Mount St. Helens and Oregon

Lance's sister is here visiting, and we packed a lot into the past two days.

First we started with Mount St. Helens. I already posted about my trip there before, and it wasn't significantly different this time. We made most of the same stops on the drive. Only this time, we drove all the way up to Johnston Ridge Observatory, instead of turning around earlier. You have to pay to go inside (unless you have an annual national park pass, like we do), but it's well worth it. They offer a lot of information about the eruption and the views from there are stunning.

Shortly before 4 PM, we reached Portland.



We didn't spent a lot of time there. We stayed long enough to see Pittock Mansion and the International Rose Test Garden. We walked the downtown streets and along the riverfront for a bit.

I loved Pittock Mansion, by the way. Yes, I have seen some of Europe's greatest castles. But I'm a sucker for architecture and beautiful landscaping. And Pittock Mansion has all this, plus the amazing views of the city. This was well worth visiting, both inside and out.

The International Rose Test Garden was lovely too, as was all of Washington Park that we saw. It was fairly close to our hotel.

We stayed at Park Lane Suites, which is in the Nob Hill/King's Hill area of Portland. The surrounding houses were historic and beautiful, and even just walking around the neighborhood was a joy. But the hotel was fantastic too. It offered free parking, and we had an apartment with 2 queen rooms. I had a wonderful surprise when I walked into the kitchen. They left a complimentary bag of Bob's Red Mill oatmeal for our breakfast, complete with packets of dried fruit, nuts, and brown sugar. Plus, there was milk and orange juice in the fridge. There was a nice letter on the kitchen table inviting us to take the food in the kitchen if we didn't use it during our stay. You don't need to tell me twice. :)

It was a nice room. Clean and comfortable. And the price was right too. I would definitely stay there again. Thanks, Park Lane Suites, for being awesome!

Anyway, after Pittock Mansion and the rose garden, we went downtown to look around and get some dinner and walk along the riverfront. We ended up at Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub. In my mind, you can never go wrong with pub food. And that was indeed the case. I got a delicious chicken and mushroom pasty (in a flaky pastry with tarragon cream sauce) over mashed potatoes. And naturally, some cider and black...because I have to take advantage of being at a pub. Lance and his sister were happy with their ham and cheese sandwiches with fries.

After dinner, it was back to our room for the night.

This morning, we went to the famous Voodoo Doughnuts. Only I had Lance drive to the satellite location since we didn't want to pay for parking or try to find parking in the middle of downtown on a weekday. As we were getting out of town, taking public transportation wasn't really an option.

So...Voodoo Doughnuts Too:


It was crazy. It was pink. And it has an obsession with Kenny Rogers. Yeah, pretty much what I expected, from what I've heard of this place.

And then there's the doughnuts...


That, my friends, is one of their famous bacon maple bars. And just a regular chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate frosting.

Lance got a doughnut with chocolate frosting, crushed oreos, and peanut butter drizzled on top. I got a sugar coma just by looking at it.

In short, awesome. And doughnuts are never my first choice for breakfast food. But this is a Portland institution. I'm fairly certain if you come to Portland, at least one person will tell you to go to Voodoo Doughnut. Just do it already.

That was our sweet send-off from Portland...time to move on. Lance's sister wanted to see the Pacific coast, so naturally, we had to go back to Cannon Beach. I was just there last week - see my last post. I won't go into any further details, other than to say that it was sunny this time, and the tide was in. So it was much different from last week.

Then we headed up to Astoria, where we stopped for a bit at the Columbia River Maritime Museum before heading back toward Seattle.

Fun trip, but exhausting. I get a break tomorrow while they go whale watching. I already did that last month with my cousins. I hope they see orcas like we did.

Anyway, if you want to see pictures from the past 2 days, you can go to my Flickr set.

