50 before 60- The Trip Home July 2 2016

When we got up at 5:15 PDT, it was grey and cool. We had breakfast in the Hampton breakfast room before checking out at 6:40. It took us 5 minutes to get the car packed up, take back the luggage cart and get on the road. However, it took only 3 minutes to get to Hertz at the airport. The odometer read 2408. We'd put 1385 miles on the car-more than it had had when we first got it. Go us!
At 7:05, we had the bags dropped and they were nowhere near the limit in weight. We picked up a few last souvenirs at the Made in Oregon Store and then wraps from the Beach Shack. I ordered a Chicken Caesar and my husband got Thai Peanut with chicken for a total of $17.25. They took forever to get done.
The TSA line was nearby and we were through it in a minute, thanks to our PreCheck status, and on our way at 7:31. The gate was a simple 3 minute walk and we were soon seated at Gate E3. The terminal was warm, perhaps too much so. I took a picture of the terminal carpet, because my daughter told me Portland had a thing about that carpet. Indeed they do-there is even a Wikipedia entry on it!

At 8:30, we were seated in 31B and C on United Flight 679 to Chicago. Sixteen minutes later was pushback and we took off at 8:56. In flight, we read, did puzzles, etc. We also ate "lunch", which was the wraps. Mine really didn't taste good and my husband's was just so-so.
At 2:16 pm CDT, we landed in Chicago. That airport is huge- taxiing to Gate B12 took 14 minutes.  It was partly cloudy here. When we got off the plane, we recognized Eli's from a food show, and bought a slice of chocolate chip cheesecake to have later for $4.23. Our phones suddenly picked up messages that had been sent in flight and we got 2 flight delay warnings.
We worked our way through the crowded terminal and passed through a really cool underground level with neat lights.

At 3:05, we were seated at Gate C15. It was seriously warm and we got a Coke Zero from McDonald's for $2.43. Our gate was also handling earlier flights to San Francisco and such.
At 4:40 we got another delay message on the phone, which was finally on the display above, as well. Now the delay from 5:45 to 6:20 had been delayed to 7:26 pm. All along, it said that we were waiting on equipment. Searching on line, I found out that it was not our plan that was delayed. That one arrived on time. They'd changed us to a plane that was 3 hours late leaving Denver. To be even more irritating, there was a flight to OIA, that was scheduled for 7:05, which was to have been after ours and was now before ours! Why not use that plane? Because they didn't want to hurt their on-time record. This way, only one flight was late, not two.
At 5:30, we moved to the food court for Chicago-style pizza from Reggio's, because, you know, it's Chicago. The small pizza we split was $7.99 and tasted pretty good. We also split a soda for $2.59.

When we got back to the gate, the desk people kept making announcements to the Orlando people, that they'd just have to wait with their questions, because they were busy getting a flight off to London. At 6:50, they announced we were changing gates to the one next to us and delayed to 7:54. Every one got out of their seats and went to get in their correct lines.
We'd struck up a conversation with a pair of young people heading home to Daytona Beach from Ireland. The guy was in a different boarding group, so I continued my conversation with the young woman while we waited and waited to board, while the arriving flight disembarked.
Eventually, they started the boarding process. Suddenly, the ground personnel were yelling at us to board quickly and take our seats or the flight would be canceled because it would be illegal to fly. Huh? How was this our fault? You can only board so fast. Later, we decided the flight crew must have been waiting so long that it was getting near the edge of their cutoff time.
At 7:40, we were finally seated in 29 B and C on United Flight 639 to Orlando. Pushback was at 7:59 and we finally took off at 8:24. The captain kept apologizing for the delay and said she hoped to make up time in the air. I was really glad we had not asked our daughter to pick us up, since she had to work early the next day.
At 11:22 EDT, we landed at OIA and 15 minutes later we were in the terminal waiting for our luggage, which seemed to take its own good time arriving. We were lucky, when the conveyor belt finally started moving, ours was fairly near the beginning and we had it at 12:01 am. My husband called Payless Parking to come pick us up. When they arrived, we had to wait for others who took longer to show up.
At 12:20, we were finally on our way and Payless was just 10 minutes away. At 12:39, we were in our car and on our way home, where we arrived at 1:10 am!
Oregon was fantastic-  a great choice for my 50th state. (I will just try to forget how awful today was.)

