The blog’s been pretty quiet for the last couple months for some personal reasons. Hopefully I’ll get back into writing a bit more going forward.
Aimee and I used the extended Memorial Day weekend to get out of town for a few days. We started off by driving to Portland on Friday evening where we stayed at the Silver Cloud Inn. This is quickly turning into a favorite hotel when visiting Portland. The hotel is reasonably priced for a Portland hotel, located in a great neighborhood for exploring the city and rooms are spacious and comfortable.
Saturday morning we made the obligatory visit to Portland’s Saturday Market. This is a must-stop if you’ve never been to Portland and even after some 12 years of visiting the market I can still say that a couple hours strolling through the eclectic collection of crafts and people is a unique adventure. Saturday Market is really one of the quintessential Portland experiences with the range of people you’ll encounter. This can be everyone from those protesting the outrage of the month to folks who most likely spend most of their shopping dollar in upscale malls.
Our weekend continued with a drive over to Lincoln City. This isn’t our usual destination on the coast but the late date for planning our trip caused us to try a different hotel. We found a new cozy place called The O’dysius Hotel that will likely be a place we turn to on a future trip. I wrote a Trip Advisor Review because we enjoyed the hotel so much.
Our weekend was relatively quiet with much time spent relaxing at our hotel, walking on the beach and in general taking it easy. We did stroll around at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and made yet another obligatory stop at the visitor’s center of the Tillamook factory. I’m probably not completely objective as I think Wisconsin dairy products are better but here in the northwest, Tillamook is definitely one of the better brands for dairy you can find. The cheddar cheese is especially tasty.
The Oregon coast is one of those places that feels more and more like home each time I visit. The state has done an excellent job at ensuring the public has access to the entire coast. State law mandates that the entire coastline is public land. The beaches run the gambit from flat and sandy stretches that are great for an afternoon stroll to rugged and rocky spots that are more like hiking in the hills just to get access to the water. Numerous state parks and other great hiking stops up and down the coast provide endless opportunities to experience a wide range of nature peppered with the relaxing sound of the ocean close at hand. The relatively unpopulated nature of most cities also means by and large you do not spend all your time fighting crowds. If the saying about home being where the heart is has any truth, then one room in my home is definitely known as the Oregon coast room.
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