On the Road - Heading West to Newport, Oregon

On day 5 of our journey home, we left Washington and entered Oregon by crossing the Columbia River on the iconic Interstate Bridge to Portland. The bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. The northbound side was built in 1917 as the original two-way bridge. The southbound side was added later in 1958.

Interstate Bridge to Portland

Halfway across the bridge is a sign marking the state line between Washington and Oregon. Traffic is apparently always congested around Portland and this bridge likely contributes to that, but what a gorgeous structure.

From Portland we headed west to the Pacific coast, which is the opposite direction from home but, hey, no rush to return. Retired life is great.

The scenic drive through the Oregon evergreens was like a ride among Christmas trees. There was no interstate to get us to the coast so we traveled on narrow, curvy State Highway 18. It was slow-going, but we went through cute, small towns and passed by lots of wineries, which surprised me. Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris are the main grapes of Oregon. It also surprised me that we were close to Tillamook; we like to buy the Tillamook brand of cheese and ice cream in Houston.

Once we made it to the coast at Lincoln City, we drove south on the spectacular Highway 101, known as the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway. This highway extends along the coast from Washington through Oregon and down into California. We had driven on it when we visited the Olympic National Park in Washington.

We arrived in Newport as fog was rolling in from the ocean.

We've made it to the coast!