Oregon Coast

Our first stop in Oregon was a no brainer.  Portland.  We went straight to Hawthorne Blvd. to refuel our bodies with lunch.  Immediately after lunch some guy sees us and pulls a u-turn to ask about our Cascadia roof top tent.  Even after only a few days on the road this is commonplace.  Bobby should send business cards with every tent, because people ALWAYS ask about it!

We decided to get out of town and find a place to camp in the Tillimook forest.  Too bad all of the dirt roads were gated and the legit campgrounds were closed.  The drive through the rain was enjoyable knowing we had a chance it would dry out by the coast.  Luckily it did and we were able to set up camp near Oceanside in dry weather before dark.

The following days we did what we know best.  We drove south.  These roads were uncharted territory for us by now so it was a pleasure seeing some new towns of the Oregon Coast.  Florence, Newport, and Lincoln City are among our favourites.

Another thing that’s our favourite?  Fred Meyer.  We’re not joking.  Decent organic food for cheap.  Beer and wine for cheap.  Camping gear that we forgot to bring for cheap.  Plus there’s one every 40 miles or so just in case you forget something else.

The rest of our Oregon Coast trip essentially went like this:

1.  Wake up.  Break camp.  Drive.

2.  Stop for gas, cheap coffee, and at Fred Meyer (as mentioned above).

3.  Stop at cool towns along the way for photo ops and rest breaks.

4.  Get tired and decide to stop before dark.

5.  Drive another 10-20 minutes before seeing a state park.

6.  Pay $15 for a state park.  Get free showers, water, electricity.

7.  Set up camp.  Eat.  Sleep (for 12 hours!).

Oregon Coast Love List:

1.  $15 State campgrounds everywhere

2.  $3.49/gal Gas

3.  Fred Meyer

4.  $6 Six packs of beer and $3 bottles of wine

5.  The view is okay too.

Oregon Coast Not-So Love List:

1.  We have never been there in the summer so it’s always cold.  (Our fault).  We definitely needed 18 layers of clothing to keep warm and dry most of the time.

There were wind farms all over the place:

Our kitchen:

Our ARB fridge doesn’t have to work too hard yet keeping the inside temp to 3 degrees C: 

Breakfast:  

 It rained a little bit.  Notice our Delorme InReach on the dash keeping tabs of our location even if we couldn’t see where we were going:

Picnic tables make the best desks.  See Ashley, I’m working on your photos!  (You’ll get them soon!): 

 Apparently this cioppino from Griff’s on the Dock is world famous.  It’s definitely the only best we’ve ever had!