Caelynn and I got back to planning our quarterly surprise trips for each other. This time around, she was the one that got to go first and, credit to her, she did a better job of keeping the destination a secret up until we arrived at our gate for departure. The rules were a little different this time: the trip had to be domestic (mostly because I’m still physically impaired with my broken leg).
We got to planning our trips around late January / early February, well before the COVID-19 virus shut everything down indefinitely. Unfortunately, the trip that I planned had to be postponed, as it the dates were set for the end of April. With the stay-at-home order extended through mid-May (currently), I’m looking forward to reengaging with my trip as soon as we’re cleared to leave and things are safe again.
In the meantime, I’ll be here fondly reliving the trips we’ve already had the pleasure of going on. Oregon is one of the most beautifully scenic states I’ve ever visited, and I’m excited to recount it all with you!
PORTLAND
We got into PDX around midday, rented a Jeep ($250 for the week), and drove into Portland, where we’d stay for the next two nights. I’m not sure why but we were exhausted that first day. A quick 2 hour flight is all it took for us to get from LA to Portland but, for some reason, it really seemed to take a lot out of us. Our first night in Portland we just walked around the downtown area, ate a bunch of food, and called it a night pretty early. We stayed at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Portland ($171/night) which turned out to be perfect for us. They’re dog friendly, centrally located, and it’s got a fun, unique vibe about it.
On our second day in Oregon, we decided to venture into the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. This is a must for anyone visiting Portland for the first time. Multnomah Falls is unquestionably one of the most photographed waterfalls in North America, and for good reason. I’ve wanted to see these iconic twin falls for so long now and I’m so stoked that Caelynn decided to take us here. There’s a one mile hike from the bottom to the top that I thought we’d be able to complete. Lo and behold, my leg wasn’t up for the challenge and, after getting about halfway, we decided to turn back for the bottom. We caught the falls on a slow day, which wound up being great for pictures and allowed for us to experience a calmer side of this PNW treasure.
We spent the rest of the day driving to various waterfalls throughout the Columbia River Gorge. Our exploration was limited, mostly because of me, and a little because of Pappy’s tiny little legs but we saw as much as we could. If you’re driving through the gorge, a simple google search of various waterfalls won’t let you down. There’s tons to do and see here and we easily killed the whole day driving around and taking pictures.
We were set to leave early the next morning for the coast, the main reason Caelynn took us to Oregon. But I wanted to see one last thing that was close enough to Portland to justify the quick drive. If you type “Airplane Home Oregon” into Google Maps it’ll bring you to just that, an airplane home nestled in the trees, just 30 minutes outside of downtown Portland. We rolled up to the home to an eerie calmness and weren’t sure if we were allowed to even be there so we drove back to the road and did some research before potentially trespassing again. Turns out, the guy that owns the airplane encourages people to show up unannounced, take pictures, and even fly their drones (yay!). So we did just that, played around the area for about 45 minutes while the sun set and took some really cool pictures. If you have time, be sure to swing by the airplane home!
OREGON COASTAL DRIVE
The main reason Caelynn brought us to Oregon was for the scenic coastal drive. I’ve always heard stories about how breathtaking it is, so I was more than excited to finally get to experience it firsthand. We started as far North as we possibly could, in the small town of Astoria. Truth be told, we didn’t find much to see or do in Astoria, BUT if you’re a fan of the 1985 cult classic “The Goonies,” you’ll be in heaven. You can even stop by the house they were going to lose in the film, the very reason they needed to find One Eyed Willy’s gold. Just be sure to park down the street and walk up, as the signs clearly indicate.
WRECK OF THE PETER IREDALE
Our first big stop was the Wreck of the Peter Iredale, a pretty cool ship wreck on the beach. This was my first experience getting to drive a car on the sand, and one of the main reasons Caelynn decided to rent us a Jeep. Getting to fly my drone alongside the car while we drove down the shore was loads of fun, and we each had a blast taking turns, rallying the car around a bit. For those that are looking to do a similar trip, I think a Jeep is the way to go, for this reason alone.
CANNON BEACH
We spent the next few hours driving down to Cannon Beach, where the iconic Haystack Rock rests. When we first pulled up and saw the coastline we both had to stop everything and simply look with adoration. It’s no wonder why the Oregon coast is such a popular tourist attraction, it’s stunning. We decided to book a spot on the water and stay on Cannon Beach for the night. That way we could wake up, walk around Haystack a little bit more, and set off early enough to continue our way down South.
THOR’S WELL
One of the coolest things I uncovered along the coast was Thor’s Well. Most things you see online are much cooler than what you actually get in real life, but not here. To be honest, my expectations were low because of that reason. I didn’t expect to see much. When we first pulled up, it was too cold and wet to warrant a trip down to the rocks to see the water up close. We decided to head back into town, have some dinner, then head back over for sunset. Once we got back, the rain miraculously cleared, the temperature somehow rose, and the tide was high. All this led to a magical sunset off in the distance and some cool shots of Thor’s Well that I consider us lucky to have gotten. We stayed the night in the small town of Yachats nearby, we had driven enough for the day.
