Weekend 101

Every time I arrive in the US I feel like I automatically put on 10 kilos without eating a single thing. This time I think I actually did put on 10 kilos but I can explain… and it’s not pretty, but my goodness it was delicious.

So last weekend Steve and I ventured to Oregon for our mini Easter break. We had four days off so we took the opportunity to fly to Portland and drive the north & central Oregon coast before spending our final day and night exploring Portland city itself. It had been a while since our last trip so we were getting itchy feet and we were both keen to get away from what has been a very slow start to spring in Vancouver.

Rather amusing was the fact that prior to our trip when Steven and I both mentioned our weekend Portland trip to separate Canadians (me to a colleague and Steve to a lady at the bank), we were met with the same confused stares and inevitable question -

Crazy Canadian: “Really? Just for the weekend? That’s such a long way to go just for the weekend…”

Our individual responses were similar –

Steve/Me: “Yeah – is that weird? It’s only an hour and a half on the plane – what’s so strange about that?”

Through further questioning we eventually discovered it was yet another ‘lost in translation’ moment –

Crazy Canadian: “Um, what? Poland is more than an hour and a half away” Steve/Me: “No you Crazy Canadian, we’re going to Portland, not Poland”.

If you’re anything like Steven himself (or anyone we had previously mentioned Portland to), you’re probably asking yourself why on Earth we’d want to go to Portland. Mostly, I guess, because it’s one of the lesser-known US cities. Portland, however, is significant (to me, at least) for three reasons – it’s the birthplace of Nike (formerly Blue Ribbon Sports for all you trivia buffs), the current base for one of my favourite indie bands ‘The Shins’ and you can shop here sales-tax free! If those were not already enough reasons for us both to want to visit, the Oregon coast is one of the most scenic coastlines, consistently featuring on the to-do lists of travelers everywhere. Also, we both figured we’d never have visited Portland, or anywhere in Oregon, if we weren’t living an hour and a half plane flight away, so, "when in Rome Vancouver"… as they say! Driving along Highway 101, even for three short days, was an amazing experience, made even more amazing (and a hell of a lot less stressful) with the assistance of a GPS.

To briefly afford GPS the credit it deserves – I can shamefully confirm that within the first 15 minutes of our car trip GPS proved to be worth its weight in gold when we got lost trying to get ourselves from the car rental station to the highway and ended up taking a mini tour through Portland city. “Recalculating” is not a word you ever want your GPS to announce.  Not once, let alone three times in a row.  Needless to say GPS was a welcomed third participant on our road trip and after I came to embrace her, she certainly saved my butt more than once.

Once we’d made it to Highway 101 relatively unscathed, our road trip began. Our first stop was for snacks at a local convenience store boasting over 60 varieties of jerky. Well, we couldn’t say no. Following recent road trips of late, jerky has proved itself to be an essential travel item. Tell me, what is more appetizing than shriveled, dried meat in a bag?

We also stumbled across this little gem ...

Cooterville - Rob's local hangout.

Other than this, the initial morning of driving was fairly uneventful, minus our 20 minute argument over lichen and whether it is the green fuzz that grows on trees in areas of particularly clean air or whether it’s another name for a werewolf (actually spelled 'Liken'). I’ll leave it up to the imagination as to whose guess was whose.

Our first ‘official’ stop along the coast was at a town by the name of Seaside. Seaside was an interesting place to say the least. A breeding ground for US white trash. Too harsh? A mini-novelty town (bumper cars, arcade games, 7 trillion ice cream and fudge stores) more suitable for pre-teens than road-tripping 20 something’s. Nevertheless it was nice to finally see the Pacific Ocean again, even though we were both in considerably more clothing at the beach than ever before.

With the GPS thankfully doing the navigating and Steven doing the driving, I was relegated to the role of radio coordinator. I can’t say I was supremely awesome at this job either but fortunately the local radio stations handled the pressure quite well and in the end, I can’t say I could’ve prepared a better US road trip compilation myself – the Eagles, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Elton John, Creedence, U2 (before they were annoying), Steppenwolf, Fleetwood Mac, the Beach Boys, the Doors … I was in heaven. Steven enjoyed it for the most part but just to be sure I threw in a little Matchbox 20 and Beyoncé every now and then! Sadly towards the end of our road trip Steve worked out he could also change the radio using a control on the steering wheel, so my job was eventually made redundant. I had fun while it lasted.