Here are some other links:

- Park Lane Suites & Inn

- Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub

- Voodoo Doughnut

California-Oregon Road Trip: The Conclusion

You might want to read the last couple of entries before this one if you haven't yet. Otherwise, this won't make as much sense.

Wednesday, July 20
Destination: Crescent City, CA



We left shortly before 9 AM, with the expectation that it was supposed to be a very hot day. No worries, as we were headed toward the coast (where it was significantly cooler). Shortly after we left Travis AFB, we were cruising through Napa. I couldn't let the opportunity pass to do at least one wine tasting, even though we had a rather ambitious agenda for the day.

Lance indulged me, and we stopped at Beringer, where I spent a perfectly pleasant half hour sipping wine and talking to the nice woman who poured my tastings. I walked out with 2 bottles of yummy sparkling White Zinfandel and a souvenir glass.



A short time later, we were back on the road. Lance turned off on some side road that led to what is (allegedly) the world's largest petrified redwood forest, but we decided to skip it once we got there. We just didn't want to risk paying the price of admission for possible disappointment, but we looked around the tiny museum for a few minutes before moving on.

I have to admit, as much as we hate tourist traps, we somehow felt like we were obligated to pay $5 to drive through a tree. However, we didn't even get to do that, since there was a very large group standing in front of it, who refused to move when they saw our car (RUDE! I was inclined to ask them to reimburse us since they wouldn't let us get what we paid for). After a few minutes, we got sick of waiting for them and just parked in the parking lot to explore that area for a bit.

It wasn't until we got to The Avenue of the Giants that things got really impressive.


What can I say about these ancient, majestic trees? They make you feel small and insignificant, and that's not a bad thing. I had this feeling quite often throughout the trip at different locations.

After we finished our detour through The Avenue of the Giants, we met back up with the 101 and continued our journey toward the coast. Of course, we continued to drive through the redwoods and even caught sight of a herd of Roosevelt Elk.

Around dinnertime, we made it to Crescent City. We checked into the Lighthouse Inn right at the entrance to town on the 101. Our room had an ocean view. It was spacious, clean, and comfortable. And our room was discounted to the lowest possible rate, so we stayed overnight for less than $100. I liked this hotel. The decor is nautical meets Grandma, but we enjoyed our stay there.

After checking in, we went next door to the Northwoods Restaurant. It was crowded, and the service was slow, but our server apologized over and over again. She did the best she could under the circumstances. The food was delicious. Lance had a burger. I got Chicken Jerusalem, which was chicken, mushrooms and artichokes in a white wine cream sauce. It was accompanied by dinner rolls, garlic pasta, steamed veggies and a trip to their salad bar. We were definitely stuffed. I don't think I even got through half my meal before I had to give up.

A huge meal should always be followed by a leisurely walk. So we strolled along Crescent City Harbor just as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful end to our busy but fun day.

Thursday, July 21
Destination: Tillamook, OR



We left Crescent City shortly before 9 AM. It was a bit foggy and chilly. By the time we got to Oregon (a relatively short drive from there), the sun was out and it promised to be a beautiful day.

We had no particular agenda, except to get to Tillamook. And yes, it was all for the cheese. On the way, Lance and I just pulled over at whatever scenic viewpoints interested us, and there were A LOT. The Oregon coast boasts some of the most stunning scenery I have ever been privileged to see in all my travels.

If you have never taken a trip on the Pacific Coast Highway, do so. You won't regret it, I promise.

I loved all the coastal towns we drove through. I could've stopped at every one and poked into the cute little shops or eaten at the local spots. But we drove through most of them (with a short detour in Newport). Alas, we didn't have the time to explore further, since we needed to get to Tillamook by 6 PM if we wanted time to go to the cheese factory. And as for eats on the road, we had a picnic at some random lake we just happened to be driving by around lunchtime. We were a bit inland at that point. But it was near the Oregon Dunes.

I think it was around 5 PM or so that we arrived in Tillamook. We easily found our hotel - The Ashley Inn - which was just a stone's throw from the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I didn't even plan it that way. We checked in, got settled into our room, and headed off to cheese heaven.

