First, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions on what to do in Oregon. It was a great road trip, and I only wish we had a few more days to explore all that Oregon had to offer.
We spent Saturday in Portland. It only cost $3 to park downtown for the entire day (take that, downtown Vancouver!). We also ended up buying transit day passes ($4.75) because we didn’t realize the light rail system was free within the downtown core. We wandered through Chinatown, then down by the water where we found the Saturday Public Market, as well as a huge beer festival. Lunch was Thai food at a random food cart (how awesome is the food cart district?!). After that, we headed to Powell’s Books (insanity), a bunch of random stores, did the Portland Aerial Tram, drank some beers, and then had dinner at Hot Lips Pizza. The hotel we ended up staying in was quite a far ways away from downtown, but it was cheap and clean and perfect for our needs.
Since I have never been to Portland before, my first impression was that it was a city that really didn’t seem to have an identity. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, and I felt a bit of the magic I’ve always felt for Portland disappear a little. But as we kept wandering through the city, I finally got the vibe. It’s just a really cool, super chill city that doesn’t need to be anything that it’s not. Everyone does their own thing, it’s super eclectic, quirky, and interesting. I feel like in order to really understand the city, you need to stay there and just hang out for at least a few days. I was only beginning to “get” Portland, and then we had to leave.
Sunday we headed south to the Oregon Dunes National Park. But not before stopping in Florence for groceries for the day (keeping food costs low, loving it!). The dunes were amazing! So beautiful and weird there. I felt like I was in a movie or something. After that, we drove up the coast, stopping at view points and beaches on our way to Lincoln City.
We stayed at the Sea Horse Motel, where I opted to splurge for an oceanfront room. The cost difference between a room with a view of the parking lot (compared to the oceanfront room) was around $35, so I definitely consider it worth the price of the upgrade. After a few failed attempts at wandering into different restaurants for dinner, we finally settled on Mo’s Restaurant. I’m not a fancy restaurant type of person at all, and I’m so glad that he isn’t really either.
Monday was spent driving from Lincoln City to Astoria. We wandered the town for a bit, ate lunch at the Silver Salmon Restaurant, then headed across the 6.5km long bridge to Washington, and eventually back home. It was a really fun trip. Perfect weather, great company, kept under budget, and lots to see and do.
COST BREAKDOWN:
$68.32 gas
$128.18 hotel
$45.45 groceries & restaurants
$18 beer
$29.58 miscellaneous
TOTAL = $290.53
9 Responses to “Recap: Oregon trip”
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$3 to park all day, and free transit?! Sounds like you had a great vacation and the cost is unbeliavably low. I always end up spending too much when I travel…mainly on food.
My recent post the beauty of free books
What we did was ate at the hotel's continental breakfast each morning, bought groceries for lunch and snacks, and then went out for dinner. That helped us keep our costs low, while still being able to go to restaurants too.
That's a very nice trip for under $300.00
Job well done.
I like the pic you posted, too. The writing in the sand and all. I'd have never thought to do that.
Holy cats 3$ for parking all day?! That's the worst part about going downtown..parking is so freaking expensive!
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I know, right!? You can't even park in downtown Vancouver for $3/hour!
Astoria, Oregon, home of the Goonies. :-) Sounds like you had a great trip that didn't kill your budget… the best kind!
I'm definitely keeping this post for when I (eventually?) plan my Oregon trip. Sounds like so much good times!
My recent post Fast Food Fail: July 24-30
It was one of the best road trips ever. I can't wait to go back. You will have so much fun!
I can see that you had a blast with your recent trip. It’s good to know that you found some interesting things in Portland. It is really a nice place. I do have relatives living there. I hope I can visit them some time.