Pacific Coast Highway : the road trip part 4

Shopping was the main order of day 3 in this city known for its microbreweries and more importantly, tax-free shopping! Surrounding downtown Portland is a cluster of neighborhoods each with it’s own distinct character and the shops and restaurants to go with it. Suffice it to say, we did some major damage.

It was the morning of day 4 and, sadly, time to say our goodbyes to Therese and to Portland. However, I refused to leave without trying the legendary maple bacon log at Voodoo Doughnuts featured by Anthony Bourdain in his Pacific Northwest episode. It was even more sinful and scrumptious than I imagined it to be!

After punching in Seattle as the next destination on the GPS, we were on our merry way. Washington state was just as beautiful as I remembered. The Columbia River, Mt. Rainier, the Cascade mountains, Puget Sound, all of this made for a spectacular scenic drive.

My heart did a tiny backflip when the Seattle Space Needle came into view. I’d been to Seattle twice before but could never get enough of Pike’s Place Market. After a quick lunch and coffee from the very first Starbucks outlet, we explored the colorful, noisy aisles of the market. It was too soon when we left an hour later.

Crossing the US-Canadian border was pretty uneventful. The queues weren’t very long and we made it through without a hitch. It was 7:30 when I rang the doorbell of my sister’s place in Richmond and practically knocked her down when she opened the door. If there was any regret that our road trip had come to an end, it was quickly forgotten with the joyful family reunion. I spent the next two weeks spending quality time with my sister and her family and having a blast touring Colo and Lizzy around Vancouver. But that’s another story.

Though we didn’t stick to the planned route, I have no regrets. Life can be full of surprises when you are spontaneous. And though taking the plane is the fastest way to get to where you want to go, there is a richness in the journey of the open road that is absent from flying. But don’t take my word for it, make your own road trip memories. Who knows, I may just see you on the road. :)

Tunes that make me wanna hit the road:

Magic Carpet Ride – Steppenwolf
Runnin’ on Empty / Tender is the Night – Jackson Browne
Slowride – Foghat
Lowrider - War
Free Bird / Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Midnight Rider – Allman Brothers Band
Boys of Summer – Don Henley
Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
Take the Long Way Home – Supertramp
Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams
Touch of Grey – Grateful Dead
Long Train Runnin’/ China Grove – The Doobie Brothers.
Midnight Train to Georgia – Glady’s Knight & the Pips
Pink Houses / Jack & Diane / Wild Night– John Mellencamp
Solsbury Hill – Peter Gabriel
Have You Ever Seen the Rain – CCR
Fool in the Rain – Led Zeppelin
Southern Cross – CSN
Baba O’ Riley – The Who
Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band
Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
Here I go Again – Whitesnake
Little Green Bag – George Baker
In the Air tonight – Phil Collins
La Grange - ZZ Top
Ants Marching – Dave Matthews Band