Road Trip!

Let me first start this blog off by strongly suggesting to anyone driving from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, California that you give yourself TWO days to do it!! It was a LONG day of driving, but I saw things today that are hard to describe in words!

I left Beaverton, OR around 9 or so after grabbing some coffee and a bagel to get me started right (I wanted to go to Voodoo Doughnuts, but that would have put me too far back into Portland and the opposite direction). The first of many beautiful scenes for the day was Dundee, OR and the Willamette Valley! I tried to stop in for a tasting at Arglye and Erath, but much to my disappointment, they were both closed until 11 (I arrived around 9:45). I did drive around Dundee, stopping at Erath's vineyards to take in the view. The vines were bare, but the hills and surrounding area were still absolutely gorgeous!

I found myself emerging at the Oregon coast at Lincoln City....and what a site it was!!! The Oregon coast is absolutely breathtaking! I walked around the beach for a bit and jumped on the US-101 headed South. The drive was beautiful and I probably stopped about 15 to 20 different times to stop and take pictures along the way (it's kinda funny...it seems like there's a state park / scenic lookout about every 5 minutes!). There was one point where I was looking out over the Pacific and I couldn't tell where the water stopped and the sky started. It was a site like I've never before seen! I passed the state border into California sometime around 5 or so. I still had about 350 miles to go!!!! (I knew it'd be a stretch, haha). Most of the California part of the US-101 is inland a bit, with the road weaving in and out of redwood forests and exposing breathtaking views of the Pacific every now and again.

I'll cut to the point (sorry, I'm exhausted, so I'll keep this one short). The last couple of hours of driving in California felt like they took about 20 hours! I passed through San Rafael and then Santa Clara before it popped out of nowhere...... The Golden Gate bridge!! (Even at night it was awesome to see!). To get to my hotel in downtown San Francisco, I had to cross the bridge! It was pretty bad ass (not even gonna sugar coat it!), even though I felt like I was half asleep! I crossed the bridge around 12:17!! I finally made it to my hotel around 12:45, and it's the last bit of energy I have right now to write this blog!

I'll end tonight's blog with this....

I never thought I'd see or do half the stuff I've done just in this week alone! It gave me an overwhelming feeling of just how lucky we all are to live in a country as rich n beauty as America. Images were etched into my mind today that will never be erased. Images of rolling hills of vineyard after vineyard, images of the Pacific ocean melting into the sun and the open sky in a blast of a brilliant white and gold upon a greenish blue backdrop, images of redwood trees consuming the landscape around them (and practically the road too), images of a majestic red bridge towering above me stretching into the blackness of night, leading me into a city-scape of wonder! Yes indeed, this country has much to offer, and much that I haven't even imagined....

Peace, Love, Respect,

Jer