Day 17 - Aberdeen to Newport - Southbound on Hwy 101

 I had a bunch of work to get caught up on so we stayed until 11:00am at last night’s hotel. It was a good morning. I got lots done.

We headed on out to Highway 101 and followed the Pacific Ocean all the way down through Washington State and into Oregon. What a difference Oregon is from Washington. Maybe it was just the towns that we went through and, we didn’t pass through Seattle, but Washington seemed very poor and run down. We didn’t see anywhere that looked prosperous. Oregon, so far, is totally different. The towns for the most part look like folks are doing OK. Maybe it’s being beside the ocean. Maybe it was having the sun shine almost all day, but today’s drive was a pleasure from what we had just passed through.

I guess we’d make better time a bit further inland, but driving down 101 is great. We love the small towns, amazing ocean views, lush forests, roads twisting and turning everywhere. We’re not making great time or big distances along this route, but the views are breathtaking.

We thought we’d make it to Coos Bay when we headed out, but traffic was much slower than it had been. We readjusted out destination to Newport. We passed through some beautiful towns just before we got here. We wondered if we should stop a bit early at one of these towns but we’re glad we kept going. We found a hotel right on the waters edge. All we see out our window is the ocean. The tide is going out, so the beach keeps getting wider. We’re hoping it will still be out in the morning so we can go walk that beach before we head out.