Monday July 15th 2019

When I raised the blinds this morning it looked to be a very cloudy and dull day, but it turned out to be worse. Although I couldn’t here any rain on the roof the windshield of my motorhome had water streaking down the glass. The air was full of a heavy mist. It got brighter and drier during the afternoon with a high temperature in the low seventies.

I finally got out of the campground today without a defined plan other than to tour the area. When I encountered route US 20 in Corvallis I had a whim to follow. I grew up in Massachusetts about fifty miles from the eastern end of US 20. Corvallis is fifty miles from the west end of US 20. I had to follow it to the end. I drove west on US 20 over the coastal mountains to the end of the road in Newport Oregon at the intersection with coastal route US 101. On the return trip I saw a sign that read Boston 3,365 miles.

The trip to the end of US 20 also resulted in another milestone. Rob’s Rambling Road Trip has reached the Pacific Ocean. I drove south on US 101 and stopped at one of the state beaches. After a short walk I was at the ocean. It was low tide and a very chilly sixty degrees so I wasn’t going to get anything other than my fingers wet. It was enough to declare the milestone complete. The motorhome will not reach the coast until next month. For now reaching the coast with my towed SUV dingy satisfies my milestone completion criteria.

The short portion of the coast I saw on this trip was pretty. Newport seems to be a very tourist focused town. I get the impression that the whole coast is dedicated to tourism. The traffic was heavy and included a lot of RVs of various types. I think I understand better why I’m finding it difficult to find places to make reservations.