There is something interesting about crossing the border from California to Oregon. Somehow it all feels a bit more peaceful. It gets a bit quieter and emptier.
This morning I’m sitting in a coffee place in the town of Astoria, in the most northern part of Oregon, right under Washington. Just after sunrise I crossed the large bridge which connects both states. It’s such a long bridge that it actually takes more than five minutes driving to cross it. I walked around on the other side for a while before I turned my car and drove back into Oregon. I had found a coffee place on the map that’s located at one of the piers by the waterside called Sleeper Coffee. If you’re ever in the area, make sure you stop there for a moment. The coffee is great, the baristas are super friendly and it has a beautiful view of the Columbia River, very peaceful. On the other side of the river you can see the mountains of Washington and in the water are large container ships laying dormant. There are some ducks and few birds flying by and reflections of the sun shimmer in the water. In the background plays some slow rock music and I’m enjoying the moment.
I’ve driven a lot in the past two days, all the way from California through Oregon. About 12 hours and 580 miles in two days. I started in Fort Bragg where I went on the self-proclaimed world famous Skunk train. It’s a fun short train ride into the Redwoods. I love train rides and even though this one was quite short (about 40 minutes round trip) it was still fun, because it went through a beautiful area.
I had to stop writing for a moment, because some guys outside the coffee place are standing on the pier blowing gigantic bubbles. It’s a beautiful sight and just makes this place even more special. I feel like I’m in a movie or a dream.
Where was I? Oh yeah the train ride. That was a fun thing to do and when I was back in Fort Bragg I continued following highway 101 up North. It’s one of the most beautiful roads in the US I think. It’s winding along the Pacific Ocean and especially the coast in Oregon is very beautiful. You can’t drive so fast, but that’s also not the point. It’s just beautiful to drive through the coastal landscape. I make sure to drive via the Avenue of Giants, which is a beautiful road through the redwoods, in between all the enormous trees. I stop there for a while to hang out with the giants.
Another beautiful thing about driving in Oregon is that they have many beautiful bridges. I cross several of them on my way north.
The first day I drive up to Crescent City where I find a Walmart to camp for the night. There are two camper vans (RV’s) parked already, so that’s a sign that this is a good place to stay for the night. The next day I drive about 45 minutes until I’m at Secret Beach. There are no signs by the road for this place, bit you can find it on the map. It’s a beautiful hidden beach that a local told me about years ago. There is only a small space to park and then you have to hike down through some kind of rainforest jungle until you see the big rocks in the water, next to the beach. I’m there just by myself, but want to take some cool pictures. I find a handy app called Photo Timer+ which allows you to set a timer to take a picture after a minute. That gives me enough time to climb on the rocks in the distance to take some nice pictures of me standing in the scenery.
I walk at the beach and only see a few people there. But there is no one who climbs the rocks there like I do. Being on top of the rocks gives a great view of the coast and the beaches.
In the mean time, there are still bubbles flowing by while I’m writing this story. I talk with one of the baristas and she tells me they do this sometimes for hours. I wonder out loud why they do it. “Because they love doing it”, the barista replies. “Sometimes they even dress up for it, standing in suits, blowing bubbles.” Isn’t that amazing?
After I hiked and walked at the secret beach yesterday I just kept on driving the rest of the day. The plan was first to camp somewhere near Cannon Beach, but it’s so crowded there without a good place to camp that I continued driving until I find a big Walmart again in the town of Warrenton. Again there is already a camper van standing at the parking and I find myself a good place to park as well. I put the curtains up (read: tape towels in front of the windows, a great way to turn the car into a bedroom) and have dinner at a Wendy’s restaurant next door.
Just like the past two days I wake up around 6am again. So these days I’m not an active member of the 5am club, but I guess I needed a bit more sleep with all the driving. The drive from Warrenton to Astoria is beautiful. It crosses a bridge which is covered in mist. It’s still quiet on the road and it’s very peaceful. I cross the bridge to Washington like I told at the beginning of this story, fill up my car at a gas station and that brings us to this moment. Reading and writing at Sleeper Coffee. I like starting my day with coffee and a book and a journal or laptop to write. It’s only 9am now and I still have a whole day ahead of me. The coffee place is slowly getting bussier and I’m getting hungry, so I think I’ll return to my car soon for breakfast and to see more of the area. I plan on not doing so much driving today and taking it a bit easy. After all, it’s Sunday, the day of rest. I’m enjoying the beautiful view over the water, the bubbles flowing by, and of course the coffee. I’m happy to be in Oregon.
