This is Part 2 of my post about our Oregon road trip; in Part 1 you can find some suggestions for what to do, eat, and drink on a weekend in Portland! (You can also find out how much I freak out about driving… #roadtrippp.)
Day 4: Wine and Dunes: Portland to Florence
By now you probably know that Portland is cool, but byeeee Portland! Today’s the day you get to drive out to the coast with the wind in your h—ohh but actually you have loads of time, may as well make a couple of stops along the way!
Eugene’s right on the route from Portland to Florence, so it’s a great spot for lunch. We needed a cheap food day after PDX, so we opted for scrumptious food truck tacos, but there are loads of options, and even a Voodoo Doughnuts if you were too stuffed to try it in Portland.
Ok now it’s time to drive off to the coas—oooh hang on though, there’s a WINERY route basically ON THE WAY?! Durrrr you are going there! There are lots of wineries to choose from near the Territorial Highway, just off the route between Eugene and Florence. We visited Sweet Cheeks Winery and Sarver Winery to share a tasting at each (had to be responsible, we were driving). Both offered great wines and stunning views of the rolling vineyards.
Or: The Story of How I Overcame My Anxiety/Mild Phobia of Highway Driving with DIY Exposure Therapy (i.e. just driving, no escape) by Splitting an 11 Day Road Trip with My Ever-Patient Girlfriend! JK, I’ll save that riveting story for another time! But suffice it to say, when we planned this trip, I wasn’t ONLY thinking about all the food we were going to eat in Portland and the dramatic coastal landscapes we were going to see, I was also thinking about passing trucks at high speeds on the I-5 while remembering to focus on the MILES, not kilometres, on my speedometer, and lots of other things to do with driving. Obviously, I didn’t die, and I didn’t FEEL like I was going to die for at least MOST of the trip. Plus, it was so nice to have the flexibility to choose where we wanted to go and how long we wanted to stop. In conclusion: successful DIY project, and also: successful road trip.
K so back to Oregon: Here’s a guide to an excellent (IMHO perfect) Oregon road trip, based on a compressed version of our trip (we started in Vancouver*, spent an extra night in Portland, and had to stay the night in Port Angeles on the way home to catch the ferry to Victoria). Next up is the coast!
I lived in Seoul for 2 years between late 2012 and early 2015, and it’s one of my favourite cities in the world! I feel homesick for Seoul all the time. Sometimes I miss the little things, like the subway system, or staring confusedly at the grocery store shelves, trying to make sure I was buying the right kind thing. (Really, I miss that!) Sometimes, it’s the big things. Entertainment at all hours. The food. My lifestyle. It’s always nice to look back on that time, and I was inspired to write a Seoul megapost for anyone heading that way for the Olympics or otherwise. Here are some things to see, do, and eat in the winter**. Of course, this is not a comprehensive list! Do you have a favourite Seoul food or activity that’s not included? Let me know in the comments!
Jump to:
- Food (hotteok, samgyupsal, kim bap, dakgalbi, green tea latte, pajeon and makgeolli, yeoltan bulgogi, galmaegisal, somaek, chimaek, shabu shabu, fish bread, tteokbokki)
- Neighbourhoods (Myeongdong, Insadong, Hongdae (lesbian bars), Itaewon (queer bars), Gangnam)
- Sights/Activities (Namsan, palaces, jjimjilbang/spa, parks, noraebang/karaoke, dog/cat cafes, hiking, markets, temples, amusement parks, museums)
- Day Trips (DMZ, temple stay, toilet museum)
What an incredible year! It started with fireworks over the harbour in Victoria, and I’ll be ringing in 2018 in the Vinales valley, in Cuba! I have some great posts in the works for the new year, plus you can expect some Cuba-heavy content once we get back!
2017 was full of close-to-home adventures, and some big celebrations:
Day 4: Payzant Creek (km 40) to Botanical Beach Trailhead (km 47)
Read about our hikes from China Beach to Bear Beach, Bear Beach to Chin Beach, and Chin Beach to Payzant Creek.
Our last day on the trail was a short one: we only had 7kms to go! We woke up to misty treetops, and quickly packed up all of our gear, not minding that it was wet and muddy. Off we went!
