After breakfast we headed to the Tillamook Cheese factory, it is huge and they are presently building a new visitor centre which will open next year.
They have a huge variety of
cheeses, a large gift shop, a wide range of ice cream flavours and a regular cafe
that was cooking in a trailer attached to the building. 
This is just temporary
until the new centre is opened. It was sunny when we left Garibaldi but there
was quite a bit of cloud around at Tillamook and there was a cool breeze.
The ice cream, I had
blueberry, was delicious and we sat outside to eat them. Then it was time to
hit the road again and travel on to the Evergreen Space and Aviation Museum at
McMinnville. The drive down 101 was very interesting to me. We did pass a small Air Museum that had four tall towers for dirigibles to tie up to.
From there as we travelled
south the landscape reminded me so very much of different parts of New Zealand.
The steep hills under pine forest were so similar to the centre of the North Island.
Then onto areas with rolling hills under horticulture and viticulture, this is so much like Hawkes Bay.
There is a lot of dairy farming along with vast areas growing hay and I even saw some sheep. I have to say I felt right at home and would love to visit here again.
Another thing that struck as we drove this part of Oregon was the number of RVs we saw, I have never seen so many in one area before. There were also many RV sites scattered throughout where they could park up. We followed 101 for some way and then turned onto 22 that took us through a state forest.
At the exit it was bedlam, a continuous line of cars travelling south with no breaks and many also travelling north, the junction definitely needs traffic lights.
We turned north but had to drive quite a distance before we could turn back. There was a Casino and there were markers down to centre of the road to stop cars crossing.
We eventually reached the Evergreen Space and Aviation Museum, by this time the sun was streaming down and it was very warm.
The museum is situated on a large area opposite the municipal airport, there are three large buildings although there were a number of planes parked outside the buildings.
There is also a Theme Water Park and it has an aeroplane parked on top of it. We decided to eat first as it was nearly 3 pm but one cafe did not have a kitchen and the other had a very limited menu, very disappointing.
As the cafe we ate at was in the Space building we had a good look round there first. I had totally forgotten about the SkyLab project from the 1970's but most of the other info I had seen elsewhere.
Outside the main building was a plane (4U) that took part in the Normandy landings, dropping parachutists onto the beaches. Then we returned to the main building where the main attraction was the Spruce Goose flying boat. It was massive with eight engines and took up a large part of the building, we did manage to have a look inside!
It was built towards the end of WWII and was totally built out of wood. However, it only flew the one time and did not achieve much height above the water, it was being flown by its designer Howard Hughes. It was then basically mothballed until he died. Then the lease on its hangar ran out no It was about to be broken up when a group of people managed to save it, it was eventually housed in CA. Finally, it was moved in parts to its present location where it was put back together and can be viewed by the public.
Then onto areas with rolling hills under horticulture and viticulture, this is so much like Hawkes Bay. 
There is a lot of dairy farming along with vast areas growing hay and I even saw some sheep. I have to say I felt right at home and would love to visit here again.
Another thing that struck as we drove this part of Oregon was the number of RVs we saw, I have never seen so many in one area before. There were also many RV sites scattered throughout where they could park up. We followed 101 for some way and then turned onto 22 that took us through a state forest. 
At the exit it was bedlam, a continuous line of cars travelling south with no breaks and many also travelling north, the junction definitely needs traffic lights.
We turned north but had to drive quite a distance before we could turn back. There was a Casino and there were markers down to centre of the road to stop cars crossing. 
We eventually reached the Evergreen Space and Aviation Museum, by this time the sun was streaming down and it was very warm. 
The museum is situated on a large area opposite the municipal airport, there are three large buildings although there were a number of planes parked outside the buildings. 
There is also a Theme Water Park and it has an aeroplane parked on top of it. We decided to eat first as it was nearly 3 pm but one cafe did not have a kitchen and the other had a very limited menu, very disappointing. As the cafe we ate at was in the Space building we had a good look round there first. I had totally forgotten about the SkyLab project from the 1970's but most of the other info I had seen elsewhere.
Outside the main building was a plane (4U) that took part in the Normandy landings, dropping parachutists onto the beaches. Then we returned to the main building where the main attraction was the Spruce Goose flying boat. It was massive with eight engines and took up a large part of the building, we did manage to have a look inside!
It was built towards the end of WWII and was totally built out of wood. However, it only flew the one time and did not achieve much height above the water, it was being flown by its designer Howard Hughes. It was then basically mothballed until he died. Then the lease on its hangar ran out no It was about to be broken up when a group of people managed to save it, it was eventually housed in CA. Finally, it was moved in parts to its present location where it was put back together and can be viewed by the public.
We drove towards Newberg to fill up with gas at a Fred Meyer and all along the road especially around Dundee we could see vineyards and wineries, more even than in my home area of Hawkes Bay, one could spend several days on a wine tasting trip, lol!
Just before we reached Dundee the traffic slowed to a crawl and we noticed two snow covered peaks to the right of us, wish I knew what they were! When we reached Fred Meyer I also took the opportunity to fill up with a Starbucks coffee!
We arrived at the Econo Lodge in downtown Portland about 6.45 pm. After unpacking the car and freshening up we headed out for dinner. We drove and drove and eventually ended up at the IHOP in Beaverton, lol, most unexpected but the Lingonberry Crepes were so very, very good! When we came out the heat of the day had given way to the cool of the evening.
Then it was back to the motel and time for a shower and sleep. I have to say I enjoyed today and seeing a part of the US that seemed very different from other places I have visited. The similarity to parts of .New Zealand was amazing and if I was allowed to I could live here quite happily.
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