Our first night stop was at a small town called Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach was absolutely gorgeous and we really enjoyed the short time we had here. It was very tiny and laid back. On Friday afternoon we walked along the beach, took a million photos of the famous Haystack Rock (protected as a marine sanctuary) and were officially reunited with the Pacific Ocean. I can’t say the circumstances were particularly familiar – we were rugged up and wearing sneakers (I can’t quite believe it myself – yes, we’re the dorks who wear sneakers on the beach!).  The afternoon was made complete by a momentous event – I saw my first wild sea otter! Thankfully, my Cannon camera laden companion made sure we had enough photos to make an entire album dedicated to the unassuming otter. Our accommodation was at a place called “Inn at Cannon Beach” – a gorgeous little inn just outside the main “town” area, and they reeled us in with freshly baked cookies and sealed the deal with homemade saltwater taffy. Sadly, our first attempt to locate delicious, fresh seafood (you wouldn’t think this would be hard – along the coast, after all) ended in ultimate failure with dinner at the local pub (drenched in sauces and fried to the nines).

Haystack Rock - Cannon Beach.

This is Steven. My "special" fiance...

This seagul totally posed for the camera ... we have quite a few shots of him (or her).

Sea otter - posing for the camera.

Reuniting with the Pacific Ocean. Yes, it was FREEZING!

Inn at Cannon Beach - our gorgeous accommodation.

More of 'Inn at Cannon Beach'.

Chilling out at the local pub with a local beer after a hard afternoon of beachcombing (we actually found $75!)

Cannon Beach sunset.

On Saturday morning we woke and made our way to Ecola State Park. Here we took some really beautiful photos of the coastline (like good little tourists) and then embarked on a “treacherous” 2.5 mile trail to Indian Beach  - perhaps I’m slightly exaggerating the treacherousness of the hike, but it was definitely mud-pits galore! We spent some time beach combing and then made our way back – this time we followed the road through the forest and decided never to do that again!

Views of the Pacific Ocean from Ecola State Park.

More views.

Steven "Bear Grylls" Wehlow navigates the treacherous mud pits!

Indian Beach.

Angry ocean.

Calm, beautiful ocean. (Indian Beach).

Canadian sun-baking.

After our morning hike we headed off down the 101 on our way to our next night stop – Yachats. Along the way we made several stops – none more eventful than our trip to Tillamook cheese factory where we indulged in super creamy ice-cream and shared a grilled cheese sandwich. Now, this may not seem so interesting, but when you have a five-minute argument with the lady at the counter over wanting to JUST BUY THE SANDWICH – NO SIDES!! – she simply couldn’t get her head around the fact that we just wanted to purchase one grilled cheese sandwich - no tater tots, no fries, no chips …

We also stopped off at Depoe Bay (supposedly great for whale watching but sadly we saw none) and Newport (nothing much here but a considerably larger town than many others along the coast) before finally arriving at Yachats (pronounced “Yah-hots”). Unfortunately I hadn’t noticed this in my little guide book earlier so before we left Vancouver Steven was telling people at his work he was going to “Yack-cats” to which some replied with blank stares, and others with eyes full of pity.

Our stay in Yachats was very low-key – it’s a very tiny, laid back, small beach-side community. There was a beautiful little trail along the coastline, which we walked on Saturday afternoon (following the unfortunate incident of me locking myself out of our unit while Steven was in the bathroom which resulted in a very freezing half an hour outside on the porch). Saturday night we again attempted to locate some impressive coast seafood and yet again we were left disappointed. It was then we decided to leave the fresh seafood to Vancouver. On Sunday after a morning run along the seaside trail I dragged a reluctant Steven to breakfast at a local café called The Green Salmon. He was reluctant because it was what some may describe as a hippie/organic breakfast café also offering vegan options (he sulked even more when we arrived and he read the words “tofu veggie breakfast burrito” on the chalkboard). Although he was reluctant at first, he found an egg and turkey breakfast sandwich to satisfy himself and I was in my little hippie element. There was even a local guy playing old tunes on his steel guitar – the place had character and charm and I embraced it. Although he won’t admit it I think Steve came around in the end.

Please, quit stalking me... okay, don't .. I love it. (At Yachats).

Pondering the meaning of life...

After breakfast we made our way to Cape Perpetua for more hiking, great views and a plethora of photo opportunities. All in all we were so lucky with the weather for our entire trip – not one rainy day, just beautiful, clear blue skies.

Posing on rocks at 'Devil's Churn'.

Brave photographer, Devil's Churn.

A sample of many white wash shots!

Made it to the top! Cape Perpetua.

