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Highway 101 the whole way. Crescent City is close to the Oregon border. The first town of significance, once in
Oregon, is Brookings Harbor – a quaint seaside town. Beyond Brookings starts the Oregon Dunes National
Recreation Area, a large coastal region of sand dunes and its associated flora and fauna. I pulled over at the
Dunes Overlook (photos) – very beautiful here. Beyond the dunes, the coastline is dotted with towns, which used
to be lumber and fishing villages. Now, they are mostly regular small towns and to a greater or lesser extent tourist
havens. I, also, pulled over at the Sea Lion Caves, where there is an outdoor cliff overlook from which you can
see hundreds of sea lions on a rock beach below and there is an indoor cave with hundreds more – definitely
recommended.
I had dinner in the pretty little town of Yachats at the cool, homey, upscale restaurant, La Serre – very good
food. I kept going north along the coast until I reached the town of Lincoln, where I found accommodations at the
Comfort Inn. Once settled, I headed out to explore the nightlife. I found a popular locals bar, where I played a
few games of pool. I did pretty well for someone who has only shot once before in the past few months. I met a
nice guy from Portland, Joe, who owns a chain of Yoga studios there. The atmosphere was casual and friendly.
They had a guy on guitar performing, who was pretty good doing contemporary covers.
Sunday, July 4: Today, I drove from Lincoln City on the coast to Portland, Oregon with a side trip to the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. I had brunch at the Wildflower restaurant in Lincoln City. This
family owned and operated restaurant has a casual country feel and has outdoor and indoor seating areas. The
food and service were both excellent here. The drive inland along Rt. 18 was pretty, but nothing special. I skirted
the edge of downtown Portland on my way to the Columbia River Gorge. I turned off Rt. 84 at Troutdale and
followed the Scenic Highway along the Columbia River and its associated Gorge. This is a very beautiful region of
the country, with its wide river running at the bottom of this glacially created huge gorge. On either side of the
river are pastures, fields of wild flowers and sections of forest. The Multnomah Falls are one highlight as are the
many vistas and overlooks. I turned off the Scenic Highway to go to the top of Larch Mountain, where Sherrard
Point provides an incredible view of the snow capped peaks of at least five large mountains surrounding, including:
Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, etc. It was like a picture postcard on this sunset.
Drove into downtown Portland and found accommodations at the Marriot. I cleaned up, and then went for
dinner at Jakes Grill – very good food. After dinner, I caught the “4th of July” fireworks display. I stood by the
river’s edge and watched a surprisingly impressive display over the river. As expected, it was a mostly family
oriented affair, seemingly decent, nice people and surprisingly diverse ethnically.
Monday, July 5: I went for a walk down by the river and discovered an outdoor music festival happening.
There were two main stages. I hung out and caught a couple performances – a large enthusiastic crowd, all ages
and for a good cause, hunger. I went to the mall to catch Spider Man II – excellent movie, maybe even better
than the first Spidy.
Tuesday, July 6: Day of R&R
Wednesday, July 7: Checked out of my hotel, then drove around downtown familiarizing myself. I saw parts of
the Downtown District, the Pearl District and over the river on Belmont Street, the Belmont District. Portland in
general has a bohemian, natural feel. People are very real, some a little eccentric and some alternative. It was
recommended to go to the Paradise Café in the Belmont District. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a
Vegetarian restaurant.