Oregon Vacation, Part One

Well, it's Friday afternoon and I am sitting in a Portland cafe,
sipping on a nice latte and watching the rain pouring down
outside. Might as well stay put here and write about my vacation.
Portland is the last stop on my tour through Oregon and after
clocking about 1200 miles on the rental, I've seen a lot of the
state. Everything from deep volcanic lakes, sandy ocean
shores and mountain tops.
I arrived in Portland last Friday, late at about 9:30PM. I picked
up the rental car and headed towards Salem to meet with Jim and
Angela. The first thing I noticed is that everyone pretty much
drives the speed limit or under! This is unusual and I wonder
if the fines here are heavier.

Day 1- Day 2: Crater Lake
The plan for the weekend was for Angela, Jim and I to head towards
Crater Lake, spend the night in Klamath Falls and go to the lake on
Sunday. We started Saturday with a quick tour of Salem and a great
lunch at The Konditorei. The sandwich I had was good, but the
Marionberry cheesecake was excellent. We headed the car southward
and arrived in Klamath Falls later that night. The only thing I remember
from Klamath Falls are the little green flies that seem to be everywhere
in swarms. Driving to and from the city, the car got covered and I was
happy to move Crater Lake.
Once we reached the lake, we stopped at the visitors center to get a plan.
We decided to hike up to the Watchman Peak and take the boat tour later
that day. Watchman Peak can be reached by a hiking trail that spans
about a mile and 500ft elevation. On top, the view over the lake and wizard
island is great.
After a picnic lunch, we headed to the boat tour.
In order to reach the boat, we had to walk down Cleetwood Cove trail,
which is the only access to the lake.
Over 700ft of elevation make this an exhausting walk, but the board tour was worth it. The Ranger did a good job of explaining and entertaining and the two hours went by fast.
Since it was already in the late afternoon, we started our journey back to Salem. Certainly, Crater Lake was one of the highlights of the trip and it is always great to spend time with Angela and Jim.

Day 3: Ocean bound
Monday was a travel day. After saying Goodbye to Angela and Jim, I made
my way out of Salem. But first, I stopped at the Original Pancake House
for Breakfast. I picked their specialty, Apple Pancake. Boy, what a pancake!
This was just a heap of apples, pancake and cinnamon sauce.
Very delicious, but way to much. You can feed 2 people with this
monster easy.
Afterwards, I drove east to stop by the Silver Falls. I picked the North Fall
which can be reached from the parking lot in a short walk.
The fall is cool in a sense, that you can walk behind it.
After the hiking I had done at Crater Lake, I wasn't in the mood
to explore the Silver Falls in more depth and I started driving
west towards the coast. I reach the coast in the late afternoon and
stopped at Seal Rock to take a walk at the beach and enjoy the
tranquility of the Pacific ocean.
I stopped my journey for the day in Newport. Driving down to the harbor for some dinner I must admit the city has strange vibe. On the same street you can see a working fish factory ,with all the sounds and smells, and the assortment of tourist shops trying to sell you all kinds of shiny beads.
But the dinner I had was great. I ate at Local Ocean Seafoods and the Fish Tacos were excellent. You could tell that the fish was fresh.

Food Reviews, of course
Marionberry Cheesecake, The Konditorei, Salem, 5/5 Stars, lecker!
Sweet Potato Chips, Walmart, Salem, 0/5 Stars, pretty much tasteless
Combo Plate, Wubba's BBQ Shack, Klamath Falls, 4/5, best ribs I had in a while,
the rest was good, too.
Sandwich, Fred Meyer, Watchman Peak Trail, 1/5, forgettable
Mexican, Matzatlan, Oak Ridge, 2/5, The food was average at best.
Apple Pancake, Original Pancake House, Salem, 4/5, delicious.
Cod Sandwich, The Diner, Seal Rock, 3/5, Fish was fresh but the rest to greasy.
Fish Tacos, Local Ocean Seafoods, Newport, 4/5, excellent
Marionberry French Toast, Fishtail Cafe, Newport, 5/5, just perfect.

So far, not a bad deal. It seems like the every time the Marionberry makes
an appearance, its a winner.