Continue reading “Juan de Fuca Trail Day 4: Payzant Creek to Botanical Beach Trailhead”
Update August 2020: I’ve added a few more things to the list after subsequent trips to Hornby!
Last month I got invited to join Kyla and her family for a long weekend of camping on Hornby Island (I’ll ‘b’ careful not to misspell it). We spent five days there, so I was prepared for lots of lazing around, which – don’t get me wrong! – is a fantastic way to spend a vacation. What I didn’t realize was that there’s tons to do and see there! So while the island’s laid-back vibe meant plenty of recharge time, it was balanced out with lots of time exploring cute spots in town, gorgeous beaches and coastal bluffs, and checking out the bottom of many glasses of mead! Here are 5+ suggestions for things to see and do while on Hornby Island:
Skip to : Heron Rocks Campground, Hornby Co-op, Helliwell, Tribune Bay, boozes (mead, gin, wine), candied salmon.
Continue reading “Five(ish) Things to Do on Hornby Island”
In March, I met my sister and three friends in Las Vegas. Monica (sis) is getting married this fall, and for a while she’d joked about how much fun it would be to do a Vegas bachelorette. It turned out that the plan made a lot of sense! We were coming from different cities in eastern and western Canada, and it was a good excuse for us to travel.
This was my first trip to Vegas, and I’d conjured up this weird, wonderful land in my mind, where my senses would be overloaded by sounds and lights day and night. When I saw the slot machines in the airport, I knew I hadn’t been far off!
As the hotel shuttle weaved on and off the strip, I craned my neck to see the oversized landmarks and famous hotels and casinos, smiling like crazy about how I was actually physically in this place that had always sounded like fiction. Here are five things I learned and loved about Vegas, the city that seems simultaneously so real and so fantastical: Continue reading “Vegas: 5 Things to Love That Aren’t Gambling”
This one’s an oldie – it’s one of the first posts I published on this blog. I’m currently in the home stretch of my master’s degree, so it’s rerun time for blog posts! This is one of my absolute favourites, and since I’ve been dreaming about these warm spas lately, it seemed like the right choice!
One of the best ways to relax in Korea is to strip down and spend a day at the jjimjilbang, or public bathhouse/spa. If you’ve never been before, it can be a little overwhelming to figure it out. Namely: when should you be naked and when should you not be? (Coincidentally also one of life’s greatest questions.) Here are some guidelines for your first time.
Continue reading “Getting Naked with Strangers: Navigating the Korean Jjimjilbang”
I turned 30 last month; a lot has changed in the past 10 years! Here’s the TL; DR of the longer intro I’m not going to write: I turned 30; here are some ways that I’ve changed and some things that I’ve learned along the way about travel, sexuality, introversion, and wisdom teeth.
The weather’s nice and warm in Victoria, and I’ve been having mad cravings for some Korean summer foods. Here are a few super refreshing options!
Patbingsoo (팥빙수):
A mountain of shaved ice, topped with sweet red beans. It usually comes covered in sweetened condensed milk and topped with gooey rice cakes, and you can often order it with ice cream, fruit, cereal flakes, jelly, and in different flavours. Continue reading “Must Eats: South Korean Foods to Accompany a Hot Summer”
Note: this story takes place on First Nations traditional territory. It’s a fun one about a recent overnight trip, written in response to the prompt: “How did I end up here?”
“What should I name my pee-zee?”
We were a group of mostly lesbians, gathered around a campfire at our campsite on Vancouver Island’s southwest coast. My friend was obsessed with her new toy: a device that allowed her to pee standing up. Every so often she’d gleefully shout: “Be right back!”, and frolic off into the woods. We were excited about it too; a little jealous, even. We were also a little buzzed. Naming it only seemed natural.
Continue reading “Vancouver Island Camping: How Did I End up Here?”
Last month I joined a group of friends for a week-long trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico! The 12 of us rented an AMAZING Airbnb house and spent a week in the sun exploring, relaxing, eating, drinking, and perfecting our burns!
I really liked my friend Katrina’s post about the trip, so in the spirit of imitation as flattery (we had similar highlights!), here are my favourite things about the trip.
Les Talk, More Travel 