My Fellow Americans (and those few non-Americans who read this blog),

Walked the beaches of the Oregon coast today. Also drove about 150 miles on Highway 101. Magnificent! Some of the best days of my life have been enjoyed driving up and down this magnificent road. Every turn presents another orgy for the eyes. Makes the Atlantic coastline look like the bank of some farm pond.


And get this--you can actually SEE the Pacific coastline from the road! For miles and miles and miles it is visible and not obstructed by houses or shoreline private roads. And you can walk on the beaches--for free! And no town or county or state charges you to park your car! In Oregon most of the shoreline is state park and totally accessible.


Some other observations about Oregon:


Personal grooming and dress are low priorities throughout Oregon. The grungier one looks the better--especially the men. Most women here at least comb their hair. But if I were to move here I would have to invest heavily in flannel shirts (ripped preferably) and hoodies--and I would have to let my hair grow and faithfully comb it once a year.

Eastern Oregon is the west and Portland is the east. Eastern Oregon is ranch and farm country and very dry where not irrigated. And Portland is liberal northeastern in its politics--but it has a laid back tempo and ethos like California. Also Portland has amazing formal gardens. It ain't called the Rose City for nothing. And you can't pump your own gas in Oregon--it's like New Jersey that way. But the gas prices in Jersey are cheaper. You think a lot about gas prices when you are logging about 400-500 miles a day.


75% of Oregon is brown and dry and 25% of Oregon is green and lush. And the people and the cities are where its green. Except a lot of where it is green are mountains and trees on a rampage. You have never seen such trees in your life! There is a reason the Oregon license tag has a picture of a Douglas fir on it.

I actually wrote more stuff for this blog post and it was brilliant, but my wi-fi connection crapped out and it got lost in cyber space. And now I am tired and going to bed.

Happy Trails!

RM