The Action-Packed Adventure Part 4

It was Sunday, May 21, 2017.  I was still going strong in an action-packed adventure of a trip to the Pacific Northwest.  It started with a westbound trip on Amtrak's Empire Builder route, which, if you haven't done so already, you can read about in part 1.  Upon arriving in Seattle, I spent time in Washington and British Columbia--which is the focus of part 2, if you haven't had the chance to read about it yet.  And then I went south to spend a couple of days with my good friend Roy, taking in the sights and scenery of Oregon, which I tell about in part 3 if you haven't gotten the opportunity to read it yet.

Hope Church in Albany, OR

After attending the 9:00 service at Roy's church (please see photo above), we headed north on I-5 toward Portland.  One notable sign we passed indicated the location of the 45-degree north latitude parallel, exactly halfway between the equator and the north pole.

Here's the ride on Interstate 5

From what I can remember, the mountain appearing in the center of this photo is Mount Hood.

We also saw some of the natural scenery of the mountains along the way, and passed by Woodburn Premium Outlets, a large shopping complex.  Roy told me that people travel there from as far as Canada solely to shop.

We arrived around noon in Portland.  On our great western train trip 20 years ago, my family spent a few hours in Portland, mostly ambling around the downtown area, in between arriving on the Empire Builder and departing on the Coast Starlight.  I only remember looking around at a book fair and some fountains.  So it was nice that before catching the Empire Builder train back east that I would have the chance to soak in some of Portland, since two days earlier, I had only been there for about 30 minutes while at Portland Union Station transferring from the Cascades train to the thruway bus.

First, we had lunch at Andina, a Peruvian restaurant, which had tasty food, like my beef entree.  Then we moseyed along the streets in the Pearl District, looking at coffee shops, home goods stores, a shoe store (which had a shoe vending machine out front), and the renowned Powell's City of Books (please see the photo below).

Powell's was quite an impressive place, with its large array of books, with even a special rare books section, which included a very old copy of a famous medieval book that cost about $12,000.

Then we headed over by the waterfront along the Willamette River, which is a splendid spot for good views.  As we walked along, we stumbled upon the Portland market, with crafts, food trucks, and other wares for sale (please see picture below).  It was such a fine, summerlike day.

Here I am by the Willamette River waterfront.

Here I am near the Japanese American Historical Plaza, with the Historic Portland White Stag sign behind me.  Below is a close-up of that sign.

Portland, even as a big city, doesn't feel the same as big cities like Seattle and Chicago.  It's more of a down-to-earth kind of place, seeking to give off a certain vibe.

Around 4 PM, it was time for me to head to Portland Union Station to board the train back east, and so we walked there.

Here I am at Portland Union Station, getting ready to board the train.  Below is a close-up of the top of the stations' clock tower.

Roy and I concluded our wonderful visit together on an eloquent note by offering prayers for each other at the station.  With that, we parted ways, Roy back to Albany, and me to start my two-night journey back home by boarding the eastbound Empire Builder train, my first time riding this route eastbound.

I ended up lingering in Portland for another hour.  The northbound Coast Starlight train was stuck about 1/2 mile from the station because it couldn't cross the Steel Bridge over the Willamette River, apparently due to some structural safety issues, from what I heard the Amtrak personnel tell passengers at the station.  Because a significant number of passengers were transferring from the Coast Starlight to the Empire Builder, the latter's departure had to be delayed.

Here's the eastbound Empire Builder, waiting to depart Portland.

The Empire Builder finally departed around 5:45, about an hour late.  Within the hour, the train had crossed the Columbia River and entered Washington, one of several vantage points that provided a fabulous view of Oregon's famed Mount Hood.  After the first stop at Vancouver, WA, the train headed eastward, following the Columbia River corridor, with Oregon on the other side (please see the photo below).

