For many years I've been passively following several blogs and instagram accounts dedicated to the restoration and use of vintage travel trailers. Vintage Camper Trailer Magazine has been a particular favorite with its drool-worthy pictorials of some truly epic restorations and, as a consequence of this semi-passive hobby, I briefly began to consider whether this is a lifestyle I could commit myself to as well. In fact, I became so engrossed with the possibility that this could become my new reality that I even started shopping Etsy for Cousin Eddy "Shitter's Full" decals to lovingly place upon my fantasy trailer. My husband the pragmatist, however, suggested we should consider renting first which then snowballed into a somewhat epic road trip that we embarked upon Thanksgiving week.
The catalyst for all this was a review I ran across several months ago for a rather unique destination in the Willamette Valley called The Vintages Trailer Resort where you can stay in any one of 35 fully restored vintage trailers. I knew immediately we needed to figure out a way to get there, and with another pandemic hampered holiday on the horizon it seemed like a perfect opportunity for a road trip touring through Northern California and Oregon.
Since my husband has a low tolerance for extended periods in the car, I charted a route with several overnight stays to ensure we were not spending any longer than a few hours per day on the road. This also granted me the opportunity to book more than just one unique place to stay. Below you can find a recap of our itinerary:
Day 1 - San Francisco to Eureka, CA
When driving from San Francisco to Oregon, there are two possible routes that can be taken. One along the coast with beautiful scenic views of the Pacific Ocean and the Northern California redwood forests, and the other along the somewhat less scenic I-5. We chose to take the more scenic route on our way up North with a quick pitstop for lunch in Garberville, CA. From Garberville it was just a little over an hour to get to our first overnight stay in Eureka at the historic Inn at 2nd and C. As we opened the door to our room for the night, our daughter was a little less than enthusiastic first exclaiming "this place smells like grandma" before settling down on the sofa with her iPad. However, I absolutely adored this place with its Victorian era decor and the huge bay window in our room looking out over downtown Eureka. And I can't tell you how comfy cozy our bed was. I slept extremely well that night.
Once settled into our room we had some time to kill so we located a nearby mini-golf course in hopes of a casual round before heading to dinner. However this turned into a speed game of pure chaos after the owner told us we were in a race against the setting sun as there would be no lights to aid us once it got dark. We still had a pretty good time and wrapped up our evening with a solid seafood dinner at Humboldt Bay Bistro.
Day 2 - Eureka to Eugene, Oregon
We kicked off day 2 with a classic diner breakfast at Kristina's Restaurant and then continued our trek North with a brief lunch stop at a Red Robin in Grants Pass. For night 2, we were booked to stay at the mid-century modern Timbers Inn in downtown Eugene. Our daughter seemed to find this place a bit more to her liking given that our suite had a living room and separate bedroom. Although this place has been recently renovated it still maintains many unique original features such as the deadbolt below.
Our dinner for the evening was within walking distance of the hotel at a place called Bao Bao House and I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. The staff was incredibly friendly and if you go you absolutely must order one of their seasonal fruit teas. Their menu is also full of many unique house-made dishes. So, of course, we ordered way too much and walked away a little uncomfortably full. But we were very happy.
Day 3 - Eugene to The Vintages in Dayton, Oregon
Since the drive from Eugene to The Vintages Resort is a brief hour and a half, we decided to spend time wandering around Eugene after enjoying a delicious continental breakfast at the Timbers Inn. I was really excited to check out the 5th Street Market anticipating it to be a magical place of boutiques full of local artisanal finds. While this was somewhat true it was still a bit of a let down. I will say that the Made in Oregon, Elephant's Trunk, and Will Leather Goods stores are all worth a stop. But none of this burned up any significant time so we headed to a local bowling alley to play a few games before grabbing lunch at MOD Pizza. After lunch we decided it was time to hit the road and head toward our final destination in the Willamette Valley within a short distance we stumbled upon Coburg, Oregon. A place that I think may actually be the antique Mecca of Oregon given its surprisingly high concentration of fairly large antique stores. We, of course, had to stop and wander the tightly packed aisles in search of vintage treasures. There was a lot to see and if you're in the market for uranium glass or vintage pyrex, we saw a lot of it there.
After our brief detour in Coburg we eventually made it to The Vintages where we were finally able to see our new home for the next 3 days, a restored 1953 Vagabond travel trailer that I was immediately smitten with the moment we walked through the door.