50 before 60- Eugene to Portland, Oregon July 1, 2016

Since the hotel had a continental breakfast, we saved our muffins, but ate the rest of the bananas and drank up the juice. However, all I had from the hotel was a bagel, as there really wasn't anything else left.
At 9:11, we headed off through the Willamette Valley, which, we learned last night, rhymes with "dammit". (Now, I have to say that in my head to be able to pronounce it correctly!) We saw lots of agriculture, including vineyards. We took advantage of a rest area on I5 to take a 9 minute break at 9:56.

We were parked outside of the State Capitol at 10:25.

The meter accepted a credit card, so my husband paid for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Unlike some other capitols, there was no security to pass through to enter. We were just in time for the next tour, which included just one couple besides ourselves. The tour guide had actually moved here from California. He told us that Salem just became the second largest city  with about 300,000 residents in the city and suburbs. The Willamette Valley lies between the Coast Range and the Cascade Range. 90% of the population of Oregon lives within 10 miles of the valley. Wow! There is 1 representative for the entire eastern third or so of the state, because there are so few people there.
The top of the capitol isn't really a dome, even though it looks like one from inside. The thirty three stars here represent the fact that Oregon was the 33rd state.

Below the rotunda is a large brass version of the state seal.

The four corners of this space each have a  painted mural that depicts the history of the settling of the territory. Two of my pictures that turned out well are the one depicting Lewis and Clark and the one depicting the arrival of the first white woman (!).

Grand staircases on either side of the entry lead to the House and the Senate on opposite sides of the capitol. First, we visited the house, with its carpet of trees, which are the state tree, the Douglas Fir. Around the top of the room are names from Oregon's history.

The other couple had to depart for the dome tour, but we continued on to the Governor's Office. The part we visited was the ceremonial office, with its exhibit of Oregon art, a moon rock and the desk, where the governor does the ceremonial signings. The guide had each of us sit at the desk with paper and pen for a photo.

We moved  on to the other end to the Senate chamber with its carpet of Chinook salmon and wheat. More historic names encircled this chamber.

After the tour, the guide asked where we were headed next. When we said Mount Hood, he pulled out a map to show us the route and told us about the Timberline Lodge there. He said, we could eat there and it was worth visiting. I then visited the very nice gift shop, where I found pins, myrtle tree ornaments and a couple of gifts. I also had a nice chat with the clerk, a grandmother originally from California.
Outside, I took time for pictures of the engravings behind the flat statues and of the Oregon Pioneer, the gold guy on top of the Capitol.

We left at 12:05 and drove around the block to see Willamette University. Since we were getting hungry, we thought it would be a good idea to find some place to eat before getting back on I5. As we neared the interstate, we saw a family restaurant, which seemed pretty good on Google. We had to drive a long way "around the block" to be able to get to an entrance. However, while waiting at the light to turn back onto the road it was on, we saw a diner across the street, that looked very interesting. It was good on Google, so we headed over to Rock N Rogers, the Pink Cadillac branch.

It was very old school inside with Elvis stuff on the walls and old ads under plexiglass on the tables. There is nothing like a diner shake, so I ordered the chocolate one. The Junior size sounded too small, so I got the $5.99 one. Not only was it incredibly thick, but the mixer cup that came with it filled the glass two more times! There was a bit of a mess on the first refill as the thick part bubbled up and over the edge of the glass. But, it was delicious!

We decided to split our meals and planned on splitting a berry pie for dessert. We got the hamburger with fries and the Avocado Chicken Breast Salad, 1/2 portion.