A little ways east of Vancouver was the Bonneville Dam--which was interesting to pass, like the train had passed the Grand Coulee Dam on the way west to Seattle.  (You can see Bonneville Dam in the picture below, where the stone-looking wall is, stretching from the center to the left.)

There was lots of incredible scenery, including plenty of more great views of Mount Hood for miles and miles.

Mount Hood appears off in the distance in the middle of this photo, with the Columbia River in the foreground.  The Columbia is also in the picture below.

This was the leg of the Empire Builder route I had ridden 20 years ago on my family's grand train vacation, headed westbound, but I didn't remember much of the ride, or the scenery, so it was especially nice to experience it this time.  We passed from forested areas to the so-called desert area of central Washington/central Oregon.

Once again, Mount Hood appears just to the right of the exact center of this photo.  So far as I can remember, The Dalles, OR, is the city that appears on the opposite side of the Columbia River.  Below is a zoom-in shot of Mount Hood.

Here's the Columbia River again.

Late at night, at Spokane, we joined with the part of the Empire Builder that originated in Seattle, and then continued eastbound.

In the early hours of daylight on May 22, we were in Montana, and then passed through the gorgeous scenery by Glacier National Park.

Morning daylight washes over Libby, MT.

View from the train while traveling between Libby and Whitefish, MT

A view along the corridor between Glacier National Park and Flathead National Forest

In this photo, the train is traveling around a curve while journeying by Glacier National Park.  You can see the front part of the train just to the left of the center of the photo.

View of the mountains and forests by Glacier National Park/Flathead National Forest

The Izaak Walton Inn at Essex, MT

The Glacier Park Lodge as seen from the East Glacier Park, MT, station, just to the east of the National Park

This is most likely the Flathead River by Glacier National Park

There was a Trails and Rails guide onboard to provide commentary of the sights.  I also got talking to a number of wonderful people, like a group of women doing water coloring.  I also met a man, an outdoorsman type, who had been traveling around extensively by train recently, and boarded at Essex after staying at the Izaak Walton Inn.  We ended up sitting at the same table in the dining car for lunch, and we sat with two other nice people, and we four enjoyed good conversation.  (Interestingly, another man at the table boarded at Whitefish, and when I was on the platform at that station, it turns out I met his daughter.)  It was when I went for lunch around 11:30 that the train had left the Rockies by Glacier National Park, heading into the wide open spaces of north central Montana.

Above and below are views of the Rocky Mountains as the train heads into the Plains of north central Montana

We were in the vicinity of Native American Reservations, with sites in these Plains of Montana that pertain to the stories of conflicts between the government and the aboriginal Americans during the later 19th century, including Chief Joseph and his journeys in the Little Rocky Mountains.  At Havre, we followed within close proximity of the Milk River, and then, a little ways east of Glasgow, the Missouri River, a significant part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's route.

The view of the Missouri River, most likely somewhere in far eastern Montana, east of Wolf Point, MT, and west of Williston, ND

This landscape along the route reminds me of the Badlands, from the glances I've taken at pictures of that area.  This was most likely in far eastern Montana, along the route between Wolf Point, MT, and Williston, ND.

And I had wonderful views from the train.  I also had a nice "Just for you" dinner at my seat, which was an option offered to coach passengers.  And I enjoyed passing the time with fellow passengers, including a fine woman--I think her name was Judy--seated across the aisle from me, who generously kept treating me to offerings in the cafe car as a thank-you for my keeping an eye out for her mobile device.  The sun was shining nicely all this day through Montana into North Dakota, with daylight continuing even past 9 PM.

A view of the sunset in western North Dakota, likely around Stanley

A view of the oil fields of western North Dakota

The next morning, Tuesday, May 23, I awoke shortly before we reached St. Cloud, MN, and from there it was into the depths of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Area, as we passed Northstar commuter rail stations along the route.  At St. Paul, the train really filled up, and someone sat next me to me all the way to Chicago, after I had spent all of the ride since Portland with two seats to myself, similar to how I had two seats to myself on the entire ride to Seattle.

