Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

After our week of relaxing in Island Park Idaho waiting for the gates of Yellowstone to open, we were ready to find the coast and the ocean again. It’s a pretty significant distance from the eastern side of Idaho to the Pacific Ocean so for the first time in a long time, we had two big driving days ahead of us. We needed to get all the way across both Idaho and Oregon.

Idaho blew us away. For a place that is really only known for having more potatoes than PEI it has a whole lot more to offer. It was an absolutely gorgeous drive through the state. We didn’t stop anywhere significant or make any special trips, which I think made it even more impressive. We have had a lot of driving days and I can safely say that the route through Idaho was one of the prettiest we have had.

The landscape seemed to change almost constantly. We went from winter mountains to potato fields. What felt like volcanic remnants to lush rolling hills. Sometimes you could see the mountains in the distance, sometimes you got to see rivers and waterfalls. Idaho, whoever you have working on your PR they need to be fired. It has so much more to offer than potatoes.

We made it across Idaho in the first day and then crossed in to Oregon, which was somehow even more beautiful than Idaho. It felt like we were in a magical forest. It was SO green. Everything. There were waterfalls alongside the highway. Sometimes our road wound out over the water. We travelled the majority of the distance we needed to the first day so we had a pretty easy drive for the second. This gave us enough time to stop in to Portland for lunch.

We spent a couple of hours at the local market, grabbed some awesome lunch and then wandered around the city. It had a bit of a grungy vibe, but nothing unsafe. The waterfront was great. The food was delicious. And the coffee was plentiful. I would definitely come back to Portland.

The final leg of the drive to our next Airbnb had us winding through the actual rainforest. It was an absolutely stunning drive to make it to Rockaway beach and the ocean (finally!) again. We have ourselves booked into the pacific version of lakeside for a few days before we wrap up our time in mainland USA.