50 before 60- Florence to Crater Lake June 27. 2016

My husband had to get up before 5:30 to conduct a 2 hour business call with a committee back in Florida. I managed to sleep until he was finished, because he was considerate enough to do it in the car!

We ate the breakfast he had picked up in the grocery store, saving the leftovers for tomorrow. We were on the road at 9:19, almost 20 minutes later than planned (1608). It was overcast and cool, 59 degrees. As we continued our drive down 101, we were amazed by the gigantic sand dunes to our right. Many were taller than a one-story building! 

We soon headed inland and it started spitting a little. At 9:50, we pulled into the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area on Route 30 for a pit stop (1631). When we noticed something in the distance, we decided to take a real look and were rewarded with the sight of several elk grazing. Hard to say if the pictures will turn out due to the distance.

 We got back on the road at 10:03. We were driving in the Umpqua River Valley. By 11, we had full sun and views of tree- and field-covered mountains. It was really a lovely drive.

Even when we got on I5 southbound, we had nice vistas. We got off at exit 99 at 11:38 to use the rest area, with the odometer at 1725. It was well-kept and had nice views. We were back on the road in ten minutes.

At 12:45, we saw Mt. Loughlin and just as we were wondering what it was, there was a sign with and arrow and its name! How cool! And it had snow on it!

 At 12:59 (1799), we checked in at the huge main store of Harry and David for our 1:45 tour, paying $5 each.

 On the employee's recommendation, we walked down the shopping center to TOGO Sandwiches for lunch. The original was founded in San Jose in 1971, so it is a chain. We split a 9" California Club, 2 bags of chips and a soda. Unfortunately, it had to be regular Dr. Pepper, because the only diet soda they had was Diet Pepsi, which we don't like. The sandwich was quite full, with avocado oozing out of the sourdough bread. It was good, but we had to eat fast to get back in time. 

At 1:45, we were on the Harry & David bus with 7 other people. The driver was friendly and we started out with a video of the history of the company on our way to the corporate campus. She gave us a restroom break, before taking us upstairs. My husband made sure I always rode the elevator.

 We saw people boxing chocolates, but the line was not full.

The work on Christmas starts up in 2 months and runs full tilt until early December. They will hire 6-8,000 people for Christmas, some of them retirees who come back year after year. The pears will take 4 months of intensive work. The trees start producing at the age of 20 and are pretty well done at 40, at which times they are pulled up.Each tree produces 80-85 pears. The ones that are not pretty enough are sent for juice. 70% of their Christmas gifts go to east of the Mississippi and all are sent from here in Medford. 90% of their waste is recycled, often into new boxes.

 We saw the room with the giant wheels for measuring ribbon. Then, we saw supervisors tying ribbons around boxes as they sat on 4 quart pads. Fascinating!

She told us about the subsidized lunches and how boxes can earn extra by exceeding their quotas. There is a place to pick up food and clothing, if needed, which is open to the whole town. Fields for playing games are available. However, with the majority of the workers being employed from just July or August to December, that is not a great job to pay the bills. It would only be good for a person who worked fast enough to earn the bonuses or who only wanted to work a few months.
We watched the workers making cinnamon buns from incredibly long pieces. of dough.

 We went to the Candy Kitchen and saw chocolate being prepared for all kinds of goodies. We watched the making of Moose Munch, which was particularly interesting to us, because I give him Moose Munch every year. Facebook friends liked the photos of it.

At the end of the tour, she gave each of us a small box containing a dark mint chocolate candy that was delicious and a cookie, which we saved. 

The tour finished at 3 and my husband started in the store. I went to check on a sewing store, but it focused on quilting. I checked the Birkenstock store's sale, before going into the Medford Info center, where I bought postcards and a pin and had a nice chat with the clerks. For coming in, I was given lip balm, Medford notepad, and a no drip pourer for wine!

I joined my husband in the store, where we spent an hour picking out things for ourselves, as well as others. The store had fresh fruits and vegetables, some of which we'd never seen before.

My husband got about 1/2 pound of cherries for us to have tomorrow morning. We got enough items to qualify for the 25% discount sale they were having, which meant I didn't need my email with my 15% birthday discount.

We were on the road at 4:06. Our drive took us through yellow grassland and mountains that had trees, but were not high. It was unplanned, but totally like us, to stop at 5:23 (1859) at the Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint. There were actually several vantage points that we used to take pictures. There were informative signs, too, which we like. All in all, an excellent stop.

 At 6:10 (1877), we reached the Crater Lake fee station. There was no attendant, but we are honest people. We dug out the $15 cash, filled out the form and then my husband had the fun of stuffing it in the slot into the small box. Soon, we were on our way, passing the now closed Visitor Center. We arrived at the Crater Lake Lodge at 6:26 (1884) and were assigned Room 103, which was a handicapped room, which was the last available, when he booked it.

 We put the luggage in the room and took some pictures, before heading out to eat.

The earliest reservation at the restaurant in the lodge was 8 and we were too hungry to wait. We took the short drive over to the Rim Village Cafe, arriving at 7:05. They were cleaning up, even though they didn't close until 8. Not much to choose from at that hour. So, we picked up  a roast beef pre-made sandwich for my husband and a ham one for me. We got chips and a large cookie to share and 2 Cokes. Oh, and a juice for me for the morning. The total was a jaw-dropping $34.85. We ate there and then went through the shop, picking up some souvenirs.

 We were back at the Lodge at 8:10 (1885). We learned they'd had 4 days of snow around June 18, so the damaged dock was delaying the beginning of the boat trips in the lake until Wednesday. I saw that as God's way of keeping me from the strenuous hike involved in getting to and from the boat. It had been buggy at the shop and was so bad here at the Lodge, that we couldn't stand being out on the porch to look at the lake.

We sat in the Great Hall drinking 2 wines for $20.50. My husband read, while I played a game on my iPad. The keyboard that I had for it just wouldn't link to be able to do this blog. There was no cell coverage and the wifi was slow. Our room was nice, but had only 1 chair, which is not  good for 2 people. 

It was a good day!