And Then Another Thing Happened

   When we last spoke our day started off horribly and finished well; we were planning to hit a couple of Triple D restaurants in Portland on Monday. Well, with no dog to wake us we slept in Monday morning and didn't hit the road until almost 10 am so lunch in Portland was out. Instead, we headed up the Oregon coast and found some of the most spectacular scenery ever. Penny and I were seriously considering buying a house there, that's how beautiful it was. I know photos can't capture a lot of this stuff, but I'll try. These shots were taken near Brookings, OR:

  Around every bend for about three hours was another fantastic viewpoint. We were also constantly reminded we were in a volcanic/earthquake zone:

  One of the more spectacular sights was a place called Thor's Well, where seawater would boil up from underneath and drain just as quickly:

  We completed Monday's travels in Portland with the expectation Tuesday would be an easy day punctuated by some Atlas Obscura oddities and a return to Canada. Well, that was wishful thinking 😟.

  Tuesday started ok with a decent cup of coffee and a tasty breakfast. We had planned to drive east from Portland to see Multnomah Falls, which was hyped as a very impressive waterfall that we just had to see. We drove the twenty miles only to find that, jaded and experienced travelers that we are, it's just another waterfall. Scenic, but nothing to write home about... but I am writing home about it... anyway, we left.

  On the way back to Portland we searched out a good place to take a picture of Mt. Hood but that proved to be impossible since it was either blocked by trees or only visible while going 70 mph on a freeway. Penny managed to get this while I sat half on a road with traffic stopped behind me at a traffic light:

  After that, it was back to a traffic-choked Portland. Slow traffic everywhere and lots more homeless encampments which were more depressing than those we saw around San Francisco. Apparently the west coast attracts the homeless due to the pleasant weather. Anyway, we managed to get a couple of local oddities for our collection, like another Paul Bunyan:

... and a salmon... in a wall...

  We left Portland in the rear view mirror and headed to the Great White North. Once we'd crossed into Washington state we saw signs pointing to Mt. St. Helens so our curiosity took us off the interstate for a bit so we could do the tourist thing:

  The left side of the mountain is where the eruption blew open in 1980. We didn't get closer as it involved a fifty mile detour and we were aiming at Vancouver for late afternoon so we beat feet outta there back to I-5. That was the end of our fun for the day because, once we were on the interstate again Another Thing Happened (see the way I got the title in there?).

  Throughout our trip I've been saying things like, "No, we can't drive on that rocky road because our tires are wearing out and they'll break.", and Penny's been thinking I'm such a drag. So, we're driving on pavement and hit a break in the slab that results in a jarring thump and next thing I know I'm saying, "Does the road feel really rough here?" Well friends, the road was just fine, thank you very much. The right front tire? Not so much. The sidewall blew out on both sides of the wheel.

  There we were on a very narrow shoulder on the side of one of the busiest interstate highways in the country, unable to open a door and unable to drive. A call to AAA and a tow truck was dispatched but not before a nice highway patrol officer pulled up behind us to inform us we had to vacate that spot else she'd have us towed. So, we limped a couple of hundred yards along the shoulder to the next exit without breaking the wheel then had a nice chat with her.

  She was curious about our Ontario license plates, not knowing where that was. When we told her it was a Canadian province she was baffled. "I've seen lots of British Columbia plates and I thought that was all of Canada", she said with a smile. And this is from a resident of a border state. We would have expected this from someone in Alabama or Arkansas but Washington? Sheesh.

  Anyway, three hours and $880 USD later we had a new set of four tires from Les Schwab and we were back on the road. We arrived in Surrey, BC a few hours later than planned, but we're here. I'm booked into an auto glass shop for Friday morning to get the window replaced and we're waiting on the insurance company to approve a shopping spree to replace our clothing, etc.

  Finally, meet Makita:

  She's a Bernese Mountain Dog and the picture doesn't convey how big she is, about 24" tall and weighs about 100 lbs. This is a fat dog. And, largely, untrained. We're gonna have some fun here 😂. Stay tuned.