Monday we went to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. It's well worth the trip if you are in the area. The most notable exhibit is the Spruce Goose but there's plenty more to see. Also go by the Tillamook Dairy and sample their cheese and ice cream.
Tuesday we went to a nearby area on the Oregon coast to ride the Oregon Coast Railroad. The name is a bit of a misnomer. Although it runs parallel to the coast there are very few opportunities to see the Pacific Ocean. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. It was a pretty ride however and we had a standard gauge Heisler engine which is pretty rare. There are a number of boxcars stranded and stored on the railroad. A wash out several years ago cut off this section of track from the rest of the world and there is no money to repair it. It gives the tourist operation a nice place to run with no freight interference so the line serves some purpose.
Wednesday morning was a layout tour. We saw three very nice layouts but they had very convoluted track plans and were not the kind I would like to build.
Wednesday evening we got into the official start of the convention which will be the subject of another post.
