Blogs from Oregon, United States, North America - page 109

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North America » United States » Oregon » Portland October 2nd 2008

I've always appreciated the smell of the forest, or after it rains, but I didn't realized until I went to an extremely polluted city that OREGON SMELLS AMAZING. Everywhere smells good, like plants and trees. There were so many times in Cairo that I would have paid a lot just for a breath of fresh air. That's one good thing about the school (AUC) being in the middle of the desert- we don't get the polluted air unless it blows in from downtown. Otherwise the sky above is blue, and you can see in the distance the purpleish-grey haze of pollution hanging over downtown. I went to visit Grandma in the hospital, and the smell was what hit me first. I know that it's very cliche to say that one hates the smell of hospitals, but ... read more

North America » United States » Oregon September 29th 2008

Spent the day driving down the Oregon coast today. The weather was warm, however the fog decided to roll in as well. Pretty bizzare to have warm air and be surrounded in fog. Coastline is very reminicent of the Great Ocean Rd, with steep cliffs' and craggy rock formations. Although it was hard to see because of the fog. The highway is littered with little towns throughout much like the G.O.R., but they are a little more on the quaint and quirky side. The Great Ocean Rd shops are dressed up as run down little sea shanties and worth millions, whereas the one's on the coast here are real run down seaside shanties, and by the looks of them not worth much. There seems to be a lot of real estate and business'/shops for sale, probably ... read more
oregon coast
oregon coast
oregon coast

North America » United States » Oregon » Portland September 29th 2008

It is the first day of school, and I'm in the cafeteria getting a late lunch. So far I've been on campus for 3 hours and all I've done is go to my pilates class. I don't teach until 6PM on Mondays. Sort of sucks, but not the end of the world. Anyway, the only thing open this late in the afternoon in the cafeteria is the grill. I'm sitting there looking at the menu and watching the lady take orders, and call out the finished orders. It takes be backs... She isn't old enough to be June, but this could definitely be The Worx. So the first week of classes went pretty well I think. I managed to have enough lecture notes for all of my classes and almost ran over in several of the ... read more

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria September 28th 2008

Picked up hire car in Seattle today and headed south. Driving in Seattle is like Sydney, skinny narrow streets that are all one way and linked with under and over passes. To make matters worse they all drive on the wrong side of the road!! Every time we go around a corner, i end up driving on the left hand side, not the right. Its the best way to discover that not everyone is friendly. Made it out of the city and made our way to the south of Washington state. The weather here has been hot for the last few days, about 30 deg, and none of Seattles famous wet and drizzly landscapes. Mt Rainer stood out quite visibly. We spent most of the afternoon at Mt St Helens. The whole side of the mount ... read more
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North America » United States » Oregon » Portland September 28th 2008

We're Unemployed . . . Now What?! Here's an update on our post-work, pre-trip reality. After bidding adieu to our law offices, we settled into what we thought would be a relaxing week or so off from work / stress/ life before departing to Indonesia. Unfortunately, the Universe intervened, striking Jub with a thrown-out back the day after he finished work, and a doozy of a cold that started right when his back began getting better. Laying helpless in the hotel bed, he managed to fit in 10 hours of daytime television ("What Not To Wear," anyone?); 1 hour of stretching exercises; 2 hours of doctors' appointments; and 3 hours of miscellaneous errands each day. Anna, on the other hand, busied herself with fretting over the details of packing for life on the road and ... read more
All moved out
Sickypoo
Jub's Last T-Shirt Purchase

North America » United States » Oregon » Crater Lake September 27th 2008

We had read an article about Crater Lake in one of our RV magazines about 8 years ago and had decided definitely to put it on our “bucket list.” Thursday was my day to add to my bucket. I am staying in La Pine which is at + 4000’ elevation. I don’t know what I was expecting, certainly not what I found. The land around the park is very flat so the first thing I saw when I got in was the Pumice Desert. Then I started to climb until my ears started to “pop.” There was a scenic overlook pull in and a lot of people were there so I drove in - then gasped. This has to be one of the most beautiful places in this country. According to the info I received “The ... read more
Downward Flow
First Sight
Rim Village

North America » United States » Oregon September 26th 2008

So i am still hanging at the gypsy cafe, and it has been amazing. this place and these people have been so good to me, and have taught me so much. i have changed a lot since i have been here and feel more connected with myself and mother earth. tomorrow though i will be the first of four wwoofers to journey off in 6 weeks. i am headed to eugene to meet up with a great person (named loren) and do some dancing. i will hitch there tomorrow morning, tonight they are holding a celebration and dinner in my honor (i feel so special!). i have been thinking about it though and i do believe i will come back to the gypsy cafe some time next week, as i will be going south any way ... read more

North America » United States » Oregon » West Coast September 26th 2008

My trip from Ocean Shores to Newport South Beach, Oregon was quite pleasant, although the mist started to roll in as I approached the coast and by the time I had got set up it was quite cool. The next morning was the same so I put on my wind suit and went for a walk on the beach, which is just 150 yards away and was lovely. After a shower I drove into Newport and stopped at the Chamber of Commerce for area information as well as the proverbial “where is Wal-Mart?” Incidentally, local folks frequently apologize that their Wal-Mart isn’t a Wal-Mart Superstore! Sign of the times I guess. The next morning was the same, but I decided that I wasn’t going to sit home for the next ten days so after my beach ... read more
South Beach Coastline
Matter of Time
Breakers

North America » United States » Oregon » Eugene September 25th 2008

Oregon…another time and place. So far we have only visited California and if you measure the US by this then you get a very skewed view of the US. Oregon is a much more relaxed state and the pace of life is not so frenetic. In Eugene, we met up with a chiro friend of Malcolm’s, GL, who put us up on her lounge room floor of which we were really appreciative (far warmer and more comfortable than the tent) We went to this beaut little vegetarian restaurant called ‘Laughing Planet’…our stomachs were really thankful for some light food. I think a franchise of these could do very well in Australia. I was going to catch up with my cousin, Lynette, who also lives, or sometimes lives in Eugene but she, being a person of no ... read more
Bike Friday factory
Multnomah Falls
Malcolm and Lani at Multnomah Falls

North America » United States » Oregon » Portland September 25th 2008

We drove from Northern CA to our house today and had pretty smooth sailing. However, we realized that OSU was playing USC that night in football. Fortunately there is not a lot of traffic from Eugene to Covallis for OSU football games! The traffic in the southbound lane looked pretty bad and we are glad that we're heading north. We got home and unloaded the car. Tomorrow is wash day and then we'll put all the gear away. The trip was a lot of fun but I am glad to be back home in a warm bed. Our favorite things during the trip were climbing the Athabasca glacier and the star gazing in Yosemite. We've got hundreds of additional pictures that we'll be happy to show... just let us know!... read more




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