Oregon is not a particularly small state but when you drive across it in a day and make stops in it’s three largest cities in only three hours, it does start to feel a little acute.
We stayed in cute little Eugene (Oregon’s second largest city) last night. In the morning we drove around campus and downtown, ate a delicious breakfast at Glenwood (a recommendation from a colleague and O of U alumni). We saw historic Hayward Field and then I studied the Wikipedia pages for Hayward Field, Phil Knight, Eugene and the University of Oregon. Did you know that after the state legislature formed the University of Oregon, it struggled financially, and the city of Eugene held fundraisers like strawberry festivals and produce sales. Thanks Wikipedia!
After breakfast we hit the road and continued up I-5. After about an hour I convinced Dave to exit for a pit stop in Salem (Oregon’s third largest city) so I could check out the state capital. (These are the kinds of things I like to see on road trips.) Once we found the capital, Booger and I hopped out to take a few pictures and to exert some energy running around the capital lawn.
After Salem I took over at the wheel and after an hour and a half we made our way into Portland (Oregon’s largest city). I couldn’t resist stopping at Margaret and Kenny’s apartment (which I found surprisingly easy) so we could take a picture of Booger in front of their building (we knew they were in Michigan for the holidays) to tease them with on Facebook.
And after only a few minutes back on the highway, we were in the state of Washington!
Next stop: Vashon Island.
I’ve been to all those places, amazingly for such a small state there are still tons of places to go and things to do.