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In our previous journal (blog), we mentioned that our NYC mini-vacation was part of a long overdue visit with family in Oregon. It sure was nice being home, surround by the familiar and comforting things we enjoy; not to mention that it is such a beautiful state.
We divided up our time in Oregon between visiting Kathy’s family in the north and Mike’s family in the south. We picked up our rental car at the Portland airport ($15/day through Priceline) and headed up the beautiful Columbia River Gorge towards The Dalles. Not much had changed in The Dalles (the place I grew up) in the 2 years we had been away. A couple of new stores and houses but still the same beautiful view and of course eating our meals at Cousin’s Restaurant (www.cousinsthedalles.com) . If you ever find yourself driving past The Dalles on Interstate 84 you will be giving yourself a real treat stopping for a meal. The restaurant is right next to the interstate (they even have a billboard advertisement) and the large menu is filled with country home cooking fare. The roast beef or turkey open faced sandwich is the best; made with real slow
cooked pot roast, roasted turkey (from the bird, not the loaf), lumpy mashed potatoes and home made gravy. The only menu item I consider bad is their hamburgers, but everything else is simply excellent. Home made rolls, bread pudding...I included the link so you can look for yourself. We stayed at the motel which is in the same location. There isn’t much in the way of lodging at The Dalles so it wasn’t a difficult choice (www.cousinsthedalles.com/lodging) . It was much better than I expected. The rate was about $60 a night (most of the area motels have about the same price or higher). They recently completed a new section in the back, the room was very spacious and very clean (2 thumbs up).
After a few days of visiting with Kathy’s mom, we drove up to La Grande in eastern Oregon, where Kathy’s sister lives. My sister is a dynamite hostess. She and John fed us good (she does something with scalloped potatoes that was very impressive) and showed us the sites. One of our mini day trips was to a place called Hot Lake (http://hotlakesprings.lbsites.com ). It is an old hotel built on the site of a
natural sulfur hot spring in a pretty valley and located next to the old railway system. It was originally a meeting place of peace for the Indian tribes in the region (mostly Nez Pearce). An artist and his family purchased it a few years ago and are working on the massive renovation. He is a painter/sculptor and they have set up his foundry there for pouring bronzes. The artist’s wife, Lee, gave us the tour herself and we were even invited into the work room of the artist himself, where he shared the inspiration for the current sculpture he was working on. If you are ever in the area, it would be worth your time to see the place. All in all, we had a great, relaxing visit with Joan and John.
From La Grande we drove down to Rogue River; a 10 hour drive through several national forests and the best that nature has to offer. Still, it was a very long drive filled with sun, rain, and even several snow-storms; so yes, we were happy to see Mike’s parent’s house waiting for us and the end of the road. Along with having a nice visit with them,
we also took care of some personal items, such as taxes (ouch) and a visit with our investment broker. It was nice to do some “face to face” business for a change.
Mike’s brother, Richie had bought yet another lot and built another home. So we went out to take the tour and have pizza with our niece and nephews. He’s got a very nice place and it started us thinking. Mike popped up with the idea of investing part of our $$ in a lot (real estate is never a bad buy) and using it as a place to park/store our RV when we are out of the country. Just a thought.... We also were able to squeeze in a few moments with MaryAnn, the local librarian in RR, and long time friend. She is one of those dynamic individuals who seems to be in overdrive all the time. It’s always hard to hook up our schedules when we are visiting, last visit it was only enough time to join her for lunch. She and everyone else at the library may find themselves with lots of free time soon. Thanks to some federal government program cutbacks, the library is going away; not only the one in Rogue River but also libraries in the surrounding counties. Being at war cost money and if you choose not to raise taxes, you have to take it from other places. Yes, that’s right THE LIBRARY IS CLOSING!!
So, once again we found ourselves back on the road and heading to Portland. It was time to turn in the rental car and catch our flight to New York. We stayed over night in Portland, giving us an opportunity to have dinner with Stevie, Kathy’s niece. We had a great visit and some good food at Henry’s Tavern. With over 100 beers on tap and this cool Ice strip in the bar to keep your glass cold, it made for a nice evening. The food was good too. Our hotel was the Hotel Lucia, located downtown and it was fabulous. It was now time to head back to the desert and back to work.
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anonymous
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Great trip
Hey guys! Sounds like you had a great trip! Too bad I couldn't make it up that way to see you. I look forward to the next time you get out this way, so you can see my lovely house and new baby boy.