At the station platform in St. Paul, MN

A view of St. Paul from the station platform, looking toward the northwest

View of the Mississippi River from the St. Paul Amtrak station looking toward the northeast

The view of the Mississippi River from the St. Paul Amtrak station looking toward the southwest

It was onward into the splendid Mississippi River country, as is in the photo below, taken at Red Wing, MN, by the US Route 63 bridge.

As we rolled through Wisconsin farmland (like in the picture directly below), I decided to try the vegan burger in the cafe car.  When I ordered it, the cafe car attendant, an incredibly pleasant woman named Ms. Oliver, remarked how good it was, and she was right.

It had been generally overcast since I awoke, and it started to rain as we neared Milwaukee (which is in the picture above), and it continued all the whole way into Chicago.

Views of the Forest Glen neighborhood, above and below, where my grandparents used to live--below is from the day I headed out, in case anyone was wondering

View of Foster Avenue from the elevated railroad tracks, looking east

About 4:50, we arrived at Union Station, bringing to a conclusion the long-haul journey back, which was about 45 hours like the ride to Seattle.  I made my way through the thick of peak rush-hour commuters streaming through Union Station on their way to board Metra trains home as I made my way to the Blue Line and back home to Oak Park.

After my odyssey of over 5000 miles, here I am back in Oak Park, in this photo at the Oak Park Avenue Blue Line Station taken by my neighbor Steve, who was riding the Blue Line home from work at the same time I was riding it home from Union Station.

Reflecting on this trip, the term “action-packed” comes to mind, and I used that term to describe my trip whenever people asked about it after my return home.  Certainly, the way I’ve written this narrative on my blog bears that out, as I made the decision to break up this trip chock full of things into four different posts.

As a person who is drawn to the breadth of this country and its beauty, this trip provided an incredible opportunity to really soak up the land and culture of the Pacific Northwest.  There’s so much wonderful scenery with so much lush flora, which I saw everywhere I went, in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.

But the amazing scenery wasn’t confined to just what I saw there, because it was an integral part of the journey to and from Chicago onboard the Empire Builder, from the moment we headed out of Chicago.  Indeed, there was so much beauty to behold that my camera shutter went flying while passing along the Mississippi River corridor, through the Plains of Montana, by Glacier National Park, through central Washington, and by Puget Sound, as well as the Columbia River on the way back.  I estimate in all four posts on this trip I included over 100 photos in total, which I hope you, as the reader, enjoyed viewing.  Yet the many photos I've included represent only a fraction of the nearly 1200 photos I took, more than any other trip I’ve taken in recent years with my digital camera in hand.

Being in the Pacific Northwest gave me so many opportunities to connect with nature.  I liked visiting the Pacific coast in a natural setting, versus a more developed setting.  And even when I was in the big cities, I encountered nature and that lush flora, especially in instances in which these cities draw from the nature in their neighborhoods and develop it into lovely parks, like at the capitols campuses in Washington and Oregon, and most especially Stanley Park, a real treasure.

My day trip to Vancouver was a fabulous opportunity to connect with Canada in its special 150^th anniversary year, and I am pleased that I was able to make that happen and join in the celebration by experiencing what Canada has to offer.  After spending many years pondering what our fine northern neighbor is like, it was great to go there as being there made Canada come alive for me.  Experiencing another country helps me appreciate my own country and what it’s like to be a citizen of it.

I relish opportunities when traveling to gain a sense of what places are really like for their residents.  Using AirBNB is a great way to connect with people in local communities who open up their spaces to travelers.  I so enjoyed getting to know my AirBNB host and her dogs, especially in spontaneous conversation.  Staying at someone's home helped me embed myself in Seattle.

I also embedded myself in what Washington and Oregon are all about by visiting their state capitols.  And then there were the interactions I had with other people, like at the Klondike Gold Rush museum in Seattle, at Wagner's in Olympia, and the two libraries I visited.

