We had a lovely couple of days In Portland. It is nice to have a break from the car but this is a road trip so we packed up and headed off. In many ways from now on is what this part of the trip was meant to be about. Travelling down Route 101, the Pacific coast highway. We battled the traffic to get out of Portland and picked up route 8 west bound. Now it seems to me that the Americans must have some sort of homing instinct because signs for Route 8 just dissapeared near Forest Grove. We drove for about 20 minutes the wrong way. I had again been having trouble with my iphone, so the Satnav was out of use. Its not the phone it just seems that in some motel/hotel rooms the plug socket drains power instead of loading it. So this morning the battery in my phone was dead. As it was we didnt really need it as Jill is a top mappy. We found our way back to Route 8 and put the cruise control on, country music on the radio and headed south.

First stop was Hebo. A small town where we stopped at a diner and got some sarnies and coffee. A short drive on and we found a lovely deserted beach to sit and eat them. The sun was beating down (70F plus) and the spray was making a mist on the sea.

After lunch we continued on. The view from the 101 down on to the ocean was just as we imagined it would be. We continued the drive trying to decide where to stop. We arrived in Newport and decided to pull off the highway and see if we could find a motel away from the main road.

Jill had already checked her money off vouchers and by chance we drove along a road and bingo there was The Whaler motel. It is right on the ocean front. As always the lady on the desk was so helpful. We paid $70 for a $90 dollar room. She gave us a room on the top floor for the best view and we have a balcony overlooking the ocean.

As always we threw the bags in the room and went exploring. Newport is a pucka fishing port. We walked down to the harbour and phew fishy !!! Locals were pulling nets off the pier with crabs in them.

We walked along the harbour and up on to the headland to see the lighthouse. Not the same as in England. This actually did look like a house with a big light on the roof.

A saunter on and we dropped down on to the beach. It was huge and deserted. It was a beautiful stroll back to the motel with the waves breaking on the beach.

Showered and shaved (just me for the shaving lol!!!) we went out for dinner. Now Ive got used to big portions here but tonight was ridiculous. I ordered Beef Burguinon. It was 3 massive chunks of tender beef on mash potatoe with veg. It could have fed 6 people !! I barely dented it. ' Do ya wannit boxed?' said Tammy the waitress. To do what with I thought? I doubt I'll eat for another week.

We are now tucked up in bed with a glass of red. The sea is a constant roar outside.

Night night everyone.