Just one last border crossing to go to get us back into the US. I dutifully checked in advance a) it was open, and b) no Covid test required. The Canada US border represented a notable milestone on our Go Big Or Go Home trip, as we inched ever closer to home. So we were cheerful and upbeat as we rolled up to the customs booth. The customs official, unfortunately had gotten out of bed the wrong side that morning and cheery he was not. With the border closure still in place for Canadians, the crossing was super quiet. Which left the brunt of his sullen temper to be borne by us.
He handled our British passports with disdain and practically threw them back at us saying we should only have given him our US Resident Green Cards. Whoah, it’s not like we gave him a mouldy cheese sandwich! I think most people could be forgiven for innocently handing over their passport to a customs official.
Darren kept his cool with the questioning: “Any guns?” “Nope” “Any drugs?” “Nope” “Any alcohol?” “Erm, some wine and beer” “How much?” “Erm, about a Yeti cooler full”.
The interrogation continued. This guy was on a mission and he wasn’t going to stop there. Brutally, he handed us a red card and we were pulled over to the sidelines for a strip search. We opened the BaseCamp, laid bare at his mercy, as he brought in reinforcements with latex gloves. (I can’t help thinking one of them spotted us way in the distance and said “ooh look, there’s one of those cool BaseCamps, let’s pull it over so we can have a proper look inside”).
After an eternity of searching, the SWAT team emerged from the BaseCamp triumphant, satisfied smiles all around. They skulked off back into the shadows as just one official approached us, arm raised holding some confiscated contraband found in our trailer. At this point, I started getting nervous. I had an undeclared stash of Canadian salt and vinegar crisps – I was really hoping they weren’t going to confiscate those. At the same time, I was pretty confident we had no drugs or guns.
As the customs official drew closer, we could see that she was brandishing a punnet of blueberries. As part of the earlier interrogation, we’d admitted to carrots and onions but forgot the damn blueberries. Turns out they were illegal blueberries from Peru. This time and this time only, we were to get away with a telling off, a wagging finger and a slap on the wrist. And they got to keep the blueberries.
Seemed like a lot of drama but with that we were on our way. And I made a mental note to add to my next border crossing checklist: check it’s open, check on Covid requirements, check we’ve got no blueberries!
Of course, no pics at the border (didn’t dare add that to our list of misdemeanors). But here we have the next section of the trip, as we continued down through Washington, and into Oregon.
Getting through the US Canada border relatively unscathed is Epic in my book‘Twas a grey day as we stopped for a wander on the beach at Mukilteo, WAJust us and the tiny sailboat far out at seaMet up with one of Darren’s colleagues from work for a weekend lunchOvernighted at a Harvest Host brewery car park we’d stayed at previously – North 47Awesome beer and WiFi, what’s not to likeI think someone’s telling porky pies. This is Long Beach, WA. At 28 miles, it is anything but the World’s Longest (which is over 150 miles). Secondary claims to fame are the World’s Longest Drivable Beach and World’s Longest Continuous Peninsula Beach. I guess they couldn’t fit all that on the sign.Blue sky on Long Beach – I’ll take itFishing in the surf
Astoria, Oregon:
Camping for the week overlooking the Columbia River, which marks the state line between Washington and Oregon. ‘RV Park at The Bridge’ campsite sat on the Washington side of the river.Our daily commute over the Astoria-Megler Bridge into OregonThe bridge in all its gloryOpen Office, our coworking office for the week, was housed in Pier 12The other side of Pier 12. Our office? All the way at the far corner, top right.Favorite office, full stop. Like being in a greenhouse with sea views. We were on constant seal watch during meetings.Even better when the sun came outThe view from the balcony right outside our office. Ooh look, there’s the Astoria-Megler bridge again. Can’t quite see the BaseCamp from here.And then a cruise ship went past! (Not one of ours)Made it out to Fort Stevens State Park one day after work for a sunset walkThe ghostlike remains of the Peter Iredale shipwreck, which ran aground in 1906Rounded off the week with a proper night out, starting off in Blaylocks Whiskey Bar……hit up a taco truck along the way, and ended up at Bridge & Tunnel tap room and bottle shopTwo of the more exclusive bottles from our Bridge & Tunnel haul. The one on the left says ‘Enjoy within 5 years’. The one on the right ‘Enjoy within 25 years’. Must be a typo. Didn’t last much longer than 25 minutes.
The Weekend: The Oregon Coast
Altogether now: “Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside” 🎶 The moody, stormy Oregon coast – the sun didn’t get much of a look inHike up to a viewpoint overlooking ManzanitaOur Harvest Host for the night – Blue Heron French Cheese Company in TillamookThe BaseCamp fitting right in among the rustic farm machineryThey also had a little farmyard petting zooOink oinkWouldn’t be a visit to a cheese place without a BaseCamp cheese plate party
Grants Pass, Oregon
The Hivve coworking office in Grants Pass couldn’t quite match up to our waterfront office in Astoria. But we felt right at home in the phone booth.A Keurig coffee machine, a kettle and a rock music-inspired seating area at the HivveFound a bar in Grants Pass – Oregon Pour Authority, which had more tin tackers than on our shed back homeHmmm, rather envious of this little lotTakeout beer from a Portland brewery to create our own little flight in the BaseCampA short hike after work up Dollar Mountain. Lovely view back down to the town of Grants Pass.No mistaking the season hereRed maples added to the bounty of colorThe “It’s the Climate” sign on the main street. First erected in 1920 to celebrate Grants Pass having great weather. Clearly, they weren’t thinking about October (I prefer a little less wind and rain myself).When all else fails, what left but to find a breweryOr a pizza place. Must be nearly Halloween. Time to move on.
