Driving from Victoria, BC to Scotch Plains, NJ

Let me begin by saying that we did not make it to NJ by the end of week 1 so we changed our plans to make it there by Thanksgiving. Turns out there is some stuff to see and do in between Victoria and NJ. If we did drive directly there it would take 46 hours. We can save that challenge for another time!

Victoria, BC to Port Angeles, Washington

We started our first travel day by packing up our recently pimped out 2003 Dodge Caravan (a post with more details about the car will come later after we have it better organized!). After 30 straight days of sunny weather in Victoria, THIS was our first day of rain and we had to pack the car rather quickly. We also got locked out of the apartment once during the van pack-up but a friendly neighbor trusted that we were not murderers and let us back in the apartment building.

After loading the van we met with Mike’s parents and nephew for breakfast before heading off to the ferry. While waiting for the ferry we tried to work on the organization of the van and realized that we have way to much stuff, even after downsizing almost 3 times since getting ready to leave Angola in June. The ferry arrived and took us from Victoria to Port Angeles, Washington where we spent the first night living in our van down by the river. We stayed at a KOA (Kampground of America) in Port Angeles that was much closer to a highway than any river. This was our first KOA experience and we have learned that that all have varying levels of amenities. This one had a hot tub which was great. Others have had things like basketball, horseshoes, free pancakes, or multiple pools. The main reason to stay at a KOA though for us is the showers. The national and state parks that we have been to so far haven’t had showers which is fine sometimes but being smelly gets old.

Port Angeles to Sol Duc Hot Springs

We woke up early and packed up camp which will be a theme for the next few days. We drove up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic Mountains and got our National Parks pass. Its $80 and gets you into most parks and monuments around the US which is pretty awesome and saves a lot of money for eating out. There was a short hike up Hurricane Ridge and saw views of lots of the surrounding mountains….there are a lot of them here in Washington. It was so cold up there! We chatted with a couple from Wisconsin at the top about things to see while driving across the US. They recommended quite a few things but the one that stood out was to go to the Kohler museum in Wisconsin to see toilets of the past, present and future. We stopped for groceries back in Port Angeles before heading to Sol Duc. Our cooler is pretty small and only runs on battery when the car is running, so we are going to have to stop for groceries a lot. Luckily, we found a spot to camp, one of two left, and set up. It was raining when we arrived which made for a fun time setting up. There were hot springs nearby so we went over to check them out. The hot springs were not as rustic and embedded in nature as I thought they would be. There were three hot pools and one large and cold swimming pool (71 degrees) that we could pay to use and since it was raining it seemed like we might as well be warm in the rain. It seemed like everyone else in Washington had the same idea, because the pools were pretty full. About 10 minutes in to our time in the first pool we had to change pools. It was a race to find a seat in a much smaller pool and a bit too close for comfort in that pool. I willingly got in the cold pool a few times because the heat, close proximity to people, skin floaties and smell of sulfur made for nauseating combination. After the hot springs we spent a while at the Sol Duc lodge restaurant to avoid the rain and dry out. We walked back to camp, and watched a movie in the front seat of the car, which we are referring to as “downstairs”, to avoid the rain and avoid going to bed “upstairs” at 7pm.

Sol Duc to Kalaloch

Good news it’s still raining! After packing up camp we drove to Forks, where the Twilight saga took place. Vampires everywhere! We had breakfast at a diner-like establishment and did some research for where we were headed next. Energized by bottomless coffee we drove to the Hoh Rain Forest. There were lots of short walks around the rain forest to do and we saw some big trees, moss, bugs etc. We crushed the time suggested on the map to complete the walks and everyone cheered. From Hoh, we continued on driving and stopped at the BIG CEDAR TREE that was back along a gravel road. It was pretty big but also fairly dead looking. Later on we arrived at Kalaloch campground along the shores of Washington. Luckily we found a campsite because it was pretty packed for labor day weekend. After setting up camp, we went for a walk around some trails and then checked out the beach. I did some yoga on the beach while Mike read and the sun finally appeared for a bit. Later on we watched sunset on the beach and then an epic fire building fest. I say epic because the wood was wet and would not light. Good thing we brought a hatchet!

Kalaloch to Astoria

On the road again. Typical road trip. Drove around Lake Quinault and saw the world largest spruce. No big deal but also the biggest deal. We stopped at a rest stop for lunch with a view of Oregon across the Columbia river and watched the seals in the water frolic to and fro. Not long after we arrived at the packed Astoria/Warrenton KOA Resort. It was so packed that it made you think that everyone from Oregon came here for the weekend for a statewide reunion. We managed to get a spot sandwiched between many giant RVS. It feels like a real trailer neighborhood. There is lots going on at this KOA…pools, tennis, kids biking, sandboxes, events, hot tubs, etc. Also hot showers and free pancakes (but not at the same time unfortunately). We set up camp and then went for a bike rip around the Fort Stevens state park which is conveniently located across the street. There are nice paved bike trails all through the park which was great. Later on we came back and began an epic dinner making festival with the goal of having leftovers for the future. In trying to keep our hot tub levels up, we went for a dip in the hot tub to end the day.

Astoria/Warrenton/Fort Stevens

FREE PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST! If that’s not a reason do to a road trip across the US then I don’t know what is. After breakfast we went for another bike ride in Fort Stevens. We biked out to the tip of the peninsula and went on a walk about on the beach. On the way back we saw a lady elk having lunch in the trees and it felt like we were back on safari somewhere in Africa. After an afternoon rest we went for another bike rip into Fort Stevens to see a civil war re-enactment for only $5. Made you wonder how much it would cost to see an Iraq War re-enactment complete with MRAPs, tanks and the ill aimed drone strikes. The whole area had tents and things set up to show what things were like during the war. Looked pretty nice actually. The women folk greeted the men folk home from the battle with a plate of brownies. Pretty sweet deal for a 30 minute battle. After the civil war, we went to a FREE BEER TASTING at our KOA. So much free stuff today means we can retire for at least one more day.

Astoria to Mount Saint Helens

Today we drove to Astoria to look around and learned that Astoria is a pretty dull town unless you want to do the Goonies tour. We continued driving back into Washington to what we thought was the only Mount Saint Helens visitors center, but it was the one in a state park. After looking at the exhibit we watched a fairly dramatic movie that left me with mixed feelings about volcanos. We were all volcanoed out by that point and decided to skip driving up to the view point and to go the next day instead. We drove to a KOA about 1 hour from the mountain that was much quieter than the last KOA. There was horseshoes and basketball to play before the rain began again and we zipped up into our tent for the night.

Mount Saint Helens to Portland, Oregon

We woke up at the Castle Rock KOA to MORE RAIN which seems to be pretty typical of Washington. The rain motivated us to packed up quickly and go find breakfast before heading up to see Mount Saint Helens. It took about an hour to drive up to the Johnson Ridge View Point for no view at all because it was too cloudy and foggy to see the fiery mound. Despite the lack of view we stayed at the visitor center for a bit to listen to a ranger talk and watched another movie about Mt. Saint Helens so at least we are experts on volcanos now. We then left Washington again and drove to Portland and checked into our Airbnb near Alberta street. Alberta Street is very lively with lots of food trucks, bars, restaurants etc. We went on a mini food tour and went to three different places for drinks and snacks. First, Great Notion Brewery for a very fruity flight of beer and some pork skin. Then, Little Big Burger for a tiny but delicious hamburger. Lastly, Bollywood Theater for some Indian street food. Great day of volcanos and food!