Next stop Portland

Tuesday 20th July

The last words on Astoria.

What a shock I received when I was about to step out of the car at the gas station to fill up. I opened the door to be greeted by "what'll it be"? They have driveway attendants here and then when I cleaned the car window a hundred apologies were offered for me having to do it! Astoria is most definitely an unknown sparkle in Oregon.

Car filled, it was off to Portland along Highway 30.

And now the first words on Portland - it's way bigger than we ever imagined. Coming in from the north there is a woven thread of concrete highways weaving around the city skyline. Dropping off our bags at the hotel we quickly returned to the car and drove down to the Riverwalk, with a few "recalculatings" by the sat-nav along the way ... and the one word to sum this up is Bridges. They are wonderful structures as the photos show:

There were even more strung out all along the river, but out of reach of our Riverwalk stroll. Cooling water fountains that kids just adored running in and out of (and some adults too), bike hire and an ice-cream vendor pedalling the Riverwalk with cart in tow and heaps and heaps of shufflers and joggers and runners (and those who shouldn't be) and office staff pedalling home from work. Another nicety, we arrived at the car park and were greeted with "you haven't paid yet" and before we could answer into our hands was dropped a parking ticket that lasted till the next day.

And now for dinner.
Our hotel was on the outskirts of the Portland so we took in a local dining hall - the Cafe and Saloon for a Chicken Pot Pie and a Turkey Sandwich with fries.

See, its even balanced, the fries and the salad ... all good!

Seattle to Astoria

Monday 19th July

So now begins the real driving part of the holiday down the west coat of the USA to San Francisco, not taking the fastest route along the interstate but the more leisurely drive down highway 101. We plan to drive no more than about three hours a day so that we can stop and look at any of the interesting sites we discover along the way.

First stop for the night ASTORIA.

Now, a few folks have said "Why drive to Astoria?" Well, why not we say ... especially when it is such a lovely little town, a step back in time that sure seems to run at a slower pace, with that old country feel where everyone makes you feel welcome and the locals know one another. This place is described as the little San Francisco of the north west.

After Jennifer (yes we are using a sat nav to guide our way and it is magical) directed us to the doorsteps of the Hotel Elliot and we off loaded our bags it was time for an afternoon coffee. Being a small town, we noticed that many shops had closed by the time we were ready to nibble and drink. But we did discover the Danish Bakery Maid.

Here hot chocolate (it was too late for us to have an afternoon coffee) comes in make-your-own sachet and the cinnamon scrolls are scrumptious.

and THIS is how we know we are most definitely in country America:

And we absolutely loved how at 5 minutes after the late, late closing time, while we were still there and the floors were being washed Mary entered the store for her daily coffee and pastry and chat. Time stood still, as did the floor cleaning as the coffee and Danish were organised while Mary parked herself at a booth. The friendliness and warmth was fantastic.