I motored through Oregon in a day, reaching the city of Portland in the evening. The first part of the day was spent hugging the coast, through a series of beautiful bays and small towns which were all demarcated as tsunami danger zones. In the early afternoon, I was seeing little of the ocean and the going was slow, so I headed inland from Reedsport along the banks of the beautiful Umpqua river to the Interstate freeway (for anyone who has never spent time on the US road system: an interstate, other than doing what the name says, is a big freeway with a lot of traffic and higher speed limits).
My overnight in Oregon was a great experience: 20 minutes east of the city of Portland in a suburb with the unlikely name of Troutdale, I stayed at the McMenamins Edgefield. Doesn't sound too amazing, I thought when it was recommended to me. But the hotel really is beautiful, with a strong alternative feel, covered with murals. Its a restored poor farm project (part of Roosevelt's New Deal) which has been renovated with loving attention to detail, and its not just a hotel/hostel but a microbrewery (its own beer, wine and pear brandy) with a whole complex of bars, music stages and wine-tasting cellars. Here's a selection of some of the murals.
I was really tired when I arrived, so although I drove into Portland hoping to see something of it, I ended up just walking around a little and driving back to the hotel to get some sleep. I did go through again the next morning for breakfast, and what little of the city I saw I liked a lot: for one thing it seems to have one of the most extensive tram networks I've seen in America.
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