Blogs from Oregon, United States, North America - page 22

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North America » United States » Oregon » Salem September 18th 2015

Geo: 44.9332, -123.043We rose at 4:00 AM to get ready for our 5:00 AM taxi to the airport for a 7:15 AM flight on our Granada-Madrid-Dallas/Ft. Worth-PDX trip home.24 hours from takeoff, we'd be back in Oregon, doggies in our arms, and arriving home in Salem.It's always great to be home!What did we enjoy and learn on this trip?1. The people of Spain are warm, friendly, inviting, and for the most part accepting of those with limited Spanish language skills.2. The trains in Spain, as well as the cities' Metro systems, are fabulous ways to travel, comfortable, efficient, affordable, fast, and always on-time. The US and US cities have missed so many opportunities to build trains into our transportation infrastructure.3. The food in Spain is delicioso, even for people like us who navigate around red meat. ... read more

North America » United States » Oregon » Crater Lake September 9th 2015

So after Vicks said in the last blog about how lucky we were with the weather, this seemed to upset the Gods that night and it properly peed it down. Absolute buckets. The tent stood up to it but we got very little sleep. We left Olympic NP very early (still raining) and headed down towards the coast of Oregon. I was pretty excited as we were going to stop in Astoria to see The Goonies house. We were running low on cash and decided to pull in at a drive through ATM in a pretty bleak looking place, called Aberdeen, only for our card not to work. It got worse too, we spent 50mins on hold to Halifax to get the card working only to get cut off. Anyway we decided we should sort it ... read more
Happy with saltwater taffy at Seaside
Cannon Beach
Oregon coast

North America » United States » Oregon » Portland September 8th 2015

Geo: 45.5872, -122.582Greetings from the kitchen table at the Bednarek homestead in Salem, Oregon, two days before we leave for Spain, setting up the blog for our trip, getting it up and running, configuring e-mail alerts, and coming to grips with how much more there is to do to get ready.Our bags are stacked to overflow, so there's some narrowing down and decision making to do, such as how many undies to pack and whether or not to plan on laundry in the sink. Also, we've got Spain train passes but no specific trips reserved, as well as two nights in Granada at the end of the trip but no tickets into the Alhambra yet. I'm finding that Spanish web sites are hard to navigate and quick to reject foreign credit cards, so a lot of ... read more
Map of Spain

North America » United States » Oregon » Burns September 1st 2015

blog 09-01-15 New Month and a New Direction The weather reflected my mood. It was raining and overcast, foggy, the kind of day you would envision for the North West. My mood wasn't all that glum, I do have mixed feelings though. I'm starting the return trip today and I'm looking forward to seeing relatives along the way and going to the cousin reunion in Indiana will be a hoot. But it's so exciting heading west, in my mind anyway, I hate to see the adventure come to an end. I took a little different route to Portland than I have been using as I would be involved in rush hours that are notoriously bad. There was enough fun for me in Portland the last time I was there so I went south on 101 along ... read more
typical Northwest
the mouth of the Columbia with the bridge in the background
log trucks everywhere-boy are these guys good drivers!

North America » United States » Oregon » Astoria August 30th 2015

Eco Tour I was up bright and early today, it's an eco tour day. Megan and I tried to get a boat ride while she was here but the one outfit not fishing was booked. So I called him yesterday and he had one spot left for the morning. I had to be in Astoria by 9 am so I would have to leave here by 8:15am. I dragged Oscar out of bed and took him for a quick walk then headed south. I had to go over the big bridge again but thankfully this time the wind had let up and was not a factor. I arrived at the docks on time, found the skipper, Chris, and we headed out of the marina and under the big bridge. Different looking at it from this angle, ... read more
the docks
out of the marina
the now famous big bridge- it's 4 miles long

North America » United States » Oregon August 30th 2015

We left Hood River in the rain this morning, great for them; not so much for us. We turned off the interstate after 15 minutes into the historic and scenic highway 14 which proved to be very windy and windy ?. This route took us through lots of little towns and the rain soon subsided. We stopped at Heppner for a coffee and got talking to a couple of other guys on bikes, one was from Christchurch! We told them of our trip (and our great service at BMW Seattle - they commented Seattke is possibly the best dealer in the U.S.) and they recommended some good routes and detours around wildfires. We saw them once again at a fuel stop but they were travelling a bit hotter than us. Once we turned off to Ukiah ... read more
Baker City
Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon

North America » United States » Oregon » Hood River August 29th 2015

Woke up this morning to a drizzly Washington day, it's the first time since I've started where I just didn't feel like kitting up to ride out. Anyhoo, I put on my big girl pants and went for a strong coffee and felt much better. Our first point of interest to visit today was Mt Ranier. Although the summit had a misty cape we were still able to appreciate the fantastic windy road into Paradise (the name of the small village there) and the stunning national park surrounds. I listen to a random mix through my helmet via spotify and thought it ironic (although perhaps not entirely fitting) that G 'n' Rs Paradise City came through my helmet as I came into Paradise! It was great to get away from the clogged and sluggish arteries of ... read more
Eatonville
Ashford
Fee collection booth for NP

North America » United States » Oregon » Portland August 19th 2015

I tried to sleep-in on my last morning in my nice river side hotel room, but it was no use. Two weeks of getting up early and doing stuff did not allow it. At least I may be able to get up early for work on Friday. I spent as much time in and around the hotel complex as I could, with a noon check out, I left at 11:59 and 59 seconds. I walked the two miles to Union Station in Portland stopping at a few spots along the way to have a pint. I hit up Kells - Portland and found out they have session dancing on Sundays. Why can't our Kells be so culturally aware? I got my sleeper car assignment on the Coast Starlight headed home. Waterside once again... That's three for ... read more
Why no Session Dancing on Early Wednesday Afternoon?
Hotel View
Hotel - Pano Shot

North America » United States » Oregon » Portland August 18th 2015

Well the worst thing to happen to me on this trip occurred on this day in Portland. Hair of the Dog Brewing was closed on Tuesday, August 18th for remodeling. One day remodel. Today. I get that if that is the worst thing that happens on your vacation you are pretty lucky, but hey, this is Hair off the Dog. For those that went to Hair on my birthday trip, you know I love this place and have visited it on every trip I have ever made to the Rose City. I could try and get there before I catch my train tomorrow, but we will see. Who does a one-day remodel? These guys had heavy duty circular saws and everything. In California, that is a two-week job with a union shop steward on-site! ;-P My ... read more
Base Camp

North America » United States » Oregon » Otter Rock August 18th 2015

This leg of the trip was less about cities and more about the wild scenery of the west coast and redwood forests. 18 Aug - Vancouver,was to Lincoln City, Otter Rock, Newport (including the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Mo's Clam Chowder) and spent the night in Florence. 19 Aug - Darlingtonia St Park and the fly trap like plants, Hineyman Memorial State Park and Oregon Dunes, Coos Bay, Bookings and spent the night in Crescent City with the barking sea lions. 20 Aug - Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, Trees of Mystery (including Babe the Blue Ox and Paul Bunyan), Eureka and its historic town centre and spent the night in Ferndale. 21 Aug - Humbolt Redwood State Park, to San Fransico. Highlights: 1. No homeless people to be seen. 2. Driving and riding in a ... read more
Depoe Bay
Otter Rock - Devils Punchbowl
Otter Rock




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