The Economy from the Road

I'd heard that Oregon had been hit particularly hard by the recession, and if the real estate signs we've been seeing along the way are any indication, that assessment is correct.

We've been traveling, obviously, through touristy country which is also, I'm finding out, big second home country fir a lot of people. A lot of people seem to be selling, or trying to sell. In every town we enter, we see strings of for sale signs. Even the little cottage hotel we're staying in is for sale. And many tourists are staying away as well. Hotel vacancies are up. When we were planning the trip, we were anxious about getting reservations so we wouldn't get locked out. But we could have gone without reservations and found a room. Lots of vacancies here. That may mean we're here before tourist season, but I can't believe the difference would be that pronounced.

This is definitely vacationland, and expensive vacationland to boot.