And, of course, I shared great times with my fellow train passengers on all three train journeys I took, seeing the scenery pass by out the windows, sharing meals, and engaging in conversation about everything including climate change, state politics, and our own lives.

When it comes to the human factor of this trip, I think above all of my great friend Roy.  It really speaks the depth of our relationship that I would travel over 2200 miles westward to spend time with him.  Visiting with him is so enjoyable because he’s such a fun, easygoing, and delightful person, with a deep sense of spirituality, and an amazing ability to really enjoy life and not take himself too seriously.  Case in point: Roy spontaneously decided we would eat at restaurants we passed while walking in downtown Salem, OR, the sushi place and the tapas place.

Indeed, Roy connects and engages well the places he lives.  So it was particularly delightful to go spend time with him and have him take me around in Oregon, because he's embedded himself so well in his adopted homeland.  That certainly helped me connect with the places even more.  I am definitely so grateful to Roy for our friendship, and that we could share it together during the time of our visit.

Roy defines how this trip makes me step back and take stock of all that my life has encompassed over the years, largely because of the connections to that great trip my family took 20 years ago looping around the western United States by train.  That trip left a big impression on me as a 6-year-old, and I enjoyed reconnecting with that vacation on this recent trip, and experience everything anew in a more full way, especially taking in all the scenery of the route. It’s kind of like how I experienced Florida anew when I traveled there back in January, and returned with conscious memories of that place.

And this Pacific Northwest trip makes me think of how I live anew day by day as I experience new things, like the many firsts of this trip, which include the first use of my US passport, my first trip to Vancouver and British Columbia, my first time attending Mass outside the United States, my first trip on Bolt Bus, my first time using AirBNB, my first time in Seattle, and, probably the icing on the cake, my first visit to the Pacific Ocean.

Now having been to the Pacific, I can embrace in a broader way the breadth of the United States stretching from the coast to coast, especially given that I had just been in South Carolina on the Atlantic coast the week before this trip to the Pacific Northwest.  (And the two trips within such close proximity certainly made it an action-packed month for me.)

Yes, it was so wonderful to connect with the land of the United States by connecting so closely with the places I went on this trip.  And as a firm believer in the adage that the journey is as much a part of the experience as being there, I was so glad that Amtrak helped me come into closer contact with the land I passed through while journeying to the Pacific Northwest.  This trip reaffirmed my enamorment for trains, since there is so much amazing country to see while on my way to the scenic Pacific Northwest, like on any journey to anywhere.

Indeed, this trip afforded me the opportunity to connect with the past, amazing places, great people, and my passions for the great things in life.  Mom was right to describe this trip in terms of "adventure".  In fact, life is truly an adventure when we take the time to embrace and connect with the beauty of what is around us.

I feel like this one photo sums up my whole trip to the Pacific Northwest and all that I connected with in my experiences.  This photo is of me at Portland Union Station, where I had passed through 20 years ago on a great train trip with my family.  For my 2017 trip, I rode the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle, and back from Portland and enjoyed seeing all the places along the route and all over the Pacific Northwest in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia.  This photo was taken by Roy, my great friend, and it was my distinct pleasure to travel to the Pacific Northwest to spend time with him.

The Action-Packed Adventure Part 3

It was the morning of Friday, May 19, 2017.  I was in Seattle, in the midst of an action-packed adventure of traveling in the Pacific Northwest.  I journeyed to Seattle onboard Amtrak's Empire Builder route.  If you haven't had the chance yet, you can read about that segment of my trip in part 1 of my Action-Packed Adventure.  I then spent time in Washington and British Columbia, which you can read about in part 2 if you haven't had the chance already.

On this Friday, it was time to head south to Oregon to visit my friend Roy, the principal reason for my journey to the Pacific Northwest.  I began another intercity journey this day at Seattle's King Street Station.

