Exploregonians: Travel Misadventures

49. Eugene, Oregon

Jordan weirdly proclaims Eugene as his “Oregon White Whale” because, until early 2025, it has felt like an impenetrable city to him. Oregon’s second largest city is home to Jordan’s family’s greatest enemy: The University of Oregon — which he was taught at a very young age to despise with the fiery hot passion of ten thousand beaver pelts, but he thinks would have been a great school for him.  Katie visited her cousin, who attended UofO, and rode bikes around in traffic for the first time ever and also snuck into at least two classes and still feels guilty about it. Jordan’s first foray into Eugene came during his junior year of high school after he was selected to join the All-State band and right before the performance, a random actual adult man asked the 16-year-old Jordan if he knew where to find some weed. Jordan was scared. Katie finally experiences Eugene’s Hult Center for the Performing Arts and the two gush about how much they love the theater. Jordan reveals Eugene’s nickname of Track Town, U.S.A. and Katie reminisces about her time on the high school track and field team. Have a travel story to share? Send a voice memo or write a cute lil' mini-memoir to exploregonianspodcast@gmail.com and remember to follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/exploregonians.podcast/] and-and and if you'd like to show us some love or send a "thank you" if you enjoyed the episode, you can treat us to a coffee! [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians] Thanks for listening! Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians]

48. Tübingen, Germany

Grab a fresh brezel and mix yourself a Colaweizen because this week is all about a very special place in Germany for Katie and Jordan: the university city of Tübingen.  Katie is joined by a boy who is 58 percent German. And that boy is her husband Jordan, who falls in love with 58 percent of his ancestral homeland the second they get off the train — and also curses Disney movies for making him very confused on what the German esthetic is.  Years earlier, Katie travels to Tübingen from Oregon to crash the wedding of a former foreign exchange student, and brings their mutual friend from Belgium along. They also crash at the bride and groom’s house and during the reception, Katie loses a vital piece of her wardrobe.  While roaming around Tübingen at night, Jordan concerns their German friend with his complete lack of German literature knowledge while being shown a sign commemorating the writer Goethe puking from a third-story window. The night takes an unexpected turn when Katie invites herself into a hilltop castle-mansion-thing and they all meet The Count.  You’re probably going to need two Colaweizens for this wild ride! Have a travel story to share? Send a voice memo or write a cute lil' mini-memoir to exploregonianspodcast@gmail.com and remember to follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/exploregonians.podcast/] and-and and if you'd like to show us some love or send a "thank you" if you enjoyed the episode, you can treat us to a coffee! [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians] Thanks for listening! Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians]

47. Bayocean, Oregon

It’s time to visit an Oregon town that time nearly forgot! Katie and Jordan live a couple miles away from a peninsula that was once home to a cutting edge resort town literally and perilously built on sand and is now buried beneath ten feet of it.  Bayocean was built on a spit of land that separated Tillamook Bay from the Pacific Ocean. It existed from 1906 and was battered by the elements for decades before the final structure collapsed in 1972. It was promoted as “The Atlantic City of the West” and this tiny four-mile long peninsula has an incredible history that is being remembered and revisited.  Katie has memories of jogging the wild trails that used to be paved roads with electric lights and Jordan admits to really enjoying foraging for magic mushrooms with his friend that will only be known as “Super Mario” over the ruins of the town. Have a travel story to share? Send a voice memo or write a cute lil' mini-memoir to exploregonianspodcast@gmail.com and remember to follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/exploregonians.podcast/] and-and and if you'd like to show us some love or send a "thank you" if you enjoyed the episode, you can treat us to a coffee! [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians] Thanks for listening! Reference: Oregon Field Guide: Lost City of Bayocean [https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-bayocean-ghost-town-resort-tillamook-bay/] Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians]

46. Mexico City, Mexico

Insect caviar! An urban green space twice the size of Central Park! The 52,000-pound Aztec Sun Stone!  The oldest and highest elevation North American metropolis dives straight into the hearts of the Exploregonians as they venture to Mexico City. Katie and Jordan make a friend on the plane and after landing, has her parents give them all a tour of the historical heart of the city and then a pitstop to a secret doughnut experience. Katie gushes about Mexico City’s art scene and Jordan loves the wild murals and graffiti.  Jordan forces himself to wear jeans in the heat of Mexico because he read, in order to blend in, wear pants; Thankfully,  it doesn’t prevent him from enjoying all the trees in the city. Katie is obsessed with Chapultepec, the enormous urban park twice the size of Manhattan’s Central Park. The two tour the National Anthropology Museum and Katie discovers the charming ball game in “The Road to El Dorado” is real and often ended in decapitation, but before they entered the museum, were ambush-interviewed by a group of 12-year-old boys on a field trip. The city will always hold a special place in Katie and Jordan’s hearts. Have a travel story to share? Send a voice memo or write a cute lil' mini-memoir to exploregonianspodcast@gmail.com and remember to follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/exploregonians.podcast/] and-and and if you'd like to show us some love or send a "thank you" if you enjoyed the episode, you can treat us to a coffee! [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians] Thanks for listening! Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians]

45. Halloween in Oregon

How do two scaredy cats celebrate Halloween? Katie does it by closing her eyes in haunted houses and Jordan wears a visor to weave through corn mazes in the daylight. Tricks and treats abound as Katie and Jordan talk about some of their favorite memories of Halloween in Oregon, a famous movie that shot in the town of St. Helens, and Katie talks about a Care Bear costume that was just too snug in the hands as a kid and a handmade Tinkerbell costume that Katie enthusiastically cut way too short in the back.  And Katie remembers one of her favorite Halloweens ever featuring a Bollywood-enhanced version of Thriller.  Have a travel story to share? Send a voice memo or write a cute lil' mini-memoir to exploregonianspodcast@gmail.com and remember to follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/exploregonians.podcast/] and-and and if you'd like to show us some love or send a "thank you" if you enjoyed the episode, you can treat us to a coffee! [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians] Thanks for listening! Support the show [https://buymeacoffee.com/exploregonians]