Do I have any friends in Oregon?

[manic mechanic]

Hey all,

I am traveling far north of the state at first (seeing my dad for the first time in almost 10 years, working on his house and cars), and traveling down with my brother to view the eclipse...

What I need to know is:

Is there someone who knows me well enough (and thinks well enough of me) who is in the path of the eclipse that could surrender a viewing area (and maybe a place to kick/crash while the traffic fights itself)?

No crash pad necessary. Just a spot where we know we are welcome to view this.

It's on my brother's "bucket list".

Anything is better than nothing.

Thanks.

<manic>

[datachicane]

My house is nearly at the center of the shadow (Salem), and you'd certainly be welcome. That said, it's a pretty dense urban neighborhood, and parking is tight even at ordinary times. We have a couple of invites around town, but we'll probably just end up avoiding the traffic and walking down to the local coffee shop, where there's a small open plaza and some kind of neighborhood shindig planned. Drop me an IM and we'll see if we can figure something out.

[TravelGal]

We went to the doctor yesterday and he said he has rented a house for the week near the Oregon coast. Bringing kids and grandkids so the exorbitant price evens out a little. They had to order their food two weeks ago because the area expects there to be nothing on the shelves due to the massive influx of people. He told us several other stories that really raised our eyebrows. So, Manic, be careful about your water, food, and where you purchase your fuel on your drive. Things could be scarce if everything "they" say comes true.

[datachicane]

As a native Oregonian, I gotta say that anyone planning any kind of activity on the central coast that requires a clear sky is nuts. A nice day in Lincoln City is 65F and overcast- a really, really decent day is 58F and heavy mist/light rain. Clear skies at 9AM, even in August? 50/50 odds would be generous.

To add to the fun, we're smack in the middle of fire season. This was Portland last week:

https://lintvkoin.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/ff79fd64418245ee90a965aceb64395b.jpg

Smoke from fires in British Columbia, up near Detroit (no, not that one), and central Oregon, pretty much the same story here in Salem. It's better than that here now as I type this, but the skies are nowhere near clear, and the fires are growing. Here's hoping they're under control by then.

[TravelGal]

Good grief. I never thought of that. I try not to sell US travel so I'm not as aware as I should be of the weather conditions around the country. I had heard of the BC fires but didn't realize they had a passport.