Journey Overview

I've been working a lot the past few months and was developing a tech version of "cabin fever". So I wanted to (read "needed to") get away, by myself, for a few weeks. Where to go?

Well, I didn't want to go too far on this trip so Washington & Oregon states seemed like great destinations. Plus, there were certain parts of Oregon that I'd never seen before and decided to incorporate them into an interesting driving trip.

My June 17th departure was timed to coincide with a longtime friend from Chicago, Melissa, visiting her sister's family in Seattle. So I rented a car that afternoon, drove down to the Emerald City and stayed there over the weekend.

Then on Monday, June 22nd, I ventured out on my own southeast on I-90, and then south on Highway 97 through Yakima, Washington and Bend, Oregon, as far south as Klamath Falls.

The major destination down there was Crater Lake, which I had flown over many times but never visited in person. After that I negotiated a path out to the beautiful Oregon Coast, stopping off at the Oregon Caves National Monument, which I later realized I had last visited almost precisely 25 years ago.

Then I headed up the Oregon Coast and just north of Lincoln City cut inland to McMinnville to see Howard Hughes' infamous Spruce Goose airplane. After that I spent a few days in Metro Portland visiting two sets of friends and finally returned to Seattle before returning home to Vancouver this morning.

Except for cold, foggy weather along much of the Oregon Coast, it was an amazing journey. In total I drove 3,500 km, with 2,000 of that over the 5-day period of June 22 - 26. Not the kind of trip that everyone likes but I enjoyed it immensely, especially the freedom to not be on anyone's schedule but mine, and to see what *I* wanted to see, at the pace that I was comfortable with.