Sibling Assignment 101 Highlights Highway 101

For Sibling Assignment # 101, RP gave us this assignment:

Let's focus on US Route 101, the north/south route running from Olympia/Port Angeles to Los Angeles. Read more about the highway, here. We've all traveled different sections of this famous highway. Write about a specific experience you enjoyed or survived on U.S. Route 101.

I have traveled along this route numerous times in my life, but, as our family plans a trip to the Oregon coast in August to meet Raymond Pert, IEG and JEJ, and mom at Rockaway Beach, it reminded me of the last time we traveled along the Oregon coast as a family, in the summer of 2002.

Could it really have been seven years ago?

We traveled to Oregon because RP's stepdaughter was getting married in Eugene that summer, so we decided to make a vacation out of it, and take our time getting to Eugene.

We traveled to Portland, and spent the first night there.

Then we headed over to the coast. One of my favorite things to do is plan a vacation, and find interesting, out of the way places to stay when we vacation. I don't like staying at hotels or condos. I like places with a certain uniqueness about them.

After Portland, we traveled to the town of Wheeler, and stayed at a small motel in this town, called Wheeler on the Bay Lodge. There are three towns that kind of go together on the northern coast of Oregon, Wheeler, Nehalem and Manzanita. We explored this area, and spent some time crabbing here, if I remember correctly. This was before you needed a license to crab, which I believe is now the case. But, of course, we couldn't keep the crabs, because The Princess could not eat something with eyes that looks at her.

After a few days in this area, we headed south to Newport. Here our homebase was an interesting rental called Above the Schoolhouse Lodging, a small loft located above a Montessori Preschool. It is located about a block from Nye Beach, and was a perfect location.

While here, we visited the Aquarium in Newport, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, The Wax Museum, and the Undersea Gardens.

PKR's brother and his wife, KR and RR had just moved to Oregon and met us there. We look forward to going to visit them again on our trip in August, where they manage a motel in McKenzie Bridge.

I remember going and purchasing a fresh crab on the waterfront, and steaming it and having it for dinner one night. It was the best thing I have ever eaten in my life, and hope to have that experience again this summer.

From Newport we headed south to Eugene for the wedding.

Here are some pictures from our trip.
While in Portland, we visited OMSI, and took a tour of the USS Blueback (SS-581).
This submarine was used in the filming of the movie "The Hunt for Red October."

Here we are on the steps of the Above the Schoolhouse Lodge. We all have out Oregon Coast sweatshirts on in the picture.

Here the girls are goofing around with their aunt and uncle.
Here is IEG, RP and myself in Eugene.