Welcome to my blog post where I described my PLP Oregon Coast field study experience !
I will be writing some of my trip highlights including restaurants and important locations we went to :
Our first important stop was a Cabela’s ,a huge outdoor equipment shop .It was a fun experience as I got a taste of US culture for the first time .Because it was labour day there were a ton of American themed T-shirts and banners .This was also my first time going into a hunting store that had guns and other hunting weapons in it .Although I didn’t purchase any firearms it was really interesting seeing different snipers and rifles for the first time in my life .Cabela’s really gave of the vibe of a hunting store as there stuffed animal heads all over the place and a huge fake mountain with a mini aquarium inside.
The Astoria Column an important part of my trip because thats the business my group had to interview .We asked a lady questions about the Astoria Column business to create our ads .Our group practiced what we needed to ask during the interesting and how we would introduce ourselves .I personally thought the interview itself went smoothly and our group got a better understanding what we needed to advertise .We didn’t get exact answers on what exactly we had to put in our ads or on how we could advertise Astoria Column to convince more people to visit .But instead I got a general sense its business.I leant about what type of people usually come here the most ,what they come here for, and how important the Astoria Columns history was .Other than the interview we also got a chance to walk up Astoria Columns spiral stare case and look at the awesome panoramic landscape views once we got to the top .Seeing Column itself was an amazing experience as its the world’s only large piece of memorial architecture made of reinforced concrete with a pictorial sgraffito frieze.
My personal favorite part of this trip was the Tillamook cheese factory simply because I love cheese .We went on a tour of the cheese factory .We got to learn about the factory’s cheese product process and see the factory in action producing cheese .Seeing the different machines for cheese production and packaging was so satisfying because everything just seemed so flawless and efficient. It was also a great learning opportunity as we leant about Tillamook ,Oregons agriculture history and the origins of the cheese factory .After tour we got to sample some of Tillamook’s 🧀 ! The different cheeses were all so tasty in their own ways .In my option the smoked cheddar was the best flavor because it was just so rich and it was my first time tasting smoked cheese .Finally we went to the factory’s gift shop .Sadly we couldn’t buy any food related items but the I had fun looking at the shop’s merch .
Another highlight of my trip was the Marine Hatfield science center(We went to the Marine Hatfield science center twice I am only about some of my personal highlights throughout the whole experience) .The Hat field Marine science center is a marine research center and an education center .Some staff toured us through the visitor area at the center which had an cool tsunami machine and a topographic map projector where we got to play with sand ,and a flight simulator .I enjoyed trying out all there interact machines that taught us about marine research that were related to the Oregon Coast .
The most memorable part of my visit and the center was R.O.V challenge .We had to work in groups to create R.O.V’s limited pipe’s ,connects ,and motors to pick up spoons.My group came up with a decent R.O.V design that worked in theory but we failed to figure out ways to connect our motors.But at the end we figured it out and created a successful R.O.V that could pick up spoons .Reflecting on this challenge I wish I thought about and discussed with my group the mechanics of how the R.O.V would actually moved by following the standard protocol of assembling the motors .But overall this challenge challenged our teamwork skills and creativity.
The food:
A lot of the meals we eat in Oregon week trip were easy prep food like wraps or crackers ,but we also got go to restaurants and try tasty food.
-A restaurant went to was a road side restaurant called Clark’s .The burgers and fries where nice and this was my first time going to a road side restaurant.
-Thai food takeout ,I am happy I got to try unique foods from different cuisines .
-Pig and pancake was a fun family-style restaurant with a cool gift shop .I ordered their french toast and it was mid ,but on the bright side their other food that I didn’t try look appetizing.
-The buffet we went to in Oregon was by far the best restaurant we went too .Their desserts were exceptionally good and they just had a good food selection like ribs and pasta .
Overall the Oregon trip was an enjoyable and great learning experience .I made many fun and memorable experiences with my classmates ,teachers ,and friends .friends. While it had its share of ups and downs—living in camps and yurts wasn’t exactly my preference, and the constant traveling became quite tiring—the overall experience was definitely positive.I am looking forward to future PLP trips!!