If that is the half portion, I'd hate to see the full portion. Suffice it to say, we were way too full for the proposed pie.
The restroom was on the outside with the key kept at the counter and attached to an empty picnic ketchup bottle!
At 1:25, we were back on the road. I think the grape vines and signs for vineyards got to my husband, because he decided it would be wrong to leave the area without visiting a vineyard for a tasting. So, at 1:55 (2274), we pulled into the stone parking lot of Aurora Colony Vineyards near Canby off Exit 278 of I5. The vineyard was on one side of the parking lot. On the other was the vaguely barnlike tasting room. The guy behind the counter was a chef, who rented the kitchen from the vineyard owner, who had in turn bought the vineyard from the family of the chef a while back. My husband tried 3 reds, the limit for free tastings, and really enjoyed them. I just asked for the sweetest wine he had. I would have been fine with that, but he poured another white and finally made me a lavender mimosa! Now, there's a unique drink. He evidently created it on a dare and makes his own lavender syrup. When you get the glass up for a whiff, it's as if you were about to drink soap. I was glad I tried it, but I don't need to ever again.
At the the guy's suggestion, we went out the back door to look at the grounds. They have a big amphitheater, where they host music events, and a chapel for weddings.

There are beautiful flowers and flowering trees. And, we were thrilled to see our first good view of Mt. Hood.

At 2:32, we were back on the road. At 4:24, my husband pulled over for a really good picture of Mt. Hood approaching. The beautiful sky really accented it.

At 4:30, we found a rest area on Route 26. This area evidently gets a lot of snow, because the roof was very steep and warned of falling snow and ice. Inside, there were even coat hooks. Nearby was a ski lift.
We were back on the road at 4:39. Just 11 minutes later, we found a pullout on the road leading to Mt. Hood. Ahead of us was a great view, including the tall sticks that were guides for snowplows.

To the south, we could see Mt. Jefferson and other snow-capped peaks.

At 5:02 (2345), we found a parking space in the busy lot near Timberline Lodge, which is at 5,924 feet. We first looked in the day lodge and found out the lift up the mountain had stopped running at 3 pm. There was a gift shop that was open there, but nothing else. We took the elevator up to the parking lot level with the lodge.

The lodge had been built by the WPA in the 1930's. Inside, it was just what you'd expect of a ski lodge.

The restaurant was not open, but the Ram's Head Bar was and had food. We were seated by the big window with the best view of the peak, which is 11,239 feet high.

I asked what the bar was on the window. It is there to help it hold against the 120 mph winds they can get up there in the winter. The peak is actually about 3.5 miles from there, I believe.
As might be guessed, the food was interesting and creative. My husband ordered a Blonde Ale for $6 and I had water, which I thought would be better for dealing with the altitude. We chose two items to share: Cypress Grove Fromage Blanc Deli Sandwich, which had red wine fig jam, thin slices of apple, mixed greens, red onions with a cucumber, grape & farro wheat berry salad  for $15 and Apres Ski Fondue in a Cast Iron Skillet, which was a blend of melted raclette, fontina & white cheddar cheeses with cream, roasted garlic & Mt Hood Brewing Co.'s Ice Axe IPA served with Fuji apples, potatoes, cornichon, cipollini onions & artisan bread for $18.

Okay, I will admit the sandwich was odd. It was worth trying, but probably not getting again. But, the fondue? It was amazing- simply the best fondue I've ever had, including in Switzerland. I cannot think of adequate words to describe sitting in front of that window with that scene outside and eating this food.
We could see part of a wedding reception through the window, but thought it too chilly up there to be having that outside and in those dresses. There were folks out on the trails, but we decided not to go on them. Instead, we did a bit of exploring of the lodge. We found a kind of museum with the history of the lodge and the preserved room of furniture that FDR used when he came to the dedication. There were models of the early furniture and schematics. We watched the terrific film about the building of the place and the remodeling. People who were unemployed because of the Depression learned to be carpenters, seamstresses, weavers, iron workers, etc. This really interesting bench was in the room with the film.

The gift shop in the lodge was much smaller than in the day lodge, but it did have some beautiful canisters, that didn't go with my kitchen, unfortunately.
When we went back to the car at 7:39, it was positively nippy. We soon found ourselves driving along the Columbia River and I got some beautiful shots.

