The Oregon Coast

Day 21: July 17, 2009 – Crater Lake National Park to Portland, OR
Mmm…Thai

We awoke to a similar symphony as the one which put us to sleep, not a bad way to start the day. In truth, the day held little excitement. We chose to drive the long way to Portland which meant driving west past the interstate and then heading north on the 101 up the Oregon Coast. We enjoyed driving through quaint beachside towns complete with crab shacks, myrtle wood specialty stores, beach turn-offs, and every other matter of tourist and beach-themed shop necessary (or semi-necessary…or unnecessary).

We pulled over to one scenic view point but because of fog where unable to get any stellar photos or see and amazing sights like starfish eating seagulls. It’d been awhile since our last ice cream stop, so we did at one point pull over to enhance our drive with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Malt and Fudge Brownie Shake. With ice cream entering our systems we continued on our way up the coast and east toward Portland where things did get a bit more exciting.

In Portland, we met up with previous CouchSurfing guests of ours. Early May, Jay and Lisa had been on their way from east to west and found themselves crashing our hide-a-bed after enjoying a tour of Laramie and a game of Catan. Unfortunately, they had left their favorite cooler in our home. “Have no fear!” we said, we’ll be in the area soon enough. So, we entered Portland with the grand mission of returning the cooler and added bonus of having a couch to surf.

Having made our way to their Portland home we were invited to walk down town and enjoy some Thai cuisine. By foot, we made our way first to an old Elementary School which had been re-modeled and now serves as a hotel, various bars, restaurants, a theater, and a swimming are! Our hosts informed us that some local brothers have made it their business to purchase old, decrepit schools, churches, etc. and “re-cycle” them into something functional. We were greatly impressed by the artwork within and the appearance of the building as a whole.

From Kennedy Elementary School to Thai Noon we enjoyed the house curry with further strolling after the meal. Back in Lisa and Jay’s home we slowly made our way to bed after watching some television and working on contacting potential CouchSurfing hosts.