It was a rolling holiday; wheels, hills, miles, and waves.
Five hundred mile power drive south, six hundred mile meander back.
Oh my, I am not as young as I used to be. The long haul was okay driving it, but when I tried to get out of the car and walk. Oh my.
Breakfast with Lynn at our favorite Patty's Egg Nest was a great start to an adventure. Driving I-5 we were wowed by Mount St Helen's, Portland, and my how Portland has changed in forty years. Miles and miles and miles of rose bushes lining the center median. Miles of rose bushes in bloom. Portland has some highways as scary as Dallas. Luckily on this trip we were just passing through all bug-eyed at the beauty, buildings, roses, rivers, bridges -- we will be back.
At a rest stop on the way to Roseberg a man tried to put his two dogs in the back seat of his car and was surprised to find Brittany sitting there. Well, Brittany was a mite surprised also even though she loves dogs. He sensed the error of his ways and backed off before he embarrassed himself too much.
In Roseberg we discovered Dutch Bros Coffee Hut and enjoyed our delicious coffee before continuing our southern run, before we realized Dutch Bros has a hut everywhere. Roseberg is where I woke up in the middle of the night and looked over at three lumps in three beds and christened us the three sleeping beauties. We laughed, talked and let Brittany ask all the stupid questions she wanted that usually Jean and I were too stupid to know the answer. I gotta get smarter before I travel with Brittany again.
Grant's Pass Oregon where I was going to go around the block to get a better angle for a photograph and wound up going the wrong way on a one way street and the whole damn town saw it. Cars and bikers were frantically waving their arms trying to get me to stop, and the guy in the gas station wagged his finger at me. No, not that finger, a friendly "you goofed" finger. I gassed up and got out of town fast. If you go to Grants Pass don't tell them you know me, I'm never going back.
On towards the Redwood Highway. Oh my, that is a scenic highway worth "oh my-ing." It drops 1900 feet in its twisty, turny, cliffy, rocky, eighty-nine miles to the sea. We wandered through the Redwoods Jedediah Smith State Park and whispered it was so quiet, church like, serene, and ethereal. Brittany took some stunning photographs. Our California portion ended at Perlita's with a mediocre lunch and The Java Hut with a fantastic "oh my" berrilicious drink. I think Brittany had a Milk and Cookies Frappe. Me? I always get the same boring latte.
California cruising, Oregon strolling.
Finally we are started up the Oregon coast. The point of the whole trip. There are many little scenic overlooks. Many many many scenic overlooks. Oh my. And we saw them all except for the ones you needed four-wheel drive to get down, or up as the case may be. We gaped at the Sebastian overlook. Saw a uni-cycle climbing the hills out in the middle of nowhere. Had ice cream in Port Orford. Admired houses, bays, boats, sky, water, rocks, forest, oh my-ing the whole distance.
Our biggest surprise was happening upon the tall ships in Coos Bay. There they were, there was a parking spot along the hellaciously busy highway, and there we were gawking. Jean says, "I think they are getting ready to sail," and they were, so we gawked some more, Brittany got some more great photographs. Oh my, you don't often get to see two tall ships sail away.
Gold Beach -- seals, Bandon -- old town, Yachats -- Bread and Roses Bakery, dunes -- everywhere. At one too sudden stop to let some fast cars pass me by Jean saw a big yawning hole and thought her life was ending, or at least going to be damaged. I'm not sure she has forgiven me yet. However, I stopped, the cars passed, and we continued on our gentle way to Florence and spent the night at the magnificent Driftwood Shores Resort. That place would mellow out anyone.
Brittany found it via her smartphone skills, it was miles off Highway 101, and we all fell in love. I commented how I now had a $200.00 dollar a day habit. Just feet to the beach, we listened to the surf all night long. Is there a sound anywhere more soothing? Brittany said even the roll-a-way bed was fantastic. Florence is where we saw the mama and her baby ducks cross the road, where we had the legendary Abby's Pizza. Good? yes. Legendary, maybe not so. This is where I saw a toilet where you could choose full or half flush. Oh my, never saw that before. I live such a tiny life.
It was a trip to remember; bicyclers, hikers, and sculptures of seals, seagulls, bears, kissing bears, Sasquatch, caveman, more bears, and more.
Oh my food; berrilicious, myvithra, saganaki, oh my. Oregon hazelnut salted caramel ice cream at Tillamook, Marion-berry Pie, Caramel Crunch coffee. Oh my stuff; Seaside goofiness, Cannon Beach's haystack sea stack.
The Pasta Amore or Perlitas Huaraches or Canada in general not so much "Oh My." In Canada I got lost, turned around, misplaced a highway, stuck in a residential area, starved, twisted and finally talked to another driver in a belligerent tone much to Jean's delight. Yep, I'm getting too old for some adventures.
Starting at Spuds and just about ending with Ivar's for ice cream five days later. It was a fun run.
Oh my it was a trip.
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