SECRET BEACH
I don’t usually like sharing specific locations, to help preserve the mystery and allure of finding it on your own. That said, a simple Google search brings up this secret beach, so how secret can it really be? This was next on our list and, even though we stopped a few times along the coast to take pictures and enjoy the scenery, Secret Beach stole the show, both in good and bad ways. Needless to say, it’s a beautiful secluded beach, and we were lucky to have it to ourselves with nice weather when we arrived, but it wasn’t until a few days later that I realized what I had encountered there. The trail was hard to find at first, so I followed a lesser-traveled path, brushing against many plants and bushes along the way. Turns out, some of those plants carried some poison oak and it left me scratching like a fiend for weeks to come. Still worth it though!
The entire Southern coast of Oregon really is mind-blowing. There were times where I had to pull over and make Caelynn drive just so I didn’t have to focus on driving and could spend my energy admiring the coastline. We made it as far down as the Oregon/California border to see some Redwoods on our last morning of the coastal drive. We got to see some pretty epic trees but the photograph I wanted unfortunately eluded me.
That morning we set out for Portland to catch our flight early the next morning. The drive is about six hours on a straight shot but, of course, I made us stop a few times and go waterfall hunting. It’s not a bad way to break up those long drives and stretch the legs. After a few more fruitless adventures, we made it back to Portland where we got to lay our heads one last time in Oregon before returning home.
As always, when Caelynn and I travel together, here’s her take on the whole trip:
CAELYNN’S CORNER
Back in January, Dean and I decided to keep our surprise trips going, but this time we were going to keep them in the US while Dean’s leg continues to heal. My trip was first, and I had originally planned for us to go to Hawaii, but similar to last time, I accidentally told Dean where we were going. So I changed the plans about a month beforehand and settled on Oregon. I thought it would be the perfect place for us to go, and we could bring Pappy!
I wrote out a list of things I wanted to see in Oregon, which amounted to be about 20 different stops all over the state. I knew we wouldn’t be able to go to all of them, so I stuck to the coast. I booked our flights, our rental car, and a hotel for two nights in Portland. I figured we would drive down the coast and find a hotel the day of so we didn’t feel rushed.
I really wanted us to go somewhere where we could take photos, maybe hike a little, visit a beach, and enjoy different scenery. Oregon was perfect for this, it is one of the most beautiful states I have ever been to. It amazed me that at every single turn something new would take my breath away. Eventually we had to stop ourselves from pulling off at every viewpoint, because each one was amazing.
Portland’s food was great, but other than that we didn’t explore much of the city. We went about 45 minutes outside of the city to Multnomah Falls. While we were there, Dean ran into some people who recommended we go to the airplane home. I did a lot of research prior to our trip, but the airplane home never came up. The next day we ventured out that way. I was pretty sketched out pulling up to it learning that someone actually lives there. I got nervous and we drove out, but I looked through their website and found that we could take photos, fly a drone, etc. It was really cool to see, the owner does tours inside, but those have to be scheduled in advance so I’m hoping it’s something we can do next time!
The next day we started our drive down the coast. We drove north two hours to Astoria to see the remnants of a ship wreck. While we were there we realized we could drive on the beach, something neither of us had ever done before. It felt like something out of a movie with dozens of birds flying alongside our car. It was definitely one of my favorite memories from the trip. That night we stayed at a hotel right on the water and in front of Haystack Rock. It was great to wake up with that view and head down to the beach first thing in the morning. Haystack Rock was incredible, but as we drove down the coast, we found that those big rock formations are everywhere, and yet stumbling upon them never got old.
The rest of the trip consisted of stopping at different viewpoints and taking photos until we made it to Secret Beach, which was meant to be our final stop on our trip. Secret Beach did not disappoint and definitely lived up to its name. It was a bit difficult getting to it at first because we took the wrong trail, but once we found the correct path it was pretty clearly marked. Secret Beach was my favorite stop we made. It was just the three of us there, and it was so serene.
Overall it was a really fun and relaxing trip. Pappy seemed to be his happiest self on this trip. He loves to hike and explore so his tail was wagging the whole time. I’m excited to go back at some point and see more of Oregon.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s no surprise that Oregon didn’t disappoint. If anything, the most disappointing thing was that we didn’t get enough time to spend exploring the state. This trip was especially great because we got to bring along our little Pappy. Costs were a little bit higher because we had to pay pet deposits at hotels and pay for his flight, but he did great and it was so worth it. Every day he impresses us with his ability and willingness to dive in head first. He’s the coolest little man ever.
On our third day in Oregon things regarding COVID-19 began getting more serious, at least domestically. We considered cutting our trip short but, since the stay-at-home order had yet to be issued, we figured continuing on and maintaining our distance from people was a sound strategy. We weren’t directly affected by closures or anything at that time so the trip still went off without a hitch. That said, we’ve since self-isolated and are doing are best to flatten the curve here in Los Angeles. Once this is all said and done, we’re looking forward to carrying on as usual.
Have you been to Oregon and know of any spots we might’ve missed? I’m definitely already excited to be planning a return trip. I get the sense that summer in Oregon is hard to top anywhere else. Please let us know where we should visit upon our return, it’ll be greatly appreciated!
And don’t forget to check out Caelynn’s vlog on YouTube from our trip to Oregon! CLICK HERE