Exploring Oregon

A state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, Oregon resides on the Pacific Coast. Jason Buzi hadn’t been in Oregon in about 15 years except that a few months ago, he visited Seattle with some friends during his birthday weekend. They spent a day in Seattle and a day in Portland. They surely loved Seattle because it was vibrant, interesting, artistic, energetic and alive. Other than that, there were great neighborhoods with outdoor art, hip cafes, beautiful architectures, unusual bars, famous music scenes, and of course, great restaurants.

They never wanted to leave ‘til they decided to extend their vacation to Portland. In contrast to Seattle, they found Portland to be dull, lifeless, and people seemed to be lethargic. It wasn’t as beautiful as Seattle. They visited the recommended spots found in the guidebooks as well as in online travel sites. Most of the places they visited were deserted and sluggish. The only place people were flocking in was called “Voodoo Donuts”, where in many waited in line for long hours. They all agreed that Portland sucks. 

As for Oregon, Jason Buzi remembered little about it except that it was a beautiful state. He decided to spend the two days in the coast as possible as well as in the “Crater Laker”. He started his trip in Astoria, a northernmost town on the Oregon Coast, where the Columbia River, a border between Oregon and Washington. The movies such as “The Goonies”, “Kindergarten Cop”, “Free Willy”, and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” were among the films that took place in Astoria. Being the largest town in the area, it felt much bigger than its official population of only 10,000. 

After Astoria, he continued down the coast to places he couldn’t remember the name but all of them were very gorgeous. As he reaches the Rockaway Beach, a 4^th of July parade was taking place. It was a cute little town. The views from the hilltop of the beach below were breathtaking. There were also the “Three Coves”, which required a detour from 101, which goes along the coast for the most part. 

Many of the beaches in Northern Oregon had rocks near the shore. Sometimes it had only a big rock then sometimes several rocks or sometimes arches. There were also many rivers along the way. Also, it displayed some forest, meadows and even waterfalls. Occasionally, a dear could be spotted grazing near the road or in the hills. They passed by Tillamook, a place famous for its cheese factory and an oyster shucking plant. Unfortunately, since it was the 4^th of July, both places were closed. After many stops in order to take in so many amazing views of all sorts of beaches, one might think it could get redundant yet it didn’t because every beach was different and unique in its own way. After the long ride, they arrived in the town of Newport at around 7 in the evening. 

Jason Buzi got up early and spent all day on the road and never stopped except during lunch. He was able to cover a third of the Oregon Coast. Decided to go home the following night and wanted to see the Crater Lake before leaving the state, he somewhat reluctantly left the coast and headed inland.

The next morning, he drove his way to Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States by average depth the third deepest in the world and Oregon’s only national lake. Upon arrival, he was surprised at all the now. On the way in, the park ranger told him that half the ring road going around the lake was closed due to snow. It was unfortunate of him not being able to drive all around the lake. Furthermore, the greenish blue waters, an island in the middle, snow and forest around it was one of the most spectacular lakes Jason Buzi had ever seen.

 Bottomline is Oregon is a beautiful state. If you are into coastal scenery, lakes, forests, and charming little towns, you will definitely love Oregon.