Cross-Country Vacation 2023

We started today behind schedule! It was the scones fault. Turns out our host at Suite T Airbnb  is an instructor at a local culinary school and delivered scones just before 9AM and they were so good we wanted more! We waited for the tea shop downstairs to open at 10AM. By the time we got on the road it was 10:30AM, an hour and a half behind schedule, but it was SO worth it; Coconut Rum Scones with Lemon Curd, Devonshire Cream, and Strawberry  Jam for toppings.  (Click on any photo to enlarge) Scones and Clotted Cream History of Suite T B&B Breakfast with History Clara J's Tea Room Suite T B&B and Clara J's Tea Room Scones to Go Today's plan was to drive 6.5 hours, 332 miles, and visit two historic sites. Because of the late start we skipped Fallen Timbers Battlefield National Park and headed straight for Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site . It was a 2.5 hour drive through beautiful countryside following Rte 6  and Rte 66 (Yes, that R...

The tent is pitched. We are with family and we are happy to be here. (Click on any photo to enlarge)   Day 1 - Woke up in the tent this drizzly morning, temperature 46F degrees. Slept pretty good last night. Could hear the neighbors wind chimes on and off during the night. Made a couple batches of coffee in our French press.  It was nice to be with family and not have to go anywhere. We did go to Schmizza Public House for Dinner. Day 2 - We found a place to eat breakfast at Kevin's Cafe .   After we headed to Waterloo County Park . We found a nice 1.2 mile walking path on Alltrails , full of wildflowers and birds. We spent nearly 2 hours here.  This was a special place that we will create another page for. Lots of wildflower and bird photos! https://travelingvtjs.blogspot.com/p/waterloo-county-park.html . Day 3 - 49 degrees and raining this morning. We found Randy's Main Street Coffee in Brownsville, the food was delicious....

On the road again after a 2 week hiatus. The plan is to drive 222 miles in 6 hours. We started the day at Randy's Main Street Coffee , said good-bye to family, then drove from Brownsville, OR to Newport, OR, where we headed south on Rte 101. (Click on any photo or video to enlarge) Our first stop was Lost Creek State Park ; it was our first opportunity to stop and see the Pacific Ocean. Julie & John at Lost Creek State Park 20 miles down the road we stopped at Cook's Chasm: Thor's Well and The Spouting Horn . Oregon Coast The Spouting Horn Continuing on, Julie used TripAdvisor to find interesting places to eat. Today we stopped at Mari's Kitchen for lunch. Another 45 minutes of driving brought us to Umpqua Lighthouse State Park . We took a quick break here and visited the Lighthouse Museum & Gift Shop . A lady was selling flavored popcorn in the parking lot and we bought a big bag of the spicy popcorn; it was really good! Another...

We awoke at our AirBnb at Floras Lake Guest Cottage . Today is Mother's Day. Floras Lake The plan today is to drive 189 miles in 6 hours. We headed south for about 20 minutes to Portside Cafe in Port Orford, OR. It was a nice little place, serving good food.(Click on any photo to enlarge) 45 minutes later we stopped at Battle Rock Wayside Park for an educational break. Battle Rock Sign Broadleaf Lupine Hottentot Fig Battle Rock We made a couple quick stops, first at Ophir Wayside State Park, then in Gold Beach, Oregon for some souvenvirs, finally an unplanned stop at Ariya's Beach for some amazing rocks in the water. Ariya's Beach Ariya's Beach We drove through the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor . It was a beautiful drive on winding roads. I wanted to look, but also had to keep a close eye on the road. This was definitely a place where we could have spent more time, with 18 miles of hiking trails and lots to see. Using Alltrails we...