The interior of Seattle's resplendent King Street Station

I had booked passage for a 7:25 departure on Amtrak Cascades train #501, my first trip on the Cascades train.  I really enjoyed riding this route, from the moment I headed toward the train on the platform (please see the picture below).

The cars are manufactured by Talgo, a European company, and have a cool design, and the colors are swell, especially the lighter tones in the car interiors.

Conference-style seating in the middle of the coach class car

This picture of me, enjoying the ride on the Cascades as it nears Portland Union Station, was taken by Laura, an employee with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, who was in the seat next to mine.

There are glass doors in the passageways between the cars, and they open automatically, which I thought was pretty neat (please see the picture below).

The Cascade trains also have a bistro car with regional specialties and a lounge car with conference seating.  There are monitors in the cars that have information, like about the cities where the train stops, and there are displays with the train's speed.

Ceiling display monitor

Display with train speed

The one aspect I didn't like as much was that in the coach class cars some seats face forward, and some face backwards, with conference table seating in the middle of the passenger cars.  So as I rode, I was facing the opposite direction that the train was traveling because of the seat I was assigned.

I rode the train from Seattle to Portland, passing along Puget Sound (including the industrial facilities just south of downtown Seattle), right by the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, within sight of wide open fields, the Cascades, and various rivers.

The train car I was in was just passing underneath the Tacoma Narrows Bridge when I took this picture.

A scenic view I photographed with mountains off in the distance.  Most likely, those mountains are of the Olympic Peninsula.

It was a lovely sunny day, and a bit on the warm side, too.

The view northwestward as the train crosses the Columbia River, from Washington into Oregon

The view northwestward as the train crosses the Willamette River

Around 11 AM, we crossed the Columbia River into Oregon, soon followed by crossing the Willamette River, and then we arrived at the Portland Union Station, where, 20 years ago on my family's great train trip, we arrived onboard the Empire Builder, and where we transferred to the Coast Starlight to travel south to Sacramento, CA.  This time around, I transferred to a bus and rode it for about an hour to the Salem Amtrak station.

A fellow passenger who rode on the same train and then bus as me, got this picture of me upon arrival at Portland, by another Cascades engine.

This was my first time riding an Amtrak motorcoach bus thruway service to connect from a train to another city--although Salem is served by Amtrak train service, the bus supplements the Cascades service.

The Thruway bus shortly before its departure from the Salem Amtrak station to continue its journey southward to Eugene.

There I waited for Roy, who arrived shortly after 1 PM, at which moment we greeted each other joyfully.

First, we headed to lunch at a Korean place called Happy Bibimbap House.  Per Roy's suggestion, I had the Dol Sot Bibim Bap, a hot stone bowl filled with vegetables, rice, and beef, with an egg cracked on top, which delightfully cooks as I stirred it around.  Before the entrees, the server brought some appetizers to us, and Roy got me using chop sticks--I actually managed to do okay with using them.

Roy took this picture of me before I enjoyed my lunch.  For the remainder of this post, any picture in which I appear by myself was taken by Roy.  For the entire post, any pictures in which I do not appear were taken by me.

Following lunch, we went to tour the Oregon State Capitol (please see picture below).

It has a cylindrical dome, rather than a round one.  And the exterior walls had a very solid, almost sterile kind of look with the stone material used.  The interior had more straightforward geometric shapes, especially in the rotunda (please see picture below).

The tour took us to the governor's public office, used for ceremonial bill signings (please see picture below).

We also looked at the House and Senate chambers, which together have the names of 100 important figures somehow related to Oregon--I was delighted to see Washington Irving included.

The Oregon State House of Representatives chamber

Here is the Oregon State Senate chamber.  The mural above the central podium depicts the scene when news of Oregon's statehood was proclaimed.  If you look closely, to the left of the speaker's podium is a piano.  There are times when people, like school students, are invited to play before legislative sessions.  A piano is also in the House chamber, to the right of the central podium.

