On May 1, 1998 the big day had finally arrived. Jamie and I were all set to embark on a three week trip to the USA. The first leg of our trip was a tour down the Oregon Coast which proved to be an adventure in itself.

There was no hassle involved in crossing the border. We answered the guard's questions, and with no further adieu we were in America. I stopped shortly afterwards to grab gas and a coffee. The guy ahead of me in the cashier line-up suddenly turned around and bumped into me, spilling his hot coffee all over, including on my shorts. He quickly apologized though, and the gas station staff were more than happy to give me paper towels and show me where the restroom was.

We cruised through Seattle and kept on going until Olympia where we stopped for lunch at the Olive Garden restaurant. We were quite surprised when the waitress went over EVERY SINGLE MENU SELECTION in crystal clear detail. Such thorough service is very uncommon in Canada. After that, we headed west to the coastline and crossed to Port of Astoria Bridge to enter the State of Oregon. This was one of the longest floating bridges we encountered on our trip, and it took us at least five minutes to drive across! It used to be a toll bridge, but they removed the tool three years ago as confirmed by the information booth just prior to the bridge. At the Oregon end of the bridge, the span raises up out of the water so that large boats can circumnavigate underneath the bridge. We got a picture of a ferry doing that.

In Astoria, Jamie and I took each other's pictures in front of the Port of Astoria Watertower before heading a short distance out of town to where our campsite, Fort Stevens State Park, was. This was the first stop on the open Oregon Coastline. There were miles of rollerbladable trails, and hiking trails as well. Also, an ancient shipwreck was on the beach, which we visited. It looked as if this shipwreck had been there for hundreds of years, and it made for some great pictures.

Further down the Oregon Coast, we were slightly dissapointed in that the highway was closed north of Canon Beach due to the Oregon D.O.T. performing tunnel reconstruction near the area. So we had to detour a little out of the way, but we still got to see many more great Oregon Coast vistas. Of these vistas, we stopped off at numerous lighthouses. Strategically placed at the mouths of rivers and at rocky bluffs, the ancient lighthouses we saw (no longer in operation) served as a tremendous asset in helping navy ships enter rivers from the Pacific Ocean. Also, the construction of jetties done by the United States Navy helped ships enter and leave the rivers. We managed to take numerous pictures of some of these old lighthouses.

The small towns and larger cities along the Oregon coast were remarkable. Each town would be about 10 miles apart; you finish leaving one town and it's just a hop, skip, and a jump to another. The friendly atmosphere, conservative lifestyle, and breathtaking scenery make the Oregon Coast a prime place to live. We stopped by the city of Newport, where they were having a kite display although we couldn't get a closer look because there were no more parking spots available!

Our second night stay was in Honeyman State Park. This park featured numerous sand dunes within a short walking distance of the campground and proved to be great exercise for early morning walking. After this park, we continued driving down the Oregon Coast and saw much more breathtaking scenery. At this one place, we stopped by for ice cream and Jamie made the mistake of saying ".... ,eh?" to the store clerk at the ice cream place. The clerk picked up right away on this cue and said, "You guys are from Canada, aren't you?" We replied that we were and since then we didn't say 'eh' to anymore people in the States. After our drive down Oregon, we then entered the State of California to head for San Fransisco.
--by Steve Ruelle

Some links...

• USA Vacations - Order FREE Brochure!
• Map of Oregon Coast Lighthouses
• Oregon State Parks
• More sites...