June 10: Lagoon Campsite, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, Oregon

We got another early start and headed towards Portland (Oregon, not Maine, though Maine’s Portland is the original). It was an uneventful ride until we got to Portland where we discovered that Oregon is very unhelpful to drivers. Many essential signs were missing and the area we were exploring was full of one-way streets (nothing new to us Providence dwellers) and it was impossible nearly everywhere to make a left turn. We felt a bit like Zoolander.

In Portland we walked around the Rose Garden (after an impressive hillside parallel parking job by Louisa), which was in bloom and thus beautiful. Louisa took a plethora of pictures. We took the scenic route back to the car and then got lunch at a rotating sushi bar. Then we headed to Powell’s Books, a gigantic bookstore which is very user-friendly (unlike the roads! we’re still not over it). It shelves the used books alongside the new books and is enormous. We could have spent all afternoon in there. However, we didn’t want a parking ticket and thus had to head back to the car. We decided to stay a little longer, got some delicious gelato, and did some window-shopping.

After Portland we headed to the Oregon coast. It took us quite a while to get there since we hit a little traffic. We made a supplies run at Safeway. We got some good deals (and the Safeway card that is a prerequisite for said deals) including spring themed Oreos, which have yellow filling, spring shapes on one side and are cheaper than normal Oreos.

Restocked, we continued toward the coast. The drive was worth it once we got there and were able to see the lovely coastline. We found a pretty beach and pulled over to make dinner. We had tried to pick one whose parking lot was fairly close to the beach since we wanted to bring our camp stove down and make some soup on the beach. It was a bit more of a walk than we were expecting but worth it. We even ran into a couple taking wedding photos on our way down to the water. We found a circle of rocks and a big piece of driftwood and set up operations. After a mishap in which Louisa spilled a good amount of lentil soup onto her jeans, we had the stove going and were heating up our dinner. We sliced up one of our avocados and had a delicious meal, which we finished with some of our recently acquired spring Oreos. We washed the dishes in the public bathroom and headed south in hopes of gaining a little more distance.

We drove until it was almost dark. Conveniently, the sun doesn’t set until close to 9pm. We pulled into a campsite that looked good. There was no one manning the entry way so we just pulled in, found an empty spot and made ourselves at home, opting to sleep in the car rather than set up the tent. We chose to ignore the $20 fee since there was no one to collect it and we would be leaving bright and early. Emily’s subconscious got the best of her that night. She dreamed that a park ranger had pulled up, blaring country music and demanding payment. In her dream, Emily remained “sleeping” in the back while Louisa forked over the campsite fee. Upon awaking the next morning Emily asked Louisa, “Did that guy really came by last night?” Louisa had no recollection of the event but checked her wallet nonetheless to make sure. No money was missing. Emily was just crazy and maybe a little paranoid.