Day Thirty-Five: Oregon- Pacific Wonderland!

Last night was probably the best sleep we've had the entire trip. The kids next door were quiet (the moms threatened to take today's trip away from them) and it was actually warm out, so it was quite comfortable! We slept through our alarm, which turned out to not be a bad thing. We packed up and headed to our next stop, which was Cascade Locks. We got a little turned around, like usual (probably tired of reading about that and think, "What's the point of the GPS if you don't follow the directions?" We do. Or at least, try to...) So, after taking an hour or so longer, we got to Portland, Oregon. First impressions: it doesn't seem that there is as much 'city' as 'outside sprawl'. We did learn, though, that Oregon gas stations are not self-serve. The lady was kind of rude about it. Even though she clearly saw we were from out-of-state, as she grilled our license plate, and then came to help. Also, we are getting back to where it is warm. It was around 80 at 4:00 this afternoon. We have to re-acclimate!! Anyway, we kept driving out to our campground and in the distance, you can see Mt. Hood, which is Oregon's highest point. We are staying about 30 minutes from Portland, along the Columbia River. I sure hope the girls next to us invite us over for some drinks! They have an entire bar out there. But I hope that whoever is lucky enough to have the hammock doesn't roll out tonight. That would hurt. Since we got here pretty early, we were able to set up (in record time, probably) and make dinner. Tonight was Baja Citrus shrimp. It was delicious! We're getting good with the grill. And dessert, too- grilled pineapple. So, now we are going to plan the next few days out in Portland and the surrounding areas. (And Sarah, Oregon is up there, too, on our list of places, not just Washington! ;0) ) And, of course, this campground is also next to a railroad track. They have so many out here, I guess it has to be near something. And the bats. I hope they don't get me tonight. Robyn is being a jerk about them. Someone may end up in the car tonight...And then there go the dogs...