Day 9 - Portland to Crescent City

Today was our catch-up day.  We needed to get to our hotel in Crescent City which was a seven-hour drive, and there were two ways to go:  the way we would have gone on the highways to the 101 (different from the LA 101) and down the coast, or more of a straight shot along the freeway.

We decided to see as much as we could so we elected the back-highways.  We left our lovely hotel room at the Modera, and said farewell to Portland, whose undeniable charm has us intrigued enough to return soon--aside from the bonus of having friends there (Meagan and Jim, we miss you already!).  Today was all about driving, driving, driving.  As a result, there were many lovely looking places that we passed, cute towns with shops and junk, vista points, and other various places.  We wanted to stop, but we were pressed for time, so when we did, our stops were short, the shutters flew, and we hopped in the car to continue to the trip.

The first city where our hotel was to be was Newport.  We stopped here for lunch.  It looked like a beautiful little town, but we sadly never left the highway.

Our next town was Gold Coast.  I don't think we even stopped here… I don't even remember it.

The light began to fade, and as we neared the California / Oregon border the foggy marine layer moved in, and the atmosphere became mysterious.  The drive became a challenge and fog lights came in handy.  I'm sure Gregory was white-knuckled as we sped through the foggy darkness.

We came to Crescent City and were disappointed that our room was a smoking room.  They were completely booked up, as were all the other hotels in the area, being a holiday weekend.  We apparently forgot to check "non" when we made the reservation.  It wasn't horrible.  I had smelled worse.  It only smelled a little like freshly smoked cat pee and vomit (why people smoke cigarettes is still beyond me).

It was 9PM by now and we needed to find a small-town restaurant that was still open.  The best recommendation was the restaurant attached to the Best Western down the street: the Northwoods (the real recommended place was already closed, so this the concierge's second choice).  Overall it was good.  Gregory had sturgeon and I had scallops and steak, which also came with veggies and a side of garlic fettucini, plus a trip to the soup and salad bar, because I needed to eat a giant mountain of food at 9:30 at night.  We opted for a slice of blackberry pie for dessert as it was actually made there.  It had an almost bready crust, not a flaky pastry pie crust.  It was fine, like having pie from someone whom this is their first attempt at making pie.  Like, "isn't this adorable," and "ooh yummy!"

Gag.

Really it was fine.  We were just tired from the trip and were grumpy about the room.  We discovered in the morning, that we have a lovely view from our room, and we can see and hear the ocean.  Our next task is to find a breakfast place with some good coffee.  And then it's on to the Redwoods!