Tillamook

I arrived in Oregon on Sunday night, past 11 pm. Having installed myself in the sweet, new and unbelievably clean city that is Hillsboro, and having spent all day Monday going about the business that I was here for, I decided to spend the evening visiting an old friend. The Pacific Ocean. It was around 6:30 by the time I was able to leave for Tillamook. It was dark already and there were clouds on the horizon but there are always clouds on the horizon here. I had done this route before, a couple of years ago during the day and I know that the drive is very pretty. But my free time on this trip is short, so I decided to do the drive in the evening anyways. It was a beautiful drive. The road is windy - I saw very few cars during the entire drive. There are tall, tall trees all around - trees that have probably been there forever. And it gets dark. It was around 7:30 and it was dark as the Devil's waistcoat out there. And then, I saw the stars. So many of them. I was amazed that I could see them as I was driving, with my lights on and all that! And finally, after about an hour and a half of driving, I arrived at Oceanside, a little town past Tillamook. This town meant business. The Ocean was *right* beside the town. I pulled over, opened the door and looked at the Pacific, from a height of abt 20-30 ft. It was a wondrous sight. Dark night, the sky so very busy with stars, the dark ocean - only really seen from the froth of the waves, and the rush of the continuous waves. The best setting for dinner, ever. Which I promptly had in my car. And then I hung around for a bit, drove a few feet to the next pullout and watched the ocean and the sky. Totally worth the drive. And then I turned around and headed back to the hotel. I hit some snow on the way, just to make it more adventurous, and was back by 10 pm. And before I left, I made a promise to my friend. Back for a sunset the next time.



Oh yeah, and there are cherry blossoms all around this place. Sweet.