I Love Oregon!

We’ve spent the last few days in Oregon. I had a feeling about this state long before we got here. It’s been calling my name for years, ever since I did a major project on the Oregon Trail in my masters program. “Emily, come visit! You will like me, and I will like you.” It’s true, I am in love. I love this state, everything about it.


We started off by exploring the coast. We came in to Astoria, Oregon from Washington. You may remember the cute town of Astoria from the classic movie “The Goonies” which was filmed in Astoria in 1985. Just down the coast from Astoria are some of the most picturesque beach towns I’ve ever seen. We spent the day in the town of Cannon, home of the famous “Haystack Rock”, which I think made an appearance in Goonies. Cannon has a fabulous state park called Ecola. We spent hours lounging on the beach in Ecola before making our way to Portland for the night.


According to our map, we had a number of camping options for the night along the mountain pass to Portland, but to our dismay, all of the campgrounds were closed for the season. We ended up at a Marriot at the airport in Portland at 11:00 at night. I was deemed a “distressed traveler” by the kind woman, Nikia, at the front desk and got a fantastic suite for $75. We enjoyed our night in the lap of luxury, plus the complimentary hot breakfast the next morning. Thank you Nikia! You saved the day!

Our exploration of Portland led us to the Japanese garden to the west of the city. As I told Gideon, the garden worked on me. I felt serene and at one with nature after our visit. I think I might need a Japanese garden in my backyard some day so I can feel serene and peaceful more often. I’ll probably have to get a backyard first. And a home.


We explored Portland’s “experimental” rose garden. Who knew Portland was “The Rose City”? Not me. I’m not really a huge fan of roses, but I was a huge fan of this colorful, abundant garden.


Our next stop was the famous bookstore “Powell’s”. Powell’s takes up an entire city block in Portland and is divided into endless rooms of books. Gideon and I could have easily spent the entire day exploring this book-lover’s paradise, but we limited ourselves to an hour and a half. After Powell’s we grabbed some sushi and headed to the waterfront to eat lunch and enjoy people watching. Believe me, there are definitely some interesting folks worth keeping an eye on in Portland. We were entertained, to say the least.

Our next destination was Bend, Oregon. Now, this is a town I can see us moving to. It has a great downtown area along the Deschutes River. One of my favorite aspects of Bend are the uber-cute Craftsman houses surrounding the town. Unfortunately, everyone else who visits Bend is crazy about it too, and there are few jobs available for those who want to move to Bend. We toured the Deschutes Brewery and they are looking for a few new brewers... I think Gideon would love that! As for me, I’m sure there’s something I could teach someone in Bend.

Another great thing about the Bend area is the great variety of outdoor activities in the area. We were encouraged by some friends to hike South Sister, the third highest mountain peak in Oregon at 10,365 feet. Now, I don’t know about you, but this hike sounded more like a “climb” to me. I was nervous about the idea, particularly because it had snowed seven inches in Bend a few days earlier. I decided to do some research online about the hike. Most of the articles and reviews I read started off saying something like, “If you’re crazy enough to climb South Sister, make sure you start before the sun comes up...” Yikes. Oh, but Gideon was set on doing the hike. We camped, or rather slept in the car at the trail head the night before so we could get an early start on the 12.5 mile hike. We hit the trail bright and early, slipping and sliding alternatively on snow and ice for the first few miles through the woods. Once we emerged from the woods and onto the sub-alpine plain, we ran into the first three of seven hikers we would see all day. These three folks had made it to the summit the day before and were on their way down after camping in the area the night before. I don’t know why, but talking to people who had just climbed the mountain made all the difference for me, kind of a “if they can do it, I can do it” change of heart. I didn’t have any more doubts from then on. Okay, that’s a lie. I had some serious doubts a few hours later after hours of climbing straight up the mountainside on volcanic scree. As my heart was pounding out of my chest and I started getting wheezy, I had a doubt or two. As my legs shook and I fought a bought or two of vertigo, I had a doubt. As we lost the trail in the snow time and time again, I had a few doubts.


But I kept on climbing, and climbing. And climbing. And somehow, I made it to the top with a BIG smile on my face.

The top of the mountain is a big volcanic crater, so once at the top we had to scramble along the rim for thirty more minutes to get to the actual summit. It was freezing on the top of the mountain, so we bundled up and moved quickly. We took in the million dollar view of the mountains, volcanoes and lakes that went on forever, snapped many pictures, ate a quick lunch and beat it around the rim to head down. The climb down was challenging, as we were constantly trying to find the trail as we were slipping and sliding down the scree. We made it back to the car about ten and a half hours after leaving that morning, thoroughly worn out and entirely impressed with ourselves.


Three hours later, we were at our next destination, Eugene, Oregon to visit with a good high school friend of Gideon’s, Shannon, and her husband, Sean. Did I mention they were the ones who suggested we hike South Sister? To call them a lovely couple sounds cliché, but they really are. Look at the picture below! Have you ever seen a lovelier two? Shannon and Sean were wonderful hosts, showing us around their funky town and letting us sleep on their fantastic futon. We ate our way through Eugene. From homemade pizza at Shannon and Sean’s, to berry-slathered French toast, sandwiches, eggplant parmesan, and downright sinful desserts at various restaurants in town, we beefed up for the winter in under two days. We also drank our way through town. Oregon has more than its fair share of microbreweries, which Shannon and Sean know well. They shared their beer with Gideon. I don’t really do beer, so Shannon took us on a tour of nearby wineries (poor Sean had to work on his dissertation). Oh, Shannon, my new BFF. How can I not love someone who takes me to taste numerous wines? Our favorite winery was Silvan Ridge, where I was crazy about all seven wines I tried.


Before leaving Eugene, Shannon suggested that we stay for Saturday Market, a farmer’s market/craft market that happens weekly in Eugene. I wasn’t one to argue against spending a few hours shopping and eating. Oh man. What an experience. Eugene’s Saturday Market is something that may happen once a year in your average East Coast town. It’s huge, packed with the most beautiful produce, artful crafts, scrumptious food stands, and wonderfully wacky people. (Side note: Eugene’s recent motto is “Strange we can believe in.” I love it!) Gideon and I got some fresh strawberries, apple cider and albacore tuna for the road and said goodbye to our wonderful hosts. Thanks for sharing your fabulous town with us, Shannon and Sean! We loved Eugene!


Off to California!