So far as I can recall, Washington Irving's name appears in the Senate chamber.

There was also lots of artwork in the building, as a specific line item in the state budget is for capitol building artwork.  I also noticed some of the past governor's portraits had backdrops from nature, rather than more generic backdrops.  It all added an interesting kind of touch.  After the tour, Roy and I looked at a collection of stones and gems on display.  Roy was in his element explaining them to me, because of his geology studies.  Certainly, from what I experience of Oregon during this weekend, the state prides itself on its vast array of natural areas, and it was fitting to see that on display at the state capitol, as I gained a sense of what the state is about at its seat of government.

We then made our way through Oregon State Capitol State Park, clearly an urban park, and wandered around a little in Salem before going to visit with Craig Hammond, who I knew in high school when he was the pastor of the youth group I attended.  We had a nice visit with him at his home in a lovely Salem neighborhood, and it was great catching up with him and his family.

Roy and I then went back to downtown Salem and ambled around.  We started at Willamette University, the oldest university west of the Mississippi River, and located across the street from the state capitol.  As we wandered down State Street, we passed by a place called O'Sushi, and Roy immediately decided we would head inside for food.  We sat at a long table with a conveyor belt running from one end to the other with plates of various kinds of sushi (please see picture below), and patrons could take what they wished, as well as asking the server for something not on the conveyor belt, but on the menu.

We both enjoyed plenty of nice sushi plates and even desserts like moshi ice cream.

After we left, we continued down State Street, and I casually pointed out a tapas place.  Roy immediately decided to have us go there to enjoy tapas--not only for Spanish food, but also the Spanish style of eating by hopping around various restaurants for a diverse array of dishes.  We shared a Spanish tortilla dish made of eggs and potatoes, and a plate of artisan bread, and churros for dessert.  We then wandered down to the Willamette River waterfront (please see picture below) and walked around, enjoying the absolutely pleasant evening.

Salem is another fine modestly-sized, with a nice historic touch, as well as a delightful green touch all over.

It was around 8 PM and time to head to Albany, where Roy lives.  We met a friend we both know from ValpU at a restaurant and spent some time visiting as night came on.  And that was a wrap for my day entering Oregon for the first time in 20 years.

The next morning, Roy took me to Universal Coffee, which serves a variety of Hispanic-style hot drinks.  I had a Champurrado, a hot chocolate-style drink, and I had the kind infused with mango flavor, which was quite tasty.  We had a nice time chatting with the person working there.

A little later, we departed for our day's outing to the Pacific Coast.  First, we stopped at Jack-in-the-Box, a Pacific Northwest fast food chain place that sells burgers, tacos, and breakfast food.  I had French toast, since I had a hankering for it.

On our way west, Roy floated the idea of going to the farmers' market in Corvallis, just a short distance west of Albany.  I thought it would be nice, so we stopped there around 11 AM.  The market, a very happening place, had a large selection of vegetables (including chard and kohlrabi), meats, jams, and fruits, like Oregon strawberries.  It was there that I learned about the marionberry, a fruit created by scientists at Oregon State University, hybriding two different types of raspberry.  We also enjoyed some corn on the cob, and then doughnuts at Benny's Donuts, which was started by students at Oregon State University in town:  Their specialty is doughnuts that have a sweet glaze drizzle over them.  I had a doughnut with marionberry glaze and rosemary--an interesting sweet and savory mixture.

Then it was onward toward the Pacific, driving on US Route 20 all the way to its terminus at US Route 101 in the nice coastal city of Newport, OR.  And the big moment came at approximately 1:20 PM PDT, when, for the first time in my life, I saw the Pacific Ocean with my own eyes, a view you can see in the picture below:

The Pacific Ocean is the bluish area appearing in the center of this photo.

