 miles of hills in us (on mountain bikes no less!).

What To See and Do in Portland

Portland was such an unexpected treat for us! We had heard very little of Portland before we came here and had almost no expectations. We spent a month here, and now Portland is one of our most favorite cities in the US. I posted here on the numerous reasons why Portland is so cool. In case you decide to check out Portland for yourself, here is where we'd recommend you visit (most of the items are free!). I'm grouping the places by neighborhood, in case you don't have time to visit them all.

Oregon Brewer's Festival, Drink Up!

We started the day by biking around Portland on the greenbelt trails, along the river and to Gresham and back. I like to start my tastings at a negative calorie count, that way there is no guilt involved. :o) During our time here in Portland there have been three beer festivals: North American Organic Brewer's Festival, Portland International Beerfest and now the Oregon's Brewer's Festival. We were too cheap to participate in the first two, but when the Brewer's Fest rolled around, we finally figured "why not?".

How to Make Friends in New Places

One of the disadvantages of traveling is not being able to bring your friend circle with you. Friday and Saturday nights can be a bit lonely sometimes when its just the two of us walking around a new city. We see big groups of friends walk by and remember what it was like to be the ones part of a big group heading out to dinner and drinks, looking to cause some trouble.

The other Friday we were poking around trying to decide what to do when I remembered seeing a link on the Couch Surfing website that I had meant to check out before. If you're a member, you will find the following links in the banner at the top: Surf, Host, Activities and Groups. I clicked on Activities, typed in Portland, and found a whole selection of events posted by local Couch Surfing members. One of the activities was an open invitation to a birthday party at a pizzeria in Southeast Portland. I RSVP'd yes, and all of a sudden we had plans for the evening!

East of Portland, Part 2: A Trip to the Hood

This entry is part 2 of our trip east of Portland (click here for Part 1).

Monday night we drove into the city of Hood River to eat dinner. We drove down to the waterfront park, and as we crested a hill, what seemed like a thousand kites and sails came into our view of the Columbia River. Since Hood River is known as the Windsurfing Capitol of the World, I was not overly surprised at the number of surfers we saw. There were so many people out on the river that I'm not sure how they all didn't crash into each other though. Their boards were going in every which way and direction, at high speeds!

East of Portland, Part 1: Columbia River Gorge and the Waterfalls

Monday we left the trailer parked at the RV park, packed up the tent and our pups and headed out to explore east of Portland. We decided to do a three day, two night loop, starting along the Columbia River Gorge, driving along the waterfalls route, an overnight stop in Hood River, then through the Fruit Loop to Mt. Hood, with one more overnight stay on the mountain. I had originally planned to make this one big post, but we saw so many amazing things that it was not possible to squeeze everything into one. I decided on the two part approach, so hence, this is Part 1.

A Visit to Mt. St. Helens

Mt. St. Helens is an active volcano in Washington state. In 1980 there was a 5.1 magnitude earthquake that caused the largest landslide in recorded history, which caused the eruption. The eruption of Mt. St. Helens is now known as the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the US history. The mountain used to be shaped in the normal triangular fashion, but the landslide and eruption broke the peak, and caused the mountain to cave in on itself, leaving a massive crater site on the north face of the mountain. The landslide that flowed from the mountain also completely changed the landscape of the valley below. It wiped away old growth forests and left behind charred and barren fields and newly formed low points, that later became new ponds and lakes.

Down Days in Vancouver, WA

We have been here in Vancouver Washington (just outside of Portland) for just over two weeks now. Living somewhere stationary has been a very nice change, and it has lived up to what we were hoping it would be. Portland being the very cool city that it is has certainly helped, but Vancouver has really turned out to be very nice as well.

Why Portland Rocks

On our trip we have come across two cities that we had no expectations for, and but where we came away very pleasantly surprised: Austin and now Portland. Portland has smitten us with its waterfronts, bridges, expansive downtown and multitude of walkable city districts. We have been here just over a week, and have put only a small dent in the long list of things we want to explore in this city.

Portland, Our Home For The Next Month

Our home for the next month is not actually in Portland, but across the Columbia River, in Vancouver Washington (our 10th state on this trip!) We figured we would have no problem booking an RV park in Portland proper. A few days before leaving Eugene we started to call around to the numerous RV parks in the area, and found nothing in the near vicinity! Turns out there was a Barber Shop Harmony Society convention going on, and those folks had everything booked solid. 

New Friends and Fellow Travelers

We recently had the pleasure of being introduced to more fellow travelers. Heading into Portland, I contacted Kim, from So Many Places, on what to see and do there. She and her husband Brian had lived there for the last five years and she had written very positive things about Portland in her blog. I say this all in the past tense because she and Brian recently left Portland, to start their own awesome round-the-world adventure! (Check out their blog to see what they are up to now)

Cottage Grove and the Covered Bridges Tour

Before we left the Eugene area, we decided to check out the historic district of Cottage Grove, a little town just south of Eugene, and the area's famous Covered Bridges Tour. Since we were headed that way, we also decided to add on a hike on the Brice Creek Trail, in the Umpqua National Forest.Oregon has turned out to be very dog friendly (as opposed to California, where dogs were not allowed in most parks, state and national), and we brought Chloe and Sammy along for the day.

The Olympic Trials in Eugene!

While doing research on what to see and do in Eugene I stumbled on an amazing fact...the 2012 US Olympic Trials were not only going on in Eugene, but they would be going on the same time we'd planned to be in the city! The trials are awesome for so many reasons: a visit to any of the events is all the inspiration I need to get out there and do some exercise myself; the atmosphere among the fans and athletes is super exciting, full of energy; you get to see/possibly meet world class athletes, and share the air with them; and finally, we know one of the competing athletes, Wallace Spearmon, we went to school with him! I even tried to sign up to be a volunteer at the trials, but I think it was too late, and I'm sure five million other folks like me wanted to be there.

Did You Know? Oregon Addition

Here are some interesting facts we've discovered about Oregon so far:

- Oregon is one of only two states in the US that offer full service gas stations only. (The other state is New Jersey). What this means is that there are gas station attendants at all the gas stations, and you can't pump your own gas, not even if you wanted to. Tipping the attendant is not required, or even expected. We figured this would translate into higher gas prices, but what we've actually found is that gas is cheaper, much cheaper, than it was in California.

Oregon, Our 9th State!

Tuesday morning we packed up, and drove our last portion of highway 101 in California. We turned off on highway 199 at mile marker 794. What a long state California is! An hour later we crossed the border into our ninth state, Oregon!

Welcome to Oregon!