Beauty and the Beast

OK, first up, my plan to ride out the jetlag has clearly not worked. But we have to move on.

Watching news channels , it’s obvious that each of them is fairly partisan one way or the other, with no pretence at objectivity. I guess that is reflected in the country. I saw a row of 3 signs outside of houses reading “Vote Trump”, “Haters Ahead”, “Truck Fump”. I guess the electoral beast is awake and kicking in the US. At least it is more interesting than our election run in!

The early start meant that I could fortify with bold coffee (which is not without its risks as I have discovered in the past), pick up the hire car and head out towards the coast at a reasonable time. The car hire company have given me some off road tank to drive but after experiencing some of the Oregon roads, that may not be the worst thing. Puts our pot hole woes into perspective. Probably gives reasonable protection from kamikaze deer too!

Had brief stop at the weird and wonderful Octopus tree for some spectacular views (including an eagle sighting which the Pixel completely failed to do justice to - that’ll teach me for being a cheapskate and not going for the pro with optical zoom!) before heading on to Depoe Bay, glad to be done with the first day’s driving by early afternoon.

Had a brief stop for provisions en route - primarily for road snacks, although I was caught (by Ethan on the location tracking) checking out the liquor store next to the supermarket. There is no hiding!

It was quite stressful being faced by a wall of indecision.

Onwards to the very picturesque Depoe Bay (world’s smallest harbour the sign boldly claims), but sadly my whale watching trip was cancelled due to it being a bit choppy and the previous outing having failed to find any whales.

Had to console myself with some excellent fish tacos and a number of craft beers in the local hostelry before heading back to chill out in the hotel. I also picked up some tips on places to visit from a fellow traveller so will adjust the plans for tomorrow. She also gave glowing reports of Crater Lake so I am now looking forward to that even more. Given that Oregon is heading for a heat wave at the weekend, a bit of elevation may not be a bad thing.