Left Portland today to get a slight jump on our big journey back to San Francisco. Having only spent two days in the city, I can nevertheless say that we got a clear feel for the place, and the reaction was very much positive.

Not a bad meal the whole time we were there. Managed to stumble upon a coffee tasting, in which the proprietor offered an amazing amount of knowledge about the process of selecting as well as trading and auctioning coffee worldwide. Got to see a film at the Living Room theatre, which is a nice place to have a drink, some light dinner, and some indie film.

Powell’s book store, of course, is a must see. Absolutely overwhelming in its size. The rain let up for a bit this afternoon, too, which was a nice break.

Would I recommend Portland for a weekend trip? Sure. Not sure there’s enough to make me want to live there, though.

Right now, we’ve stopped for the night in an amazing little bed and breakfast in Eugene. Cuts our road time tomorrow down by about two hours or so, and gives us a very quiet and dark place to rest.

Unfortunately, as I feared, it looks like the mountain pass along the 5 is going to be too snowy the rest of the week, so no Ashland, Crater Lake, Shasta, or Lassen for us this trip. We’ll have to do all that in the spring or summer.

So it’s back to the coast tomorrow through Crescent City, Eureka, etc. Still debating whether or not to stay in Healdsburg New Year’s Eve.

Connectivity hasn’t been too much of a problem on this trip. Lots of free WiFi in Oregon. And decent 3G AT&T signal in the cities, at least. And the iPad/iPhone haven’t left me wishing I had a laptop at all. Though I’m going out of my way to avoid doing any serious work on this trip.

Road quality in Oregon definitely an improvement over California. Smoother roads in general. More comfortable ride.

Overall, surprised that Coastal Oregon does not really remind me of California at all. You can feel almost immediately that you are in a different state. Many of the small towns along the 101 up here remind me more of West Virginia, or western Pennsylvania. Old, early turn of the 20th Century industrial vibe.

Highlights of today’s drive: A tiny town called Yachats, where we found a gas station in the nick of time before running out and got a nice latte at a little Espresso shop that had really fast WiFi. You never know where you’ll find a killer free Internet connection.

(Speaking of Espresso, drive-thru espresso shacks are a big thing here. Passed by no fewer than 20 of them along the 101 today. These people love their coffee, and they don’t like getting out of their cars.)

Another good Mexican food experience in Florence, OR. Los Amigos Taqueria. Nice Burrito. And a gun shop right next door. Fun.

Coffee craze notwithstanding, I’d say rural Oregon is a lot like rural anywhere in the US. My guess is that many of the people we came into contact with today have more in common with rural Arkansans than with San Francisco residents. Not a judgement call, mind you. Just an observation.

As for Portland. Still soaking it in. But I have to say, being in an urban environment again after two days feels very comforting for me. And I’ll say this much: Portland definitely has its own thing going. It shares common traits with a lot of other cities, but it has a personality of its own, which is rare in smaller cities.