For the most part our drive out west uneventful and pleasant. We had great tunes, good company and a sporty little Hyundai Sonata with sunroof - score! Our first stop for gas proved to be a hilarious incident involving a town in North Dakota that had more trains than people per capita. As we entered this podunk little village, we were unable to find the "gas station" which we were sure had to be in the direction we were going. We did, however, find the Catholic church, the Lutheran church, the VFW and a bunch of industrial looking silos. As we drove round and round the dirt roads, it became apparent that wherever this gas station was, it wasn't going to be big. We finally located the one pump in town, which had been hidden from view by a large semi that was sitting in front of it and the pump had no sign whatsoever. As we pulled in, we noticed several people hanging out around the pump: the ma (large and plump, curly hair up in scrunchy), the pa (potbelly, stained T-shirt and worn jeans with holes), the kid (skinny, shaggy brown hair, and only one who knew how to work the "petrol" machine), and a couple other folks who I assumed were the rest of the family, or perhaps their neighbors. As the kid helped Alfredo decipher the ancient gas machine, I asked to use their restroom. It turned out to be a four foot by four foot box of a room with a toilet that looked like it was recovered from the Titanic (complete with rust and algae). Instead of a bar of soap, there was shred of soap remains next to a big dirty nail scrubber brush. I realized that around this part of town, perhaps clean was a relative term. Maybe if you just scrub all the black soot off your hands, you don't need soap?? To complete our adventure, the only road back to the highway happened to cross two railroad tracks and lucky for us, there were two trains that decided to cross just as we were leaving. [sigh]
After 24 hours of driving we were dead tired, starving and dreaming of heads hitting the pillow. We arrived in Oregon (after only one sleeping break of 2 hours) as the sun began to break across the horizon, which of course out west means that it was around 8 am instead of 6 am. Our groggy eyes could barely make out street signs, but we somehow managed to stumble upon a great little city called Arlington, about an hour and a half from Portland where we intended to stop for gas and then be on our way. However, the locals said that the Village Inn diner served an outstanding breakfast, and they couldn't have been more right! We had fresh egg and veggie omelettes with homemade pancakes that melted in your mouth. The pancake was roughly the size of a small pizza, but not surprisingly I was able to scarf down the whole thing. ;) With food in our bellies we continued on towards Portland and drank in the beautiful scenery of the Columbia River gorge, Mt. Hood in all its splendor and the Cascade Locks. We went for a hike at Multnomah Falls and took lots of photos as we hiked through the magical forested landscape. Everything was vibrant and green and fresh and the view was breathtaking as the sun shone through the trees onto the tumbling falls.
We checked into our hotel early in the afternoon (after getting only mildly lost - SW Hamilton Street is NOT the same thing as SW Hamilton Court) and got a tour of the lovely facilities. We thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of taking a hot shower and relaxing outside on our private deck facing the river, letting the breeze dry our hair. There's nothing like staying awake for 38 hours in a row to make you appreciate the little things in life.... like being clean and taking a nap. :)
Hasta luego! More adventures to follow tomorrow.... Now it's time for bed!!
1 comment:
ahh but the big question is the 22nd a good one for you. hehe loving your blog. what a fun thing to do...that or I can keep calling each night to see how its going. :) love ya-Kels
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