Oregon May Sound Boring, But it Ain’t!
Tired of this insane summer heat? Take a trip to Oregon.
I really don’t understand people taking trips to the beach in summertime. Okay, okay, okay, yeah the kids want to get in the ocean.
Hello sharks!
Yes, mom wants to lay on the beach and relax.
Hello sweat!
Or what about people going to Disney land in summer?
Hello. Kill me now!
When it’s 95 here with a “feels like” humidity making it more like 110 degrees, why would you go somewhere marginally better or potentially worse?
Just don’t. Instead, take a nice trip to Oregon.
In Oregon, average August high temperature is 80 degrees! That’s the high! And there is no humidity.
And then there are glaciers and volcanos.
Well there used to be glaciers. And technically there are still active volcanos. But the deal is this, there used to be a lot more and they formed humongous beautiful landscapes over almost the entire state!
You basically cannot go anywhere without being assaulted by amazing natural beauty!
Portland, which is probably the only town in Oregon you’ve heard of, is great too!
Now yes, recently those of you watching Fox News have heard of clashes between white supremacists and Antifa demonstrators there, but this is generally not indicative of Portland culture. It’s generally a left leaning area. Now that doesn’t mean it has no race issues. It actually does. But it’s more systemic.
Explaining that to you would be a full column, (or book) of advanced studies in racism. So we’re going to back off of that at the moment and keep our eye on the awesome.
Columbia River Gorge: Let’s say you get off the plane at noon and want to immediately immerse yourself in the natural grandeur of rivers, massive valleys and loads of waterfalls! You can do that in Portland and still check in at your hotel before sundown!
It’s crazy.
Let’s say, on day two, you want to turn a three hour drive into an eight hour drive, because around every corner is a massive vista demanding your full on attention.
And then you get to the ocean. More pacifically, the Pacific Ocean! See what I did there? Instead of saying specifically I said pacifically. Play on words there.
But seriously, Highway 101 runs then entire coast of Oregon. The entire coast! You are driving around cliffs hundreds of feet above the ocean. Every once in a while you detour inland for a mile or two, then the next minute you turn a corner and boom! Humongous, gorgeous, rocky shoreline as far as the eye can see.
And so you drive on for a few more minutes, turn another corner and look at the same scene, from a different viewpoint and you are even more blown away!
Did I mention it’s 78 degrees outside?
Also, whales.
There are whales spouting around out in the ocean. And you can see them. And sometimes you see their tales! And unlike sharks, they are diving around with their other whale pals looking for non-human food.
You can even take boats out into the ocean and pet the whales.
I’m just kidding. You can’t pet whales, stupid.
Also, food.
Delicious, delicious fresh seafood. No longer will you have to have Tilapia on your fish tacos! Heck, you can have Dungeoness crab tacos, or tuna tacos or salmon tacos.
Also, craft beverages. And coffee. And cheese. And ice cream.
A co-operative with small and large dairy farms across the state makes this particularly interesting. Tillamook Creamery makes cheese, ice cream and other products, locally, and only sourced from dairy farms in Oregon.
In short, go to Oregon. Especially in summer. You will not want to leave.