We awoke the next morning full of excitement. Today we would finally see our new home!

We were on the road again and drove east, headed towards Eugene on a beautiful little highway taking us along rivers and over bridges and through the trees. It rained most of the way, so we weren’t able to get many pictures. Plus, I think Jacob was tired of taking pictures while driving… From Eugene, we headed up through Salem via I-5 all the way until our final destination, PORTLAND!

We navigated downtown and drove up to our building. We had seen it so many times via Google Maps Street View but nothing can describe our relief and calm as we sat there on Park Ave, sitting and resting after this long adventure.

We met with our landlady Nina (the infamous voice over the phone for the past few months) as she reviewed property rules, etc. asking us to sign here and there. Lulu was growing impatient but then we went on a tour of the building, with our unit being the last stop. The coveted moment had arrived as the key turned and the door opened.

It was basically just what we expected and hoped.

/EDIT/

The building was finished in 1931 and features about 80 units from a studio apartment (what we have) up to the 2-bedroom units. Each have original oak hardwood floors, 8in baseboards, picture rail moldings and (apparently) original bathroom/kitchen tile. From the photos above, you enter into the main room, which we will make into our living area and bedroom. To the right is an opening into the dining area and then the kitchen. To the left of the entry is a good-size storage closet and a door leading to a small dressing room with cupboards. The bathroom is just beyond that and has a bright window of its own. Each window opens fully or can latch just little to let air in. Jacob plans to make custom screens to cover the windows so Lulu doesn’t get too adventurous. We are on the third floor, after all. We plan to install translucent contact-paper-esque coverings in the bathroom for a little more privacy. Honestly it was a little smaller than we expected, but its beautiful, with great historic features and we’ll make it work!

/EDIT/

There were a few little surprises. Who wouldn’t pair lavender and sea-foam green tile in the kitchen!? We assured ourselves we’d make it work. Lulu likes it, anyways. She can easily relax while staring out the windows.

After sitting and enjoying the empty space for a few minutes we had to continue by moving our things into the space. We had sent all of our things up to Portland from Dallas via U-box, a service similar to PODS but by U-Haul. Jacob had to pick up the box  and bring it back to our apartment by renting a U-Haul truck and trailer. He braved driving through the narrow downtown streets and we began to unload. For the hours it took us to load (at midnight!), it only took us 1 hour unload all of our things into our unit. Fortunately, nothing seemed to have moved in the U-Box. Our items (sans the furniture, since we sold most of it in Dallas) made it safely. Now for the fun part. Furniture shopping, anyone?

This was our last full day on the road. Leaving Fort Bragg, we headed north through the redwood trees along the beautiful Hwy 1.

After a little while we saw a sign ” Drive-thru Tree Ahead.” Of course we had to stop. We paid our 5 dollars, drove down this little path and were met with the mother of all giant redwood trees. We nearly scraped the walls going through, even with the side-mirrors closed but it was so neat to see the inside of the tree trunk.

After perusing the gift shop, we made our way through the Avenue of the Giants. This was a fantastic drive with shaded roads and beautiful giant redwood trees upon which to marvel. Even Lulu got to experience their awesomeness.

This one took a little photoshopping…

Almost there!

The treeline was incredible. Trees taller than we had ever seen before.

A herd of elk. No big deal.

On our way, we finally made it to the state of Oregon. Woohoo!

Once inside our new state and still close to the coast, we noticed an abundance of scenic turnoffs. Well, after about 10 of them, we were convinced we had to see what all the fuss was about. We stopped at one, only to discover it wasn’t like the ones before. You had to hike this one to earn its view. So we started off on our first Oregon hike! It was stunningly beautiful with lush fern foliage all along the ground. Such a different landscape than two days before.

After quite a little hike we made it to the “bridge view”. It was great, but the trail continued and we could hear sounds of waves crashing ahead. A little further was an incredible view. Jacob, being the photographer he is, had to climb down the steep trail a little farther to get a better view.

After the trek back, we continued on towards Coos Bay, OR. In a small town near our destination called Port Orford, we stopped for dinner at “Crazy Norweigan’s Fish and Chips.” According to the waitress it was voted the best Fish and Chips on the West Coast, second to someplace in Hawaii. Being only our first F&C experience, we couldn’t judge but must say that it was really incredible.

Appropriately, it began to rain as we finally arrived at Coos Bay and checked in at The Edgewater Inn.