At 8:56 (2404), we stopped at the 7-Eleven gas station near the Hampton Inn, where we'd stayed when we first arrived and would stay tonight. Gas was $2.599 per gallon and we got 9.937 gallons. Since we were within 5 miles of the airport, this would meet our rental agreement.
Just 2 miles down the road, we pulled into the Hampton Inn at 9:08 (2406). The clerk actually recognized my husband. This time, we were given a room on the second floor. Before showering, I did the final repacking of the bags.

50 before 60- Bend to Florence, Oregon June 30, 2016

We took our time this morning, which was nice. We had muffins and bananas that my husband had picked up last night, while watching the news, which we haven't seen for a while. We have been listening to NPR, whenever we can find a station. So, we haven't been totally out of the loop.
It was lovely, when we left at 10 am (2046). The first order of business was to find the Michaels that I had located through Google last night. It was near the area with the Best Buy that my husband got my new keyboard from. Why go to Michaels, when it will pretty much have the same things as the one at home? My husband gave me a necklace for my birthday the 25th, which I have not been able to get off since then. We needed pliers. We found the Michaels just four miles away at 10:15. I chose pliers from the jewelry-making department that would work on a jump ring. Luckily, I had a coupon on my app. The clerk also spent time trying to get me rewards points on the program I signed up for at home. Once we finally had the pliers paid for, my husband decided to attack the chain in the store due to its lighting. Unfortunately the ball at the end of the chain came off as he freed me. I was willing to forget it, but the clerk managed to find it. The necklace is nice, but I was beginning to feel like a belled cat due to the charms on it jangling. Once on the road at 10:35,  I worked to get the app to recognize me and my password, before I forgot it needed dealing with.
We were driving through a valley of ranches on Route 20. I was hoping for a spot to take a picture, when we came upon a viewpoint at 10:46. There was a really nice ranch home behind it:

 On the other side of the road was a wonderful vista featuring the Three Sisters and neighboring mountains. They'd kindly put a sign at the viewpoint labeling each mountain. Very helpful for my album. The snow looked just gorgeous.

At the viewpoint, there was a cool 1947 yellow MG that was participating in some sort of road rally and this was a check-in spot.
At 10:55, it was time to push on. In the town of Sisters, we took a bit of a detour to look for a needlework shop, but it turned out to be for quilting. We continued through town and on the other side, we both began to get the feeling that we were headed the wrong way, in spite of the map. We finally realized, we were not going to be going our intended route, if we continued this way. We wanted to go over McKenzie Pass, because it looked like a shorter distance.
So, we turned around 6 miles out of town and headed back toward Sisters and soon saw a sign to the pass via Route 242. It was a beautiful drive that took us up into the higher elevations again. At 11:45 (2092), we came to a pull-out at Windy Point, which was aptly named. We were shocked to see more lava!

That's Belknap Crater across that lava field. That lava is from 1500 years ago and little grows there still. Mount Washington, which is oddly shaped, lay pretty much directly across from the pull-out.

After 10 minutes, we climbed back in the car an headed off. Soon, we found ourselves actually driving through the lava, which formed walls on either side of us.

At 12:05 (2095), we reached a very popular stop at the summit of the pass at 5325 feet. Here was the Dee Wright Observatory, as well as a marked path you could follow through the lava. This was a truly awesome stop, it turned out. The observatory was actually made from lava rock back in the 30's.

Even the stairs were made from the rock. It was two stories tall, with the top one being flat and open to the air, while the other had window holes.

In the center of the top floor was a bronze circle with arrows on it pointing to the various mountains around us. Two that I was sure of were North Sister and Middle Sister:

The view from up there was truly spectacular and such a treat!

On the way back down, I stopped in the room below and found what a marvel of engineering this observatory really was. The windows were not all the same size. In fact some were quite smaller. On closer inspection, I saw that below each window was a name- the name of the mountain or feature you could see through it. What planning! For example, this is Black Butte, 12.4 miles away, as seen through its window:

How cool is that?!
There was a latrine on the far side below the observatory with more parking. I also wanted to walk the path a little and see some of the signs. From one such sign on the way down from the observatory, I found out that this island of greenery actually dates back 1700 years ago to the eruption from Little Belknap and that such islands are known by their Hawaiian name of kipuka. (We get a lot of volcanic terms from them, actually.)

