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Curvy roads along Oregon's Columbia River and coast cut through mountain tunnels and snake from deep woods to scenic overlooks. Ocean waves crash at the base of jagged cliffs, and dense forests loom over nearly every bend in the highway. There's no doubt this route from Portland to Astoria to Florence is breathtaking, but it's also just plain fun to drive. Car commercial fantasies aside, this road trip promises herbal wonders, whale watching spots, fiery furnace art, and haunted tales, too.

The trip begins in Portland's trendy Pearl District, where shopping reigns. Countless turn-of-the-century warehouses have been converted into home décor shops, loft apartments, brewpubs, and art galleries. Head toward NW Glisan and 12th streets on the first Thursday night of each month, when neighborhood galleries host open houses. On rainy days, the magical and whimsical Lux Lighting store offers a healthy dose of light. Thousands of decorative lamps are on display ranging from $40 table lamps to museum-like pieces that go for upwards of $11,000.

Not too many tourists make their way into the laid-back bohemian Belmont District on the city's west side. But it's absolutely worth the trip. Here, residents hang out in coffeehouses or pick up loose tea leaves at The Leaf Room, whose owners also run the tea room in Portland's popular Classical Chinese Garden. Copper and silver jars behind the counter hold 120 varieties of tea, their competing aromas filling the air.

Just outside city limits, the road leads to Sauvie Island. There's so much farmland here, nearly every stretch of the old road is marked with some sort of muddy tractor tread. The island is home to the Blue Heron Herbary. More than 300 types of herbs grow in these lush aromatic gardens open March through October. The owner actually invites visitors to pinch, sniff or graze anything growing here, and that includes the chocolate mint and lavender. Near the play area and kids' garden, doves coo, cats play hide-and-seek, and bunnies nuzzle into petting hands.

The beautifully desolate road that leads to Oregon's coast is wedged between the Columbia River to the north and a woodsy mountain range to the south. One minute the sun may shine brightly, then in a flash it's lost somewhere behind a torrential downpour. Depending on the day, the sky's dramatic changes can be the most noteworthy highlight along Highway 30, which is sparsely populated with mom-and-pop grocery stores and motor inns.

Along the route there are a few good glimpses of the Columbia River. Tugs pull massive barges loaded with wheat, corn, and lumber. Some cargo ships are bound for destinations as distant as Pakistan or Japan. There's always river traffic coming or going on these waters where explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark once navigated.