We both wanted to order the macaroni and cheese at their cafe. We were disappointed to learn that they were out of mac and cheese. So we both ended up ordering grilled cheese sandwiches, which were good, but not what we were craving. I must say that their french fries were some of the best I ever had.

The actual self-guided tour part of our visit didn't take too long. I took more pleasure in shopping at their impressive food shop (they not only sell dairy products, but they also sell a lot of things that pair well with their cheeses). We bought 3 packages of their "squeeky cheese" (cheese curds), 1 package of smoked medium cheddar, 1 package of smoked vintage white extra sharp cheddar, and some fudge. And we stopped at their ice cream shop before we left. How can you resist?

We didn't do anything else after that. Lance was tired after a day of driving, so we just watched TV back at our hotel room.

Friday, July 22
Destination: HOME!

Within an hour of leaving Tillamook, we were at the most superlative beach I have ever seen in my life. I didn't even care that it was about 58 degrees and overcast. I was squishing sand between my toes and dipping my feet in the tidepools. It was heaven.



This was Cannon Beach, and I could stay there for the rest of my life. The tide was out, so we were able to walk right up to Haystack Rock, which at 235 feet tall, is the third tallest intertidal structure in the world (so sayeth Wikipedia). Signs marked the prohibited areas, because Haystack Rock is a sanctuary for birds. It's most famous for its puffins, but we didn't see any.

I saw a lot of sea anemones, starfish, and other ocean critters in the tidepools.

My only regret is that we didn't stay longer in town, but Lance wanted to make a stop in Astoria too and we had to pick up the dogs from boarding before the vet closed.

So...Astoria.

We stopped there, but we didn't really do anything. I took a few pictures of the Columbia River and the Washington side. We got glimpses of some of the major tourist attractions. I just think we both kind of ran out of steam and just wanted to get home. I thought Astoria was very cute though, from what I saw of it. I can see why this has been the setting for movies such as "The Goonies" and "Short Circuit."

We crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge into Washington State. For awhile, there were no signs of civilization and it was time to think about lunch. The first town we hit wasn't very promising. Shortly after, we entered a town called Raymond. That didn't look too promising either, until I saw a Golden Arches. I'm not really a big fan of McDonald's. As fast food goes, it's probably my least favorite. But when you're out in the middle of nowhere and there are few other options...

It wasn't bad, all things considered. But once we hit the road again, we had discovered that a Dairy Queen was less than a mile away from McD's. Rats.

That was our last stop until home.

This vacation was one of the best we've had together since our marriage, in my opinion. I thought nothing could top Europe. I still love Europe, don't get me wrong. But there is something about discovering the beauty within your own country. And I felt a real sense of peace and relaxation, not having to worry about currency exchanges or language/cultural differences.

I look forward to our move to Washington D.C., but I will miss the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Want more pictures? Click here.

Oregon/California Road Trip – Part 1

Day 1: July 14th
Destination: Crater Lake National Park/Crater Lake Lodge



We left Kent around 8 AM with the intention of getting to Crater Lake before dinner. We didn’t have any stops planned in-between, although we knew we would have to make stops for lunch, gas, restroom breaks, etc. And sometimes it’s also more about the journey than the destination, so Lance encouraged me to let him know if I wanted to pull over at scenic overlooks and such.

The drive was fairly uneventful. Portland was cloudy, so we didn’t get to see the magnificent Mt. Hood. After Portland, we stopped at the first rest stop we could find to have a picnic lunch. (Hint: plug-in coolers are super handy. We have one that plugs into both my car and a regular power outlet. And no worries about replacing ice.) I packed a ton of food, because it was also my intention that we would eat in our room at Crater Lake Lodge instead of eating at their expensive restaurant.

