Lee Branum
23rd June 2008, 02:12 AM (02:12)
My wife and I took off for a short vacation to the Washington and Oregon Coast. We left Spokane Wednesday early and drove through Yakima and over White Pass to Long Beach Washington. We spent our first night there. It was cool weather with some fog in the morning. We went to Cape Disappointment where Lewis and Clark viewed the Pacific at the mouth of the Columbia River. We crossed the Megler Bridge to Astoria Oregon. There we viewed the Astoria Column and the mouth of the Columbia, Megler Bridge and area from the high ground there. We drove down the coast to Seaside Oregon and on to Cannon Beach where we stayed for two days. We drove on to Tillamook Oregon and had our "fill" of Tillamook ice cream at the Tillamook County Creamery on highway 101, a must for us when we go to the Oregon Coast. We returned home Saturday morning on the Sunset highway to Portland, up I84 to Umatilla Oregon, back into Washington and home. We drove 1023 miles visiting two states. Gas in Spokane was 4.079, and on the coast it was at least 4.299 or higher. It was as high as 4.499 in one place. We paid 4.399 in The Dalles Oregon, the highest we paid. Our mileage average was 26.8 miles per gallon. I sailed up the Columbia River and as soon as we crossed the Columbia, I drove seventy all the way to Spokane. Our total gas cost was over 157 dollars. We definitely noticed lower traffic volume where ever we went. Restaurants and people we talked to commented about the lower numbers of people traveling this summer so far. My wife loves the ocean, and it was a joy to be there again. Back to work tomorrow for me, and my wife begins her second week as a housewife. After a career of 25 years for a regional paint company, she was not offered a position when the company was merged with a large multi-national corporation. All is well, she can enjoy some well deserved rest. She loves to work in her flowers and do other things.
LeeB:basic01
LeeB:basic01