Once settled in we headed to nearby McMinnville for an excellent french dinner at Bistro Maison. Locally grown hazelnuts featured heavily in their specials for the evening and I had a hazelnut crusted pork dish that was to die for.
Afterward, we headed back to our trailer and I would say this is where the adventure really began. I'm fairly certain our daughter has never suffered the discomfort of a cold shower before in her life. But rv hot water tanks are small, and I knew this. But did I warn her? Nope. Because I genuinely didn't think about it until she came charging out of the bathroom ranting about the horribly cold shower she just had.
That also was the first night we began the epic battle of the fitted sheet. Each night was a little different but the outcome was ultimately the same ending with us contorting ourselves in the tight space in a battle of wills to get the fitted sheet placed back around the mattress, knowing full well we would be repeating this process all over again the very next day.
Day 4 - Day Trip to Portland
For our day in Portland I had planned for us to do the Portland Underground Donut Tour since my daughter and I are great lovers of donuts. Therefore, to allow us plenty of time to sleep in and drive the 45 minutes to Portland, I had booked a 12 pm tour. That morning we got up and headed a short distance up the road for some breakfast at Field & Stream in Dundee so that we wouldn't spend the morning starving up until the tour started. This was a mistake. What ensued soon after we met our tour group was a 2-hour sprint through something like 18 donut samples spread across 5 locations with a finale at Voodoo Donut. I thought I was going to die; and it took a solid 2 days for my digestive system to fully recover. But, it was still an excellent tour and if you want to experience all the donut goodness Portland as to offer, I highly recommend it. Though I recommend not eating anything for several hours or more before going.
After the tour ended we headed over to a store called Paxton Gate (a must stop for curiosity seekers) and rounded off the day with some bowling and video games at Punch Bowl Social followed by what may have been the best fondue dinner we've ever had at Urban Fondue.
Day 5 - Rest Day (Thanksgiving Day)
Very little happened on day 5. We read, scrolled social media, wandered around the resort, and generally lazed around until we went out to dinner in Salem at Rudy's Steakhouse. This was a good day. To cap off our evening we cozied up to a small fire outside our trailer and roasted marshmallows for s'mores. I also took a gamble on some canned wine and lost. If you respect yourself, please don't ever drink canned wine.
Day 6 - The Vintages to Ashland, Oregon
Day 6 was the day the yelling started. Mostly ignited by a river ferry in the middle of nowhere that would only accept cash. A month later I'm still salty we couldn't experience it. So if you plan on doing this trip yourself I would highly recommend bringing along plenty of cash to cover tips and odd incidentals such as this. The ferry in question was the Wheatland Ferry and there isn't an atm within miles of this place. We know. We looked. This was followed by a disappointing McDonald's lunch at random stop along I-5. It was a long day. But it was brightened considerably when we checked into the McCall House Bed & Breakfast that evening in Ashland, Oregon and enjoyed a delightful dinner at Peerless Restaurant & Bar, just a few blocks from the B&B. I actually really liked the McCall House and would love to visit again in the future. Be sure to bring a good book with you so you can relax in their parlor for a bit. This was by far my favorite part of the day.
Day 7 - Ashland, Oregon to Home
I wish I could remember exactly what was served for breakfast the morning we checked out of the McCall House. All I remember was that it was full of thinly sliced potatoes in a creamy sauce, surrounded by micro greens and it was delicious. After breakfast we decided to walk the short distance to the Lithia Artisans Winter Market and checked out several of the booths and local shops. We didn't spend too terribly long wandering but there is a wonderful selection of local boutiques and shops nearby. In fact I came painfully close to purchasing a handblown glass jelly fish I saw in the window of one of the shops but gave up when the shop became a little too busy. (Little did I know at the time that my sneaky husband would later surprise me with one as a gift on Christmas Day). Soon after we loaded back up in the car and hit the road for the final leg back home.
Conclusion
So was this trip worth it? Absolutely. In retrospect there are definitely a few things we would do a little differently and it would be interesting to try this trip again when it's warmer out. In fact Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm hosts an annual Tulip Festival every year from March through April if you happen to be a Tulip aficionado. And let's not forget the enormous variety of Willamette Valley winemakers that are all worth a visit.
Anyway, if you've ever made the trek between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, what are some of your favorite spots along the way? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.
Finally, have I been cured of my desire to own a vintage travel trailer? Yes, but not because I don't personally love them anymore. I just realized through this trip that it's not necessarily something that gets my husband and daughter super excited so I'll need to find a new passion project they'll be more willing to support me on.