Trip to the Pacific Northwest

So, finally we went off last week on our biggest trip ever - a 8 day road-trip to the pacific northwest (aka oregon + washington state) - a zone we had been meaning to visit forever.

So, jumping right into the details

Day 1 - September 8th, Saturday.
We got up reasonably early, and Arpi made 7 sandwiches using Elena's super-sandwich recipe (avocado, tomato, ketchup, cheese ... ) and even with that we managed to get out by 7:15, just 15 mins behind schedule. Drove all day. The weather was pretty nice, and Arpi's sandwiches were eaten at regular intervals at a wide variety of rest areas. No need to discover lunch joints along the way! In the evening, we were making good time, and going to reach Salem around 5:30, so we preponed our plans and went off to Silver Falls State Park. The drive to Silver falls was pretty cool going through very pretty farmland. And the park too was really nice, even though we only had time to do the first waterfall, not the whole trail. The trail that went behind the falls was really nice. Also, at this point, we realised that the new tripod that we had acquired for this trip was too short and too unstable to be really useful. After this we drove off back to Salem, where after some effort to find the downtown, we managed to locate the greek restaurant we were searching for ... and it had shut down. So, we ended up eating at India Palace - where the food was really nice - esp after a day full of eating sandwiches and boiled eggs. Then back to the hotel (Crossland Salem North) and crash out.

Day 2 - September 9th, Sunday.
Being fairly tired, we got up quite aaram-se - at 9 or so. Finally left around 10, after a breakfast of oatmeal and sandwiches (gobble-gums has done it again). Then we drove off to Columbia Gorge, passing through the famed woodburn. The columbia Gorge drive was a bit confusing, with the new and old highways. We finally ended up going out and back on the old highway. Most of the action was at the end of the drive, though it is a nice drive throughout. We turned around at Multnomah Falls. Multnomah is easily the nicest waterfall ever, with its structure and the high bridge across the span halfway up.

After that, we drove off to Portland downtown for lunch + tripod hunt. It was a real mess, and we got lost repeatedly, but finally we managed to find the place we had decided on for lunch (Justa Pasta, based on the insiders' guide) ... only to find out that it was closed on Sunday lunch. Then we tracked down our choice 2 - Pearl Bakery - and that was also closing as we walked in, and had run out of veg sandwiches. Then we foraged around a bit (including Whole Foods) and finally ate a tomato basil ciabatta sandwich at a gelato place. We almost ordered the horrible soup as well, but had the good sense to taste it first. At this point, we were really tired and disappointed in Portland Downtown. But I guess Sunday lunch is not really a very downtown-y time. Anyway, we decided to show some mettle and look for the camera stores. We found a really big one - Camera World - fairly easily, and spent an hour there looking over the tripods. Finally got a really nice Manfrotto for just $113. The one we were returning to Keeble, for comparison, was $120, and much worse.

After this, I had a starbucks coffee, and then we got out for Cannon Beach. Decided to skip the beach at first, and go straight to the hotel, since we were too early for sunset anyway. The place we stayed at in Manzanita - Spindrift Inn - was really cutely done up. After a nice rest, we got out and went off to Cannon Beach, where we pretty much spent the rest of the evening taking pictures and walking up and down the (huge) beach. Once, it was dark, we spent some time looking for a place to eat, but the town of Cannon Beach was basically dead. Looks like it was active only on Friday and Saturday when there were hordes of tourists. Finally, we had maggi in our room.

Day 3 - September 10, Monday
Got up early, and went to cannon beach slightly after dawn.
Drove up.
Gas scam.
Aberdeen lunch fiasco.
Quinault rainforest.
Forks
Hoh rainforest.
Pizza.

Day 4 - September 11, Tuesday
Hoh rainforest.
lake crescent.
Maggi lunch.
Marymere falls.
Salmon fiasco.
Sol-duc falls / butterflies.
Forks.
India oven dinner.

Day 5 - September 12, Wednesday
Hurricane Ridge.
Bainbridge.
Ferry.
Downtown Seattle.
ESA
Dinner at Bengodi's.

Day 6 - September 13, Thursday
Mount Rainier national park.
Sunrise.
Road mess.
Narada Falls.
Paradise meadows - Alta Peak (?), Myrtle Falls.
Subway in car for dinner.

Day 7 - September 14, Friday
EMP / SFM
Monorail.
Pike Place Market (flowers, fruits, seafood, starbucks)
Munching - sabra - baklava, very french bakery -friand, ?? , other bakery - bread stick, sabra - lunch plate.
Drive to Portland enjoying the traffic jam
Siam Society.
Doubletree.

Day 8 - September 15, Saturday.
Leave at 7:45
Drive, drive, drive.
Arrive at 7:00

Aftermath
Sleep sleep sleep