If we weren't going to eat lunch too late, we had to press on. So, we headed off at 12:32 and I found there was no cell coverage, which wasn't a big surprise. What was a surprise was when I found I'd filled my camera and had to put in a new memory card. I do take a lot of pictures. Anyway, we went through more lava for a while and then back to woods. I, of course, dozed off.
A series of curves woke me and I got a few shots of the dense forest.

At 1:23 (2121), we pulled in to the first food place we saw, McKenzie Station Pub in McKenzie Bridge.

It was a quirky looking place and a little warm, but cooler than outside.

We were told to sit anywhere we liked and we took time to look around while waiting for the menu. Even though the sign outside said it was a gift shop, too, little had apparent price tags. We both ordered Diet Cokes (@$2), which I saw were poured from cans behind the counter. They were probably too far out to be able to justify soda on tap. Food took a while even though there were few other customers. I got the Innskeeper Club, which was toasted on sourdough bread, which, while not hot, still scratched that spot behind the two front teeth and bothered me the rest of the day. The sandwich was tasty, though. My husband got the Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad, which is a weird concept for a chicken salad, but he liked it. Both cost $9. With tip, the bill came to $27.

We left at 2:05 and had cell coverage again in 10 minutes. My husband likes to support my hobbies, so our first stop in Eugene would be at a needlework shop I'd found online at home. At 3:08 (2174), we parked in a lot just down the street from the 5th Street Market.

Our destination was in the back corner. It was called Mindy's and she'd crossed out Needlework on the map. She'd added clothing a while back on a lark and it was doing better than the needlework. The clothes were expensive, but she had a knack for putting jewelry with them. She had mostly needlepoint canvases, some quite lovely. There were no Oregon charts, but she did have a lovely canvas of Multnomah Falls. At $30, I couldn't justify turning it into a cross stitch chart. She did carry Mill Hill kits, although a bit pricier than I usually go for. However, I did choose several, as well as some paper canvas for doing cross stitch.
We were back on the road at 3:58 and two minutes later found ourselves at the Courtesy Inn.

When we later found out the Olympic track and field trials were taking place in town, we figured that's why the name brand places had been so expensive. But, this motor court had been updated and the room was spacious.

My husband got in some practice time before we left at 5:10 for dinner. We had to search for a parking space and wound up two blocks from the Excelsior Inn at 5:30 (2176). He had to put $3.50 on the meter to cover the time until it wouldn't need money.

We waited inside for our hosts. The place was gorgeous, with lots of old stained glass. Evidently, it is quite pricey to stay there. Our hosts were a woman who'd gone to my husband's high school and with whom he'd done a recital back when we were dating and her husband. She teaches piano and he is a dean at the University of Oregon. We had a delicious bread with dipping oil. I ordered 4 Fromage, which was delicious, and my husband got Queen Cod, which he liked.

Our hosts had eaten there recently, but insisted we get dessert, even though they didn't. We split a Fruit Tartlet, which was a nice ending to the meal.

We enjoyed friendly conversation, even though my husband and the wife had not seen each other in years and we did not know the husband. They not only treated us to the dinner, but also drove us to the concert hall at the school at 7:15.
We were staying in town tonight simply to take advantage of this chance to attend the Oregon Bach Festival concert at 7:30. My husband had purchased balcony seats online, which were not inexpensive. (The climb down was much more painful than up.) We were there for Baroque Concerti with Monica Huggett (and a lot of other people). Sight lines were less than optimal due to the seat alignment. It was an excellent concert and it was obvious that the audience appreciated what they heard.
We walked back to the car  past off-campus apartment buildings. We were on our way at 9:37 and back at the motel at 9:45 with 2178 on the odometer, but feeling like we'd traveled a lot more than 132 miles.