From WA to OR

Depoe Bay in Oregon. more pics

Woke up at 5:00 am. Yup, that's way too early for me. Packed for almost two hours. Showered, had breakfast, and started loading the car. By 7:45, I was off.

For some reason, in the Seattle area, traffic is normally lighter on Friday mornings than on other workday mornings. And it seemed even lighter this holiday weekend. There were still a lot of cars, but it was flowing easily. Just a little slowdown around the 70th Street exit in Kirkland. But when I hit I-5 in SeaTac, the traffic was crawling. There were two accidents. After those, it was easy going again.

I planned my drive a couple of nights ago and reserved a room in Reedsport, OR. I figured, I could get off I-5 around Olympia and head west then follow Hwy 101 all the way down to San Rafael, CA. But since I packed at the last minute, I thought I'd play it by ear. If I was too tired or if the traffic was so bad, I'd just take I-5 all the way down.

But it was still early (around 8:30) when I got to Olympia, so I decided to head west on WA-8, which became I-12, which took me to Hwy 101, which is all but a two-lane road.

Tips:

• Always be alert for signs. I-101 does not always go straight through a town.
• I-101 goes through a LOT of little towns.
• Don't bother with cruise control. The speed limit changes from 55 down to 25 and back up to 55 within a couple of minutes.
• Lots of curves. Some sharp, so pay attention to the yellow speed signs too.
• For those with a small bladder, I only saw one rest area.
• Troy was the first one who told me this: In Oregon, all gas stations are full-service stations -- by law. I can't remember if you get fined if you pump your own gas....
• I saw a number of long-distance cyclists. Their bikes were loaded with panniers, saddlebags, and some even had backpacks on.
• Motorbikes were surprisingly few, but three-wheeled motorbikes (or fancy shiny ATVs) seem to be very popular in these parts.

Things to see:

• As you get on WA-8, there are large-than-life metal scuptures of bulls, cows, and veal, er, baby cows.
• In the town of Raymond, they put up rusted metal cutouts of deer, horses, wolves, people, etc. all over town.
• Columbia River bridge is the first of many cool bridges.
• There are also a few tunnels.
• Rockaway Beach is one of the nice artsy little towns.
• Lake Lytle is a little lake. :-)
• Lots of scenic view turnouts. Usually, if you miss one, there's another a few yards away.

I got to the hotel around 5:30, took a short nap, then went for dinner at Bedrock's Pizza, Chowder House and Grill. Great chowder.

I'm going to try to spend a little time on the beach tomorrow before heading out. And maybe take more pics.