Going West 2013: July 1 2013

We left the overcast (foggy) coast this morning, 66 degrees. First stop was Tillamook cheese for the tour (again) and the tasting line (again) and, of course, the retail shop for snacks and whatnot. We reached Jantzen Beach RV about 2:30 after a 15 minute delay on Route 6 from Tillamook and then sitting in traffic on I 5, the only access to Hayden Island where the RV park is. It was 95 degrees when we arrived. A bit warmer inland. After sitting around looking at bus and train maps and city maps and map apps we decided to drive to the city center and get lost for a while, which we did. Mom had a map and Wanda (the GPS) had some ideas, so we found the major things we were seeking. Portland is a nice city to drive in, to walk in, and seems to have a good mass transit system which we will experiment with tomorrow. Hopefully we can take a bus from here to the city center for a sightseeing bus tour. That’s the plan anyway. In our drive around today we found where the Blues festival is going to be and where a couple of the breweries are. We stopped to check out the offerings of the Rock Bottom Brewery and found them very satisfactory. Even better, it’s within a few blocks of where the Blues festival is being held. That’s our plan for the Fourth. Hayden Island is quite interesting, also. The campground is part of a modular home community, but very nice, with grassy spots between sites, etc. It’s across the street from a HUGE mall that is under construction. One end of the island is commercial, the other is very exclusive, with yacht clubs, marinas, and several floating home communities. They’re set up like gated communities with shore parking for the residents and the house (boats) moored in the Columbia River. Not exactly a canoe and tent. Tomorrow we’ll take a tour of the city and check out a couple more breweries. We only have a few days, so we’ll cover as many as possible. Thank goodness for public transportation.