In about 10 minutes or so, we reached the beachfront at Don Davis Park by the Oregon Shore State Recreation Area.  We walked down to the shoreline, and I put my feet into the Pacific Ocean, for the very first time, as you can see in the photo below:

And was it cold!  It was like stepping into intense ice water.

Our next stop was the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, a short drive up north along the coast, beyond the main business district of Newport.  There, we parked and walked along a path, which then took us to an area down some steps where we could look around at tidal pools, filled with sea creatures.

Looking into one of the tidal pools

The view of the area with tidal pools

A group of sea lions appears just to the left of the center of this picture.

We also took a walk over to the Yaquina Head Light, which is in the photo below.

It was then onward further north to see the Devil's Punchbowl, a natural cave-like feature (please see picture below).  We also walked around the shore area nearby, and trekked our way into a cave-like cutout in the rock.

We then returned to the Yaquina Head Area to climb Salal Hill, with some pretty good views of the surrounding coastal area.  And we made it to the top and back to Roy's car before the area closed at 5 PM.

A fellow visitor got this photo of Roy and me at the top of Salal Hill, as friends enjoying a splendid time together.

The view of the Yaquina Head Light descending from the top of Salal Hill.

The view from the top of Salal Hill, looking south along the Pacific coast

The view from the top of Salal Hill, looking north along the Pacific coast

It was dinnertime, and we ended up at Mo's Annex, in the district of Newport by Yaquina Bay, and we could look out at the bay through windows at Mo's, a seafood restaurant that has several other locations in the area.

Looking out at Yaquina Bay, near Mo's Annex

After ambling around some shops and getting sweets at the Republic of Candy, we went to Sacred Heart Church for the 7 PM Spanish Mass.  The church interior's darkened wooden paneling, in the photo below, made the white Easter decorations stand out even more, highlighting the beauty of the Bride of Christ that is the Church, brought alive more fully by Christ's Resurrection, as we celebrate for 50 days each year.

After Mass, we went south of Newport to a beach where we sat on a log that we made function like a couch and watched the setting sunlight and took in the glorious sound of the waves (please see picture below).  The overcast skies that had been prevalent much of the day had receded earlier that evening, and while it was still on the cool side like it had been all day in and around Newport, it was so pleasant to sit under the clear skies watching the fading daylight and the beautiful Pacific Ocean shimmer in it.  Indeed, the coastal area is so scenic, especially since there are many preserved areas in Oregon that allow people to experience the nature of the Pacific coast.

With that, we got back on US 20, at its western terminus at US 101, with a sign indicating the mileage to Boston, MA, over 3000 miles away, and headed back to Albany.  (It was notable to drive on US 20, since it passes through the Chicagoland area on Lake Street, Mannheim and Lagrange Roads, and 95th Street, before heading east into Indiana and traveling through Gary, not too far from the Indiana Dunes.)

Sign indicating the western terminus of US Federal Route 20 at US 101 in Newport, OR

We stopped in Corvallis, as Roy wanted to give me the opportunity to experience another unique piece of Pacific Northwest culture: Dutch Bros. Coffee.  I had a smoothie and a lemon poppy seed muffin top--a muffin with just the top, which is usually the best part anyway.  We brought a close to our incredibly scenic day back at his place in Albany.

The next morning, Sunday, I got myself packed up, and we went to Roy's church in Albany, Hope Church for the 9:00 service.  One of their missionaries was the guest preacher, talking about his work with using media to proclaim the Good News in Asia.  After the service, Roy introduced me to many people there, and it was a delight to be introduced as a dear friend who had traveled a great distance to spend time together.  I also took up on an offer extended to all first-time guests to get a free drink at the coffee shop in the church.  I got a white chocolate-flavored hot drink.

With that, I wrapped up my two-night-period staying in Albany with Roy:  It was time to hit the road with more of Oregon to experience before I headed back east to Chicagoland--and you can read about it in part 4 of my Action-Packed Adventure.