Confession: my Dad is from Oregon...and most of his family lives there....and I can kinda take it or leave it. I like to go see them but, I never leave Oregon thinking, 'aw man...do I have to go so soon?!'. My family has a big piece of land we call The Farm around the Corvallis area. I've camped at The Farm - hung out at the river - walked through the fields - picked plums in the orchard - roasted marshmallows over the fire - watched the bats come out - but, if you ask me where my favorite hang out is on the West Coast I'll almost always pick British Columbia. I'll even pick BC over Seattle.

Then something weird happened. I was driving through Oregon on my way to Corvallis and I pulled over at a rest stop. As I was getting ready to get out of my car I noticed a trucker wearing a cowboy hat and boots...walking his cat on a leash. He let me pet her and then told me all about their life on the road. As I left them to their walk I headed towards the bathroom and realized there was a free coffee stand. Ummm...hello....coffee and free....love it! I take care of business and am heading back to my car when I see a woman.....letting her ferret out to play. Said woman let me touch her ferret.

I got back in my car and thought, 'Damn Oregon! You're pretty cool!'.

Why the camp fires, black berry picking, river floating never got me, couldn't tell ya. Suddenly, every where I stopped / looked I saw things I thought were great.

I pulled into Grants Pass and headed to Rogue Roasters. It was customer appreciation day. Win! I got three backs of coffee for a bargain - where I might add they micro roast their beans!

I stopped in Portland and walked to Stumptown with a girlfriend. There were roses everywhere! Everyones garden was amazing. Win!

I met up with another girlfriend and we chatted and had fresh eggs for breakfast - like fresh from her yard. Win!

I hung out in Corvallis with my cousins and had Ahi Tacos and Lilikoi Kamikazes. Clearly thats a....Win!

Oregon - you're pretty much kicking summers butt. I'd like to thank you for instilling in me a new found appreciation for your loveliness.