{Northwest Coast Road Trip} Day 3: Redcrest, CA to Portland, OR

Monday (Memorial Day) was our big driving day. It took us about 11 hours (including stops for sightseeing and snack) to make it from NorCal to PDX. The drive was beautiful and we were more than willing to put in the miles for those vistas.

We pulled off the 101 to check out one of the secluded coastal coves along the way. The wind was cool, the air smelled salty and clean, and the shoreline was comprised of beautiful dark sand sprinkled with large wood slabs, perfect for resting and enjoying the view.

As we neared the 5, we pit-stopped in Crescent City for some Dutch Bros. My soy Cocomo was awesome, as always, but I couldn't resist sneaking sips of M's Annihilator.

Eugene, OR was a good stopping point to stretch our legs and get out of the car for a bit. Unfortunately, some of the places we wanted to check out were closed in light of the holiday (planning fail), but we stumbled upon Cafe Soriah while in search of some healthy noms. I didn't even get to snag a picture of our Baby Mazzah platter because I dove head first into this Mediterranean platter o' flavorful goodness. We intended to take our snack to-go, but they had a Ninkasi beer on tap (which was recommended to us by the very friendly cashier at Dutch Bros.), so we grabbed a table in the bar and enjoyed this lovely local ale with our meal. Charming and unexpected, this was a great moment and fantastic eats.

We made it to Portland later than expected, but were warmly welcomed by our sweet friends with whom we stayed while in town. It was nice to catch up a bit, but it wasn't long before we washed up and passed out, tuckered out from another wonderful day of exploring.

Next: We climbed a mountain and turned around...