D and I headed off at 3:30AM from Vancouver. Pitch black out but the dead roads helped quicken the speed of our travel. By 4AM we'd arrived at the border and by 6AM we were driving, along with rush hour traffic, through Seattle. We made a bit of a wrong turn but ended up safe and sound, and not lost on the I5. Stopped outside of Tacoma for breakfast. Nothing else but McDonald's was open. Ugh. It wasn't bad but the coffee was awful. Thankfully, we spotted an open Starbucks across the parkade. French vanilla caramel machiado. BRILLIANT.

Driving speeds picked up as we exited the suburbs and by 10:30 we were outside of Portland. Again, no stopping in Portland (no Powell's! :( ) but we did stop just outside of of Portland for fuel, smokes and more coffee!

Drove through Corvallis. Wished I could have stopped because it looked absolutely charming. After what seemed like an eternity of mountains and trees, we finally saw the ocean, arriving in Newport at about 12:30. Checked in, did some shopping (new running shoes. YEY!), checked out the Historic Bayfront and then walked on the beautiful beach for a few hours. Sand as soft as flour. AMAZING.

Next on the list: some dinner, watching the sun set, hitting the pool and hot tub and getting a good night sleep to see more of the local sights tomorrow!

This is the view of the Ocean from our hotel room. Well worth every penny.

Loads more pictures on Flickr and lots more to be added over the next three days!