We drove for a bit after lunch until we hit a national forest. And then another one. And then another one. It seemed most of Oregon was a national forest. It was a gorgeous drive and the weather was fine, although we had a few too many stops (due to road construction) for my liking. But we stopped to get gas in a really cute town in the middle of nowhere – Oakridge, I believe.

And then, finally, Crater Lake.

There was snow, and lots of it. As we drove further into the park, Lance noticed a scenic overlook. So we pulled into the parking lot.

There it was.

It was one of those rare moments when you feel like the air is literally sucked out of you. Crater Lake did that for me. The water so limpid, so blue. I think I stood there with my jaw on the ground for a good minute or so, just taking it in. It was incredible.

We spent several minutes at that scenic overlook, then moved to another one. We did this until we arrived at Crater Lake Lodge.

I fell in love with the lodge. It fits into its surroundings beautifully. Our room was quaint and comfortable. We had no TV, but we were prepared for that. I packed books and a deck of UNO cards. But we mostly wanted to spend our time walking around and admiring the view.

We tried to watch the sun set that evening on the lodge’s massive verandah, which looks out over the lake. But the mosquitoes proved to be too much. And the chill in the air got to me (even though I was bundled up). So we called it a night.

Day 2: July 15
Destination: Fairfield, CA/Travis AFB



I was up really early that morning – before 6 AM – and I went down into the lobby to watch the sun rise. I brought a book with me, and when they started serving coffee in the lobby at 6:30, I sat in front of the fireplace with my coffee and book. It was so relaxing. When Lance got up and ready, we packed up the car. We decided to have breakfast at the nearby Annie Creek Restaurant, which is in another part of the park. This is only because we didn’t know how long it would be before we found the next town.

It was a rip-off. I kind of figured that going in, because it had horrible reviews online. We paid way too much for a very small continental breakfast (it was all you can eat, but we were saving room for In-N-Out Burger for lunch). That was our first meal out on this trip (if you want to call it that), so we sucked it up.

Back on the road, and we hit the California border in relatively short order. We stopped in Weed for gas (should’ve waited a bit longer – it was about 20 cents cheaper per gallon later on). I was admiring the landscape as we drove, except for Mt. Shasta being covered by several clouds.

I had my first taste of In-N-Out Burger in Redding. It was worth it. I was skeptical about waiting in the long line at the drive-through, but I figured the food had to be good if it was that busy. And it was.

And that’s really all until we hit Travis AFB, which is where we stayed for several days. That’s where my brother (a sailor) is stationed with his family, and we needed some time to visit him, his wife, and our two darling nieces.

That’s all until Sunday, when we spent a few hours in San Francisco exploring Fisherman’s Wharf. Stay tuned.

Here are the pictures from the first 2 days.

Southern Washington and Northern Oregon

Last weekend, Lance and I accompanied my brother and his family to Portland, which included several detours. The first detour was Mount St. Helens.

Honestly, after seeing Mt. Rainier, I never thought looking at St. Helens or Mt. Hood (which we saw later that same day) would even compare. I was wrong. St. Helens, though not nearly as tall as Mt. Rainier, is still a very impressive sight, but not nearly as impressive as the eruption in 1980 that launched it into the history books, an event upon which the tourism in this area is primarily based.

It's shocking how tourism here can border on the absolutely tacky...with signs on hotels that say things like "hope you had a blast!" or completely tasteless souvenirs (you'll see Lance wearing a baseball cap in my photos that explains what I mean). Yes, people died in this eruption. But it is also from the tourism industry surrounding it that people put their lives and their communities back together.

There are beautiful souvenirs that literally rise from the ashes of St. Helens - I bought a snowman ornament molded out of ash. We watched a glass blower make beautiful creations using volcanic ash harvested from St. Helens. These are the things I want to take home with me, to remember St. Helens.

