Our Greyhound day

Today, we only rode greyhound buses, to get from Corvallis to Coos Bay. After eating a wonderful breakfast at Hilton Garden Inn, we set off for the Greyhound station. After a short walk, we reached our destination:

The Corvallis Greyhound station is small, dingy, and dirty. Before the trip, we printed out 2 sheets which had our information on it. The staff member in the station took them and gave us real tickets for the bus. Once the bus got here, Appa put his backpack in the luggage compartment, and we boarded the bus. I was shocked by the dirt, the crowd, and the smell. We couldn't even get seats together for the hour-long ride to Eugene. The, finally, our bus arrived in Eugene. The Eugene Greyhound station was as bad as the Corvallis one, plus a bad smell in the small area. Me and Appa waited for a little while, and then boarded the next bus, to Cos Bay. This bus was actually a van, but it was like a palace compared to the last one. Mainly, it was because there were far less people on the Coos Bay bus. As we zoomed through the forest, I started to need to use the restroom. I held it an held it, until finally the driver said "Does anyone need a restroom break?" Then we stopped at a state park, and me and a few other passengers used the restroom. A while later, after riding down the coastline, the bus arrived at the Porter Stagelines stop in Coos Bay. Then we got off the bus and walked over to the

This hotel is right between a motel and a hotel. The room was nice and clean, and the breakfast was good. 

I would give it a 3.5/5 rating.

We had lunch at El Sombrero, a great Mexican place, then watched the Coastal Express (which we weren't taking) leave the stop. To end the day, we had dinner at Abby's Legendary Pizza and some fruit and veggies from Safeway.

Here are some photos:

A nicely decorated garbage can in Corvallis

A church in front of the Corvallis Greyhound station

Me in front of the bus to Coos Bay

A State Park in Oregon where I had a bathroom break

A HUGE sand dune near Coos Bay

Umpqua River

The owner closed the door as we walked by

The side of the Coastal Express

The back of the Coastal Express

Pics of the Coastal Express in Coos Bay

Coastal Express Coos Bay

Coastal Express Coos Bay

Coastal Express Coos Bay

Day 3: Tillamook to Corvallis

We left the Mar Clair Inn at 4:55 AM to catch the #4 bus to Lincoln City. Once we got to the bus, the friendly driver asked where we were headed. I said "Lincoln City", and dropped in our fares. Then we headed off to Lincoln City in the foggy, dark morning. At the first stop, a man got on and chatted with the driver about driving a school bus (the driver switched to driving a public bus "because on a bus like this, you can just tell mischief-makers to get off the bus!") Then the bus stopped at a place where Dory boats land. A Dory boat is a boat which catches deep-sea fish by dragging a large net behind it. Dory boats land by going straight onto the sand, where it is pulled onto a trailer. At that time, we saw a beautiful sunrise from the beach with the Dory boats. Then we got back on the bus, and rode to the Lincoln City Safeway. After eating a couple of fresh croissants, our next bus arrived and took us all the way to Newport City Hall. We paid an extra $2 on that bus, so the driver called ahead to tell our next bus to give us a $2 discount. After waiting about 15 minutes, the Coast To Valley Express pulled up, and the driver gave us the promised discount. Then as we started off to Corvallis, the driver told us about logging, dams, and his youth. Apparently, he used to live on the McKenzie river, with a father who worked on the dams nearby. The driver said that the dams never were built properly, they used up way too much money, and that his father frequently joked about it. After about 2 hours of riding the bus, we arrived in Corvallis, OR, a very likable college town with good food and a free transit system (for the day!) After checking in at Hilton Garden Inn, we had lunch, did the laundry, and then relaxed and had dinner in the end of the day.


Here are some photos:

Tillamook Transit bus #4 to Lincoln City

Church in Cape Kiwanda

View from the beach of Pacific City

View from the Coast To Valley Express

Me in front of a sculpture next to the Beavers Stadium 

American Dream Pizza

A student band playing on campus

OSU Campus 

OSU Campus

OSU Campus

Me in front of a university building

Seats on the Lincoln Transit bus

View from the Lincoln Transit bus

View from the Lincoln Transit bus

View from the Lincoln Transit bus

View from the Lincoln Transit bus

View from the Lincoln Transit bus

View from the Lincoln Transit bus

A Lincoln Transit bus to Yachats

Lincoln Transit bus to Yachats

Back of the Lincoln Transit bus to Yachats

Lincoln Transit bus to Toledo, OR

Lincoln Transit bus to Toledo

A video of a Dory boat pulling in to the beach

Day 2: Astoria to Tillamook

We started this day in Astoria. Astoria is a beautiful, scenic city with a nice riverfront trolley and walking trail. After waking up in Best Western Lincoln Inn (4/5 stars) we had some breakfast at the hotel, packed up, and started going. We walked along the paved path next to the Columbia River (they call this path the Riverwalk) to the city center. It was about time for lunch when we got there, so we stopped at a Mexican place called Rio Cafe, because it was next to the T.C. and highly rated on Yelp. The food was as good as the reviews said it was, and I had a quesadilla and a side of black beans for the first part of lunch. Then we walked to the local co-op, Columbia Produce, and finished of our meal with some large, organic carrots. Then, after an hour of reading Hardy Boys at the Astoria T.C., the 101 to Seaside arrived. It was a very strange old bus, not the kind you would see every day. And it was stiflingly hot, and quite a few shady characters rode it. One we were dropped of at Seaside Cinema, we took some pictures of the river right next to the bus stop, and had an apple for snack. Then, our next bus, the 20 to Cannon Beach, arrived. This bus was a lot cooler and more standard-looking, but it had HORRIBLE shock absorbers. In Cannon Beach, however, the mood changed entirely. The weather was perfect, so we decided to walk from the city center to Tolovana Wayside Park (1.4 miles in all). On the way there, I got a delicious chocolate ice cream, and we saw some amazing views  of the ocean from the shoulder of Highway 101. I was worried that we may not make it to our bus in time, but we got to the park with a half-hour to spare!  While we waited, I read some more, and pretty soon our bus was here. Buses in Tillamook are very well decorated on the outside with pictures of scenes and activities from around Tillamook, and the bus itself was reasonably comfortable. After the hour and 20 minute ride, we checked in at Mar Clair Inn, a motel right next to the Tillamook T.C. (for a motel, 4.5/5 stars). We ended the day with some pizza and a meal from the excellent Pacific Restaurant, the smell of cow dung fresh in the outside air.

Here are some photos:

The slightly shabby sign of our hotel in Astoria 

Lumber being loaded onto a ship in the Astoria port

Astoria Bridge in the morning

The trolley track cutting through the middle of the Astoria Riverwalk

A weird old bus operated by Sunset Empire Transportation District

The side of a S.E.T.D. bus.

Fruits and veggies at Columbia Produce

 The building at the Astoria T.C.

Seats on the 101 bus. Very comfy!

An ancient Blue Bird bus running the 101

The 20 bus to Cannon Beach

Seats on the #20 bus

Seats on the #3 bus to Tillamook

Tillamook Transit Center