Rain, rain, cheese, and more rain

Since it has never really stopped raining in the 3 days that we’ve been in Oregon, we decided to take some of our adventures indoors.  On Tuesday, we drove around and explored the little town of Tillamook.  We found a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop with WiFi advertised on the window and decided to make a stop.  Upon entering, we quickly discerned that this was not your typical Starbucks coffee shop.  For one thing, there was no one there (including employees).  It looked more like a rundown antique shop than a coffeehouse; there were only two seats in the whole place (the rest was filled with clutter).  Some of the highlights: a giant trash bag full of aluminum cans in the middle of the entryway, one-year supply of eye drops on the table next to our chairs, a bill from the county hospital on the counter, a stack of about 5 years worth of daily newspapers, and a framed picture of 30 elderly women and one topless man wearing extremely short shorts.  We waited around until the man who seemed to be the owner walked in and took our orders.  The price of two lattes was only $3.50!  While we were sitting on the only two chairs and using the WiFi, the owner grumbled, “I’ve gotta go to the hardware store, I’ll be back” and left the shop in our hands.  Apparently this is a customary practice because while he was away at the hardware store, a drifter came in, fixed his own drink, left some coins on the counter, and walked out.  If only all coffee shops were this unique.  

We devoted Wednesday to exploring the beauty of the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  We took a brief self-tour of the cheese making and packaging process, sampled some cheese, and then splurged in the gift shop.

After eating too much cheese and ice cream, we decided to go for a hike despite the looming storm blowing in from the ocean.  A 4-mile hike in 40 degree temperatures and blowing wind, rain, and ice is just about as fun as it sounds.  After that, we retreated back to the camper to attempt to dry our gear, but we’ve found out that things don’t dry too well in this humid climate!  We warmed ourselves with hot cocoa, a spaghetti dinner, and another game of Skip-Bo.

Today we are en route to Olympic National Park, our furthest northwest destination before turning back south. 

Keep your fingers crossed for dry weather!