Northern Climes

After my last post and the comments from the women, I told Dave I suspected it was a “gender thing”. The men want “short and sweet” and the women want details. Herein lies the dilemma. Do I give the men what they want or do I give the women what they want? Half and half? A little of this and a little of that? Already now, at this point I have lost the men! Dave says he may have to take a turn now and then to give the short and sweet version.

So gals, here goes! Men, we’ll wake you up when we’re done!

We enjoyed a lovely early dinner with Aunt Marian in Medford, OR back down the road a bit. Afterwards, as she was headed to her ladies Bible study, she recommended we go to Jacksonville, just outside the town. We did, and even though we were there just as businesses were closing, we could see that it was a lovely, quaint town. There were many lovely churches and new vineyards just beginning to flourish. Wine is big business here in the Northwest. As in California, there are many new wineries cropping up everywhere. Anyone with “seed” money and the willingness to work hard could make it big, I am thinking. Any viticulturists in the audience?

We enjoyed our short stay at the Medford Oaks RV Park even with the late night yelling of the neighbors and the knock at our door afterward. Park drama! The setting was gorgeous with a small “catch and release” lake with lots of ducks living in the surrounding flora and fauna. There was even a resident pig. She was very cute, eating all the acorns she could fit into her large belly!

From Medford we traveled to Portland. We stayed at a small park in Corbett, about 20 miles east. My sister Colleen lives there with her son Payden. She had been planning to move back to California but as we were there, her apartment manager contacted her and was willing to do whatever it took to make it possible for her to stay. With a job creation and the possibility of work with a landscaper, she will not have to move. Praise the Lord! As a side note, we took Dave by the house where my mother grew up and where my brothers and I spent many wonderful summer days. We discovered it was for sale. With 3814 SF, at the low price of $850K and taxes at $9K per year, it is a steal! Near the zoo, the Japanese tea garden and Washington Park, one can’t go wrong!

We also met up with my dad who came into town from Idaho, where he had been visiting his sister and my cousin at their homes. He has helped them the last couple of years as they build a camp for at-risk youth. We took him to Tillamook National Forest where we hiked about six miles through the beautiful forest. Later, we traveled down the road to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. There we had a delicious lunch, some great ice cream and took home some of their fabulous fudge. Mmmm! Mmmm! Yesterday, Dave, Dad and I threw 18 holes of disc golf at Dabney State Park. It was a challenging course, through forest, over bridges and ponds. We laughed at our attempts to make par, to say nothing of staying on the course!!

We left Oregon today and drove about 130 miles to Elma, Washington. David has friends in the state from his stint in the army at Ft. Lewis. We will meet up with some this Sunday. Tonight was date night and as we had not been on a date for about three weeks, we asked our hosts for a recommendation on where to eat. After our meal, I told David we should have just purchased our own food and cooked it ourselves. It was memorable only in the fact that it was not good at all! Seriously, McDonald’s would have been better! Live and learn! Maybe next week we’ll find a better place!

We look forward to a week’s stay. I have been taking tons of pictures from the truck as we travel along. The scenery is gorgeous! I love all of the colors and the greenery. It has been cool but today it warmed up to about 68 and felt much warmer than that. I think we have acclimated to the northern climes already! I think I will stay up one of these nights and look for the Northern Lights. I’ve seen them twice in my life quite by accident and it is worth losing sleep to look for them again! What do you think, Dave? Are you up for it???

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