A Tale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Andrina's birthday breakfast in Portland started out fantastically. We went to the Gravy as recommended by the author of the MeatEats. I had the house favorite, Corned Beef Hash and Andrina had a custom scramble that was to die for. The restaurant itself is very homey feeling and I'm so pleased we came across it.

Corned Beef Blast!

The weather in Portland was rainy and gloomy (little did we know this was foreshadowing our day to come). As a result of the wet weather we hit the road early, intent on getting to Eureka, California in the evening to have a nice dinner and enjoy the remainder of Andrina's birthday.

The line-up and the rain negated us cheating on our diet this morning at Voodoo Donuts

The drive along the coast was quite beautiful as expected with the glaring exception that it would appear that people from the state of Oregon have no drivers ed. Or none of them were schooled in the art of driving. I swear that most Albertans drive better.

The license plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror

Everything was going right according to plan. We got our requisite photos high above the Pacific coast line, we stopped in the Redwood forest, we even got to see the solar eclipse.

All was well. Until it wasn't well. Just about 33 miles (ask me about this distance later) north of Eureka, well, pictures are worth a thousand words.

It was the worst of times...

Everyone is ok but my truck is not behaving like the good truck it is. It would appear to the accountant and the computer nerd driving that the transmission broke. So, take that with a grain of salt.  Four hours later, we're settled into a hotel in McKinleyville and finally having Andrina's birthday wine (which by the way was $9...would be >$20 in Kamloops).

It was the best of times...

We should have some more details tomorrow.