As you drive closer to the mountain, the atmosphere becomes increasingly eerie. You notice entire forests in which the trees are all exactly the same height. Many of these forests are labeled with the year they were planted. Most, as you would guess, were planted after 1980. Eventually, you see a large sign warning you that you are entering the blast zone, and then the road starts a slow ascent upwards toward the mountain. There are several lookout points along this road, and we didn't get to all of them. After all, we had to get to Portland. The crater that was blown out in the eruption, on its north face, was obscured by clouds. So unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of it.

On the way back to the freeway to continue down to Portland, we stopped at a tacky Bigfoot souvenir shop. This area is also known as being home to Sasquatch, and you can pretty much spot him in every souvenir stand in the area (and you can't really miss the giant Sasquatch statue made out of ash).

For lunch, we stopped at a restaurant called 19 Mile House. The food was average, but the view from their back porch was lovely. The restaurant is apparently known for its cobbler (although we didn't have any) and it also has a souvenir shop. In the front yard is a truck that has been sitting there since 1980...completely totaled by the eruption, it stands as a testament to the power of St. Helens.

On the road again...

It was early afternoon when we reached the Washington - Oregon border, which is divided by the Columbia River. It was a clear day, so we had a great view of Mt. Hood in the distance. Also shorter than Mt. Rainier, it has a pointy top and looks completely different, and every bit as impressive.

Sorry I didn't have pictures of it. In fact, I didn't get any pictures of Portland, except for one.

We arrived in Portland without any hotel reservations (I wouldn't recommend this) and spent a good chunk of our time there just checking to see if we could get a room somewhere. Nearly every hotel was sold out, but we finally managed to get 2 rooms at a Shilo Inn near the convention center. It's certainly not the best hotel I've ever stayed in...especially as Lance and I had to sleep in a smoking room. But at least it was one of the more affordable options for downtown Portland, and it was half a block from the tram into the main area of downtown (a Denny's is just down the street as well, which was handy for breakfast the next morning).

Once the rooms were taken care of, we explored. Marcus and Lance were particularly interested in the Oregon Brewers Fest taking place that weekend on the riverfront. So we took the tram (which is free for most of the downtown area) to the stop that was closest to the festival and followed the crowds in. It was a bust, however. So crowded that each line for each type of beer was at least a half hour wait. We gave up shortly after we got there. Besides, I didn't relish another Oktoberfest-type incident like what I had last year.

So they decided to sample the local brews at bars and restaurants instead. And thus began our tour of Portland's fine drinking establishments. I can't even remember where we ate dinner...it was completely unremarkable anyway, and the beer was not well-praised. But we went to Paddy's Bar and Grill after that...a nice Irish pub that had a great looking menu (I wish we had eaten there), and absolutely ginormous selection of liquors, a good beer and wine list, and a fantastic waitress. We just chilled out there a bit and relaxed, but at 9 pm, it's only open to adults 21 and over, so we had to leave, as we had my sister-in-law's 13 year old son in tow (who was dying of boredom anyway).

So...back on the tram...back to the hotel. Didn't see much of Portland. We left shortly after breakfast the next morning.

What I did see of it, I absolutely loved. I love Seattle, but Portland is more my scene. It's got the feel of a smaller town and everyone is so outgoing and friendly. We didn't feel the least bit unsafe or uncomfortable wandering around at night. Everyone there seemed really happy. Lance and I might consider relocating down there at some point.

After breakfast at Denny's, we headed to the Columbia River Gorge area, where we visited Multnomah Falls, stopping first at Wahkeenah Falls. That was a beautiful little detour, but I didn't bring proper shoes for hiking, so it was a bit difficult making the 1 mile loop between the two falls. Note to self: proper footwear next time. Of course, I only packed for city walking. Did not expect that we would be going there, but I'm so glad we did.

We started heading back up toward Seattle before lunch, stopping at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on the way home. That was more for Marcus's benefit, as he's an avid birdwatcher, but I saw a beaver and a river otter, so I'm not complaining.

So was that enough to do in 2 days? I think so. Whew.

Pictures here