The Best Things in Oregon are Free

We left the free hotel, drove north along the coast, and eventually ended up staying a little inland, in a National Forest, where we found an established campground that was actually no-pay. (Maybe a first on this trip.) It was chilly, and the air was damp, so when we saw the only other person there sitting by a fire, we quickly made friends. That night, Steve brought us wood from his fire, so we could have our own. And then, in the morning, he brought us his extra coffee. And then, by late morning, we were all bunched around his fire again, trying to thaw. He gave us a bunch of great suggestions for what to do in Portland, including an outdoor store, and I mentioned I might look for a tent there (as Chelsea's tent, along with Chelsea, will sadly be leaving me soon). Steve thought for a second, then went to his car, pulled out a little camping tent and threw it in my lap. That's right, a free tent. Flippin' awesome! He said he never used it anymore, and wanted to get rid of it anyways. I haven't set it up yet, but I'm really excited.

We left the campsite and drove somemore coast on Steve's suggestion, and ended up eating an entire crab, as well as some great local cheese and ice cream in Tillamook. Delicious! And then we went to Portland. Once in town, we went to the outdoor store and a used bookstore Steve had given us directions to, and enjoyed the good old free WiFi in the coffee shop until the girl at the counter started to close up shop and give us the 15 minute warning. At 10 minutes, she came around and offered us the coffee she was about to dump, and at 5 minutes, a couple of the pastries that were now officially "day-old." And by the time we were leaving, at 10 after, we had a whole bag of pastries, fancy juice drinks, and big smiles of gratitude. We didn't even get her name, but she was super nice and, this morning, as we eat our pastries, we're super grateful.

Finally, we dug out a torn sheet of paper from our travel notes, and dialed a number that had been scrawled by a fellow-camper in Joshua Tree about a month ago. After some very minimal interactions, Brady, a teacher on Spring Break with some teacher friends, had offered us a place to stay if we ever got to Portland. Now in Portland, we took down directions and wandered towards his place. He and his roommates are not only letting us stay here, but they've also been great in providing maps and directions to the things we should be doing (instead of internetting), and they aren't too shabby at being entertaining either.

So there you have it, more awesome free stuff in Oregon. We are loving it!