Rain, rain go away!

   If the trip keeps going as it is, I’m going to trade the Tahoe in on an Ark. 

A very wet departure from the Benbow Inn

   Our drive Monday was one of the most difficult we have done since we have been traveling. Bottom line is that we got from Garberville, California to Portland, Oregon safely, but in between it was a white knuckle trip filled with sometimes torrential rains and partially flooded roads.

   To say this was a nasty day is to say the Titanic was a bad cruise.

    We started out in the rain and it just never stopped. Not only didn’t it stop it continued to get worse as we headed north. The Pacific Northwest is known for rainy weather and today was a really prime example.

    Joan is insisting the sun came out when we arrived in Portland but if it did it was only for a brief moment.

    Creeks became rivers and rivers became rushing torrents of water that in some cases were overtopping banks and flooding farmland and property throughout northern California and Oregon.

    The local news was full of really terrible news for folks about the effects of all this rain.

   Mix that pouring rain with a windy mountain road lined with massive trees made this one really bad travel day. I will admit to using cruise control during much of our travels, but today with the wet roads and the extreme possibility of hydroplaning I was unable to use the cruise control which mean my knees are aching as I write this.

    In addition to everything else, Joan’s iPhone went on the fritz. Overnight it did not charge and was dead as a possum on a freeway when we left The Benbow Inn this morning. We didn’t know if the phone had gone bad, the cord had gone bad or the battery was no good, but her phone simply wouldn’t work.

Avenue A Cafe in Miranda

   We had OnStar take us to the nearest cellphone repair shop which turned out to be in Grants Pass, Oregon and the man there diagnosed the issue as a bad charger cord. We plunked down $12 and soon Joan’s phone was right as rain – although I’m not sure I think rain is right anymore.

    In addition to the weather, my trip planning did not take into account that we would be coming into Portland during the evening rush hour, which probably delayed us another 45 minutes in getting to our hotel.

    Joan did manage to spot an elk herd near Orick, California and OnStar waved us off from traveling up the coast of Oregon and took us up the center of Oregon on I-5, which was probably a better bet considering all the rain coming in off the ocean on Monday.

    Oregon and northern California seem to be taking full advantage of relaxed marijuana laws with shops and stores in nearly every town. Hemptation and Redwood Cannabis were just two of the great store names we came across.

   Also, in case you were wondering, the “Center for World Peace and Understanding” is located in a small town called Miranda, California in the heart of the Redwoods.  Someone shoot a note to President Trump and Kim Jung Un and let them know where it is soon.

   We did start the day out with a good breakfast at The Avenue Café in Miranda, California and ended it with dinner at Ristorante Di Pompello in Troutdale, Oregon near the Comfort Inn where we stayed. Both meals were good. We spent part of the day listening to Cousin Brucie doing a rock reunion in Florida and then listened to some of the NCAA basketball championship.

The sign says it all (click on photo to enlarge)

   One more thing I learned in Oregon. They have a law that requires someone at the gas station to pump your gas. No self serve in Oregon. I found that out when a young women came bolting out of the store in the gas station to inform me to take my hands off the gas nozzle.

   Not sure if this is a make work project in Oregon, but in addition to not pumping your own gas, don’t you dare ask for a straw, at least not a plastic one.

Mileage out at Benbow Inn:  9307

Time out at Benbow Inn: 8:30 a.m.

Mileage in to Portland, Oregon: 9817

Time in to Portland, Oregon: 6:39 p.m.