A view from the Cape Perpetua trail over Highway 101.

Sunday afternoon was spent driving back to Portland and we arrived at about 4pm. Once we’d checked in to our hotel in the central downtown area we headed out to wander around the city. Unfortunately because it was Easter Sunday many of the shops were closed and the city was very scarce (tumbleweed would not have been out of place here!) - I guess this was good and bad. While we weren’t initially able to do some things, it did give us a good opportunity to take in the character and charm of the city (including a visit to the famous Powell’s Books – the largest independent new and used book store in the world). Portland is a very tiny city with a very cool, unassuming, “hipster” vibe. While it reminds me of Seattle in some respects, I wouldn’t do it the injustice of lumping the flaws of Seattle on it. If Seattle is the angry, brooding, grungy teenager full of angst, Portland is the funky, effortless, sweet, alternative younger sibling. It’s very trendy, but not in a pretentious way.  And if it had an official song it’d totally be a Shins song. I must say I felt like a bit of a “Real Housewife” when I was there – the majority of Portland-ites we encountered were quite alternative and there I was in my most "alternative" get-up – jeans and converse sneakers! I really loved the simplicity and character of the city – it certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Portland - a little city scape.

Portland scenery - along the river (to the right).

More Portland city scenery.

On Sunday night we treated ourselves to Easter dinner at a local restaurant (recommended by Kristen & Alex – thanks guys!) called Clyde Common (http://www.clydecommon.com/) . At first we were both a little dubious about this idea of “common eating” – we were both not feeling particularly social – but we decided to give it a go and I am so glad we did. Just when we’d almost lost faith in American food, we were lucky enough to stumble upon this gem and it ended up being quite a big night full of delicious (fresh) food and tasty proper cocktails (not the “fairy” cruise kind).  Steve made sure he tested the skills of the bartender and I made sure I stuck to my two-drink limit or else I wouldn’t have made it home.  I don’t think Steven was too sure about Portland at first but I’m pretty sure Clyde Common (and more specifically, the impressive cocktails supplied) really sealed the deal for him. The fact that they played Nirvana: Unplugged as background dinner music really sealed the deal for me. 

Inside Clyde Common - a view from the top! (we ate upstairs ;-)

Monday morning we woke with slim to no hangovers – win! After a quick (but delicious) breakfast at Kenny & Zeke’s deli (NY style!) and some coffee at Stumptown Coffee (Portland based coffee roasters - really great coffee – and I don’t even like coffee!), we spent the day doing some brief tax free shopping which included visits to Sephora and Nike Town (for the obligatory purchases) and also to Oregon’s university stores – the Beavers and the Ducks – in which Steven took approximately 7 billion hours to decide on which memorabilia to buy, or, more specifically, which cap looked best. Seriously, it was worse than shopping with a girl!

The winning choice! Go Ducks! (P.S it's FRESH Teddy! Just for you!!)

We then headed to Washington State Park and the Japanese Garden which was beautiful and very serene. 

Richard, if you are reading this, look away NOW. 

To top it all off we finished with a mini food tour which included a visit to Voodoo Doughnut (http://voodoodoughnut.com/index.php)(as featured on Man vs. Food!) to sample their famous Maple-Bacon doughnut (!!) and a return to Kenny & Zeke’s (http://www.kennyandzukes.com/) to taste test their NY style deli sandwiches – I have no doubt we ate our respective weights in food during this day. 

Gorgeous Japanese Garden.

I think this was called 'The Zen Garden'.

Japanese Garden scenery.

Waterfall in the Japanese Garden.

Inside the amazing Voodoo Doughnut!

3 donuts ... 2 people... Yeahhh Maths isn't my strong point. Being decisive when it comes to donuts isn't either.

Maple-Bacon Donut ... GET IN MAH BELLY!

So with that we returned the car and I made my sad goodbyes to the GPS. I truly believe she saved my life and probably our engagement!! ;-) We flew in to Vancouver on the Monday evening at about 8pm and were back to the work grind on Tuesday morning. A short, but sweet, scenic and delicious trip!

And then, within 48 hours of returning to BC, I clicked my heels three times, uttered Dorothy’s famous words and boarded a Qantas jet filled with bratty little dance studio kids and their bogan parents (you know, the kind that sport Twilight memorabilia t-shirts, go to Disneyland and end up with carry-on luggage consisting of adult-sized Mickey Mouse ears and giant, novelty sized Chuppa Chups and Mentos tubes) for a fun-filled 17 hour flight … but that’s another story for another day! 

x