Maniacally Driving “Mom” to McMinnville After Sharon Shoots a Deer

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We awoke to the sun filtering into our lofty abode, with the faint sounds of surf rushing to shore and a crisp breeze rustling the blinds as it refreshed us. We started cleaning up and rearranging things to be sure that we repacked everything later in the morning. It was then that I noticed that Sharon was mostly already packed while I still had much to do. Sharon spotted several deer next door, which seem to have an affinity for the garden flowers to be found there. “There are three, no four, I see three, no there ARE four!” Sharon exclaims. “Shoot them,” Sharon orders me as I’m about to do my morning Sudoku. Sharon claims that “she hasn’t had time” to keep up with our daily challenges, so I’ve racked up a nice little streak in the win column with her “DNF’s”. “I don’t have a gun,” I tell her. She grabbed her phone and went off to shoot some deer.



Shirley was a bit slow rising this morning. We got a load of laundry started before we went off to find breakfast. We went the Grateful Bread in bustling downtown Pacific City. It was a clean bright cheerful business with nine largish tables for four in a spacious main dining area, not quite half full when we arrived on this Monday Morning. It had been packed when we drove by on Sunday. And there was also an interior covered patio adjacent to the main dining area. I had been inclined not to come here to dine, from the name, thinking it more of a bakery to buy bread, cookies and cakes. Well, it was certainly that, but so much more as well! When we arrived, there was someone pointing to a cookie from a substantial counter display, “I want the big cookie.” The counter waitress followed with her own question, “Do you see any small cookies in the counter?” We were seated with a cheery good morning, and clearly, the fine weather that we’d brought with us from Las Vegas had lifted everyone’s spirits. I couldn’t resist ordering the “Devil’s Friend” from a long list of “Scrambles”. It included pepper jack cheese, green chilis, spicy sausage and grilled red peppers. It was served with pan fried potatoes and I chose the biscuit option (which were wonderful as I expected them to be). Shirley ordered the French Toast, and the waitress suggested that she get a “half-order”. It was probably a good thing that she did. Sharon got the gingerbread pancakes, and as it turned out, she should have gotten a half order as well; but, that would have been just one pancake. Each of her pancakes was about fourteen inches in diameter and about one inch thick in the center. She was almost able to eat half.



Sharon checked and found that we needed to be out of the Carousel House by 11 AM. We’d been working on the unofficial itinerary which had us leaving at noon. This meant that we were going to need to take the final load of laundry after washing, and use the dryer at Sharon’s brother’s home. I started the dishwasher upstairs, and then, brought my large suitcase downstairs using the chair lift. I got my exercise taking several bags of garbage down to the roadside trash containers, and walking back up again the steep sloping driveway. We did get all our luggage packed into our Jeep Renegade, which evidently can hold one large, two medium and one standard carry-on suitcase, along with a duffle carry-on, a large purse and a laptop computer and one walker with room for the driver and two passengers in the back seat. It took us about one hour to make the trip to McMinnville much of the drive forest lined, and Sharon said that Shirley kept hiding her eyes in her hands as we wound through the mountainous winding road inland from the coast. We finally got to Highway-18 and Sharon told her mom that we were almost home. We stopped at the Micky-D’s coming into Micky-M. Sharon and Shirley got a plain burger with fries. Shirley also got a hot tea. I tried the Sweet BBQ Grilled Chicken on Artisan Bread and an iced tea. We went to Sean and Patty’s home to eat our lunch. It used to be so much easier to order at Micky-D’s; because all you needed to know was Big Mac and Fries. Now you actually have to read the menu, and in the drive thru it is this collage of pictures. What is this world coming too?



We found a place to park in front of the home where Shirley lives with her son. We ate our lunches, and we released Cody (the family dog) from his cage beneath the kitchen counter. Shirley began working her puzzle books after lunch. Patty arrived home before 2 PM. Around 3 PM Sharon and I decided to check in the Comfort Inn. We came back around 5:30 when we knew that Sean would be home, and we all went out for dinner including our nephew Kameron. They recommended 1882, a downtown restaurant with three levels, a fancy dining downstairs, a middle floor and a third-floor beer and burger dinning with outdoor dining on its balcony. And that’s where we wound up, with most people getting burgers. Kam had a delicious Philly Cheesesteak with provolone. I had the Cubano with the daily special soup Tortilla Beef. Sean had the Cowboy Burger (without the fried egg). Patty had a beer with her meal, and I opted for a Porter with mine. The food, and drink and company were all very good, and I know Sharon was grateful for the time that she got to spend with her mom and with her brother and his family. She couldn’t imagine not seeing one of her siblings for nearly twenty years as Patty had said was the case with her and her sister, who she finally got to see when they visited her parents’ home this past weekend.

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