Oregon – Lori's Life and Other Stuff

There were some specific things I wanted to do this trip. Getting to see the beautiful trees of the Redwood forest has been a bucket list item for me for as long as I can remember. The forest and evergreen trees in particular draw me in like a magnet. Much the like ocean, being in a forest is a holy experience.

I woke up this morning in Grants Pass, Oregon. I was joined in my shower by an arachnid. (A decidedly NOT holy experience!) I screamed, finished up and promptly exited the bathroom. (Seriously?!!! How do they find me!?)

Throughout Grants Pass, the town has bears all over dressed/decorated in all sorts of outfits and/or paint. Kitschy, but charming, I snapped some pics as my mother loves all things “road-side oddity”.

After gassing up, (and quickly reminded that we don’t do self serve gas in Oregon – whoops!) I had to see what all the fuss was about with Dutch Brothers Coffee. I have to say, I’m a fan – it was delicious and not hotel coffee.

Caffeine loaded, dogs walked and fed, we were on our way! Hwy 101 – aka The Redwood Highway all the way to the magic of the forest!

I had to stop a bazillion times. I couldn’t resist taking in these amazing views and savoring every second. (And yes, the dogs like to pee at every stop.) What I had in my mind was taking the dogs for a trail walk, hoping for some that would allow dogs. When I turned off to the Avenue of the Giants, I kept seeing no dogs allowed signs. Finally I broke down and looked it up and sure enough – none of the trails in the Avenue allow dogs, leashed or not. Sigh. We’d just have to figure something else out. In the mean time, I took a TON of pics from the car, from outside the car, from the side of the road…you get the idea.

After crossing the state line, the fog was thick. I came around a curve and there to my right was a lookout that sucked me right off the road. SAND! REAL SAND! Not a barnacle in sight! Waves! Crashing water over the rocks made a perfect welcome back to California.

Sea air inhaled and sandy beach tromped through, we headed off to our first destination: the Paul Bunyan and Babe statues at the Trees of Mystery. (Yes, I too, am a sucker for random things – I get it from my mother who tortured me with these kinds of stops! 🤪)

There’s a dude that voices/interacts with the crowd! Hilarious! I want that job!

To give a little perspective, many of the trees are as wide or wider than my car. It’s astounding to see them in person.

Since the Avenue of the Giants did not allow dogs, I drove back up to the 101 to see if there would be a campground or other pullout to be able to walk. (See? I’m already gettin’ my Californian on with “the 5, the 405, etc. 🤣) At the Huckleberry Campground, we pulled in and I asked what the fee was for a day use pass so I could walk the dogs. The attendant said I could go ahead and park and take my walk free of charge! Perfect! One thing that kept jumping out at me was how quiet it was in the forest whenever I stepped out of the car. Despite traffic and lots of people, the trees insulate sound remarkably well. It would be easy to get lost in this otherworldly place.

The temps were much cooler and more comfortable as we drove to the next destination: The Drive Thru Tree! To be fair, there are a few of these trees in the Redwood forest, but the one I wanted to drive through was the one I’ve seen in black and white pictures. The tree with a square cut out of it!

It was pretty anticlimactic. Everyone lines up, drives through slowly, and out the other side….right into the gift shop. As you can plainly see, the dogs were tremendously excited.

She sleeps while trying to hold her head up

Down the road 2 hours later, we pull into our hotel stop in Sonoma. Sonoma is beautiful, and after all the lush foresty goodness, it was lovely to see a giant palm tree! The cookie, of course was delicious and the dogs definitely approve of tonight’s accommodations. (And after my shower with an 8 legged friend this morning – this is just what the doctor ordered!)

When the rep walked up to the house we were about to turn back over to the military housing company, I bristled at her container of Lysol wipes. The wipes wouldn’t have been a big deal, but paired with her attitude, I got a little defensive. I get that they have to make sure the homes are properly cleaned, but….seriously? We’ve spent the last three days cleaning behind the movers that were not only late, but short handed. (She had also done a pre-move inspection so she already knew our house was in great shape.)

Through the process, she test cleaned various spots through the kitchen, re-wiping down the inside of the dishwasher, refrigerator and every drawer in the kitchen. She checked every window, every blind, every sill. In all of our base housing experiences – we’ve never had someone this persnickety. We passed with flying colors, but I did have to have a mental chat with myself to not say something through the process. (For the record, the house was cleaner now than it was when we moved in. I resisted the urge to comment on that out loud.)

With that done and keys handed over, we drove away from our very last base house. This was the last chapter of active duty military life left to close. I exhaled as we drove away, the reality sinking in. Eric and I did a little giddy car dance/high five as we drove back to the kids to pack up.

We. are. done.

No more moving every three years (unless we want to), no more being told where to move, and no more short(er) term planning. We can stay put for as long as we want!

THIS IS EXCITING!

It was a stunning day in the PNW. Definitely another one of those sunny days that fool people into moving there just in time to experience months of Fall/Winter/2nd Winter/Almost Spring. After a visit and hugs with the parentals, we hit the road to Seattle so we didn’t have to get up as early for their flight. Eric took the 2-legged minions to SoCal, and I am on the road with the 4-legged ones! I love road trips and it’s been nearly 3 years since we’ve been anywhere – mostly due to Covid. Seattle traffic was great practice for the 8 lanes of I-5 in my future! Have I mentioned that I am alone? For the first time in about 6 or maybe 7 years?! Mind blowing. I have been looking forward to this trip for weeks! I definitely crave alone time; to read, to listen to music, to write, to think, and to just be.

After getting them all set for their flight, the doggos and I headed south with the tunes playing and yes, lots of singing all the things, stops for coffee and eats (when it was finally open), and even a DOG PARK!

About 5 minutes after arriving in Portland, I missed the turn to stay on I5, and took a scenic detour over another giant bridge in Portland that made my tummy squeemy. (I’m not so great with heights + freeway speeds. For some reason I will visualize driving off the bridge and falling to my doom. Yes, I do in fact have an overactive imagination.) I later learned Squeemy Bridge’s actual name is Fremont Bridge. I would post a pic, but I couldn’t take one for the white knuckles and aforementioned imaginings of plummeting to my death. You can google it. (And likely be unimpressed as the photos do not do the height justice. At all.)

Back on the correct freeway, we moseyed our way down to look for the Starbucks’ Oregon mug that was out of stock at every location on our move up from San Diego in 2019. It only took 3 stops to find the coveted mug – mission accomplished!

We made it to Grant’s Pass the first day, and it was HOT. Heat advisory 100 degrees hot. It’s been a minute since we’ve been in this kind of heat. We are now comfortably tucked into our well-air conditioned hotel room for the night and ready for tomorrow’s adventures!

I can’t wait!

Tag: Oregon

Trees Please!

Adventure Awaits!

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