Oregon Trail - Day 1

So, here we go again... on vacation. This time, it's a more traditional summer vacation, and less of that "exotic European vacation"! After many years of wishing I could go to Oregon, we have decided to go to Oregon... with some stops in Washington on Day 1.

I apologize in advance if some of these photos appear to be different from what you are used to seeing on the blog... that is because they are shamelessly poached from the Internet since my "electronics packer" (some say "wife") neglected to pack the USB cable to dump the camera photos into the laptop... enough said.

We stopped here... Paul Allen's (Microsoft co-founder and 13 billionaire) Flying Heritage Collection at Paine Field in Everett... every boy's dream... life-sized flying airplanes, including some of the rarest WWII-era planes existing (including my all-time fave, a $4.5 million FW190D-13, the only one in the world). Their goal at FHC is to not only restore them, but fly them as regularly as possible.

We didn't stop here... the Johnston Observatory at Mt St Helens... the cloud cover was too thick to chance driving in the 52 miles from I-5... we'll save it for the way back and hope for a sunny day!

We drove over this... the Lewis and Clark Bridge (built in 1930 by the same fellow who built the Golden Gate Bridge) over the Columbia River, joining Longview, WA to Rainier, OR... then we drove back to the WA side where we were spending the night... because it was there!

We drove around here... Lake Sacajawea Park in Longview, WA... a true unexpected jewel in the middle of smalltown USA. This park is surrounded by a 3.5 mile walking path, and the park is surrounded by old homes on tree-lined streets... it epitomizes the perfect "good old days" neighbourhood.

We slept here... the lovely Super 8 Motel in Kelso, rated 8.6/10 by all of its previous customers... and except for the horrendous free coffee, it truly is a nice place! More to come on Day 2 of the Oregon Trail diaries...