West Coast Adventure {Day 2}

Day 2 – Portland, OR | Tillamook, OR | Highway 101, OR | Gold Beach, OR

Washington was awesome, and now it’s Oregon’s turn! We woke up super early (at like 4 a.m.) so we could be on the road by 5 a.m. We drove the three hours to Portland, where we knew there were doughnuts waiting for us, thank goodness. And, a Starbucks stop on the way was mandatory because 5 a.m. is no joke.

Upon arriving in Portland, we headed straight to Voodoo Doughnut which is a must when in the area. The line was long, but it went fast – and we were ordering our doughnut creations in no time. We got bubblegum, m&m, cotton candy, and cap’n’crunch (one to have for breakfast, and the rest to take on the road!) After Voodoo, we headed to a local shop to pick up some Portland Sangria in a can to take with us. It was spendy, but a delicious souvenir that we got to enjoy later.

From Portland we drove to the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, OR. This place was bus-ay. It was a Saturday afternoon, after all. We headed in with plans to get lunch in the cafe, but after touring the place and trying literally all the samples, we decided to just get ice cream. That counts as lunch, right?

After driving through cow fields that we thought would never end, we found the Pacific Ocean. We had to stop at the first ocean view point we found because it was so beautiful. The start of one spectacular drive down the Pacific Coast. The entire drive was unforgettable. Lush greenery, mountains, cliffs, stunning blue ocean… We were murmuring “Oh my gosh” the whole time because it was just. so. beautiful. Driving the 101 is an absolute lifetime must.

Our final stop in Oregon was Gold Beach, where we would be staying for the night. We stayed at an older hotel – but it was right next to the beach so we didn’t complain. We were starving, having skipped lunch, and walked to the Chowder House which was right next to our hotel. We ordered clam chowder (when in Rome), fries, and fish tacos to share. We took it to go and headed to the beach to have a picnic and spend as much time by the ocean as possible. It was SO WINDY. I’m talking, sand whipping you in the face windy. I’m talking sand EVERYWHERE windy. This made for a very fun picnic. Luckily the food was good and we were starved so we didn’t mind a little sand mixed in;) We also drank our canned Portland Sangrias which were fabulous. Another great night on the beach!