Day 17 | 14.09.2018 Newport - Eugene, OR

Today we went from Newport to our last stop in Oregon. I have a little thing for American universities, so I wanted to visit the U of O (University of Oregon) in Eugene. We drove south along the coastal highway. Beautiful road, unfortunately with very hazy weather.

Craftsmanship along the way

Just before Florence, we stopped at the Sea Lions Cave.

It is said to be the largest cave in North America, where you can go down in a lift and see sea lions. However, a video in the store showed an empty cave and the ticket seller said there might not be any there. So we canceled, as we had already seen many of these cute animals yesterday. We saved the $14 per person.

In Dunes City, a little further south of Florence, there are beach dunes that tower up to a hundred meters. But here too, the hazy visibility spoiled the full view. And we also didn't really find the true hotspot.

So we continued on to Eugene inland. The Travellodge Motel was another stroke of luck and just as described on Tripadvisor. We had two separate rooms with a bathroom in between, and even a shower with a seat bench built into the wall. First class and cheap. The university campus was a 10-minute walk away and was once again fantastic. First, we went to a park with countless different trees. Even a sequoia from the Redwoods had made its way here.

The university campus covers about 200 buildings and accommodates 21,000 students from all over the world. Great old and new buildings, and everywhere, not only on the campus, you can see the yellow "O" for Oregon or the Ducks, as the university's teams are called.

The Hayward Field athletic stadium regularly hosts the US Trials, and in 2021 it will host the first Athletics World Championships in the United States. That's probably why all you can see at the stadium right now is a big construction site. Too bad. But we were here!!! And we will remember it in three years. In the Duck Store, we got a coffee and some snacks. I also got a cap in a fancy bag. There was also a lively atmosphere on the edge of the campus. There is a small scene street with bars, pubs, and various establishments where the students like to hang out in the evening. I like it!!

For dinner, we went back to something familiar. Remember the Whole Food Market in Park City. That Amazon thing. There was one right next to our motel as well. Mom and I were a bit cowardly and went for a slice of pizza. It came in a box and we paid for it. That was easy. Dad wanted to try something new today. Because this market primarily focuses on natural food and offers a huge variety of things, but we didn't know exactly how it was billed, what everything cost, and how it all worked. Dad grabbed a plate and filled it with what he liked (in the end, it was a vegetarian dish), while Mom asked how to pay. The friendly lady behind the counter pointed us to the supermarket checkouts. We were more than surprised, but there we were with two pizzas and a plate of food at the supermarket checkout. The pizzas were paid for by the slice, and the plate was weighed. Done. It was easy and delicious too. The cashier asked us in amazement why we, as Germans, came to Eugene? Because we really like it here :-)

We also went to Skinner Butte, a rock in the middle of the city from where you have a great view of this very green city of the Ducks.