2010 Airstream Trip to Northwest

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Day 44 - (08/31) Portland, OR ... Day 6

Today was cool and overcast. We had misting rain on and off throughout the day.

Dick went to Kenny and Barbara's house renovation project for a look-see. It's quite an undertaking! Kenny bought the top part from Concordia University, had it moved over a mile, jacked it up and built the lower floor section beneath. He's building a duplex.

Wish we could have seen the move of the top section.

Jacob and Dick went to an Airstream dealer in Oregon City to ask about a door hinge repair. We got good guidance from their tech. They've been in business for about 4 months, have a large inventory and are selling a lot of units. We were able to peek into many, shiny new ones ... and we like ours just fine, thank you. Jacob did think the Bambi model fit him best.

Jacob, Anna, Carol and Dick lunched at Burgerville. Guess what their specialty is?

We're planning a camping trip with Jacob and Anna on Thursday. This was a good day to think through the meals and needed shopping.

Barbara prepared a nice dinner for us at Tim & Elizabeth's and we ended the day watching a few episodes of Family Affair from the mid-60s.

Note: We're trying out a new editor and some different presentations for the blog. Let me know if you see anything strange.

Map Tracks
None for today

Monday, August 30, 2010

Day 43 - (08/30) Portland, OR ... Day 5

Dick had the Trailblazer serviced at a Chevy dealership this morning. It was time for an oil change and to have a brake issue checked. The outcome was better and worse than expected. They found no problem with the ABS. They say the occasional ABS light and corresponding brake chatter is caused by trailer weight. This is first time we've experienced it in three years of towing. We hope their diagnosis wasn't just a "convenient answer". We'll see.

This was the first day we all got together for an evening meal. Well, almost all. Kenny couldn't make it. It's getting to be quite a group ... we're up to 9 now.

The family grows even more in a little over a week. Pat, Amy, Donna, Annabelle and Erin will be joining us from Columbus. That will be a very special family time, for sure!

We (Carol & Dick) went for a Swirl treat before bed. You make your own soft-serve sundae and pay for it by the ounce. It was fun and very busy, even though it was late and cold outside. We were definitely the oldest people there.

Map Tracks

None for today

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Day 42 - (08/29) Portland, OR ... Day 4

Even though we were out late last night, we were up early and off to Tim & Elizabeth's Lincoln Street United Methodist Church for a 9am service. There was no way to miss church. We're parked 50ft from the front door and Elizabeth was preaching. Carol volunteered (or was drafted by her minister/daughter) to play the piano ... their regular accompanist didn't show. The service was great and the piano music was flawless.

Elizabeth conducted a second service at Sunnyside Methodist Church and got home around 1pm.

We joined Kenny, Barbara and Lucy for a pizza dinner.

Map Tracks

None for today.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Day 41 - (08/28) Portland, OR ... Day 3

Tim, Elizabeth, Jacob and Anna returned from camping around noon. We all scurried around in an effort to get the children ready to attend parties and the adults ready to attend a Garrison Keillor - Prairie Home Companion concert at the Portland Zoo.

The concert was open-air, sold out and seating was on a first-come, first-seated basis. We (Dick & Carol) left for the zoo at 2:45pm in order to get good seats for a 7:00pm concert. We took the TriMet light-rail from a nearby station. The ride was fun, economical and very convenient ... we got off right at the zoo. We waited in line for about 35 minutes before we could get into the zoo, then waited in line for another hour before we could get into the concert area. That's a lot of waiting, but we did get good places to sit. Tim and Elizabeth joined us at about 5:20pm and we had a picnic dinner before the show.

Garrison Keillor and cast began performing at 7:00 and continued nonstop until at least 9:30. They even performed through an intermission where attendees were encouraged to stand, stretch, visit the restroom and get refreshments. The performance was as funny and varied as you can imagine.

The night got cold and the ground got hard as the performance continued. We were happy to stand and walk to the TriMet station when the performance ended. We got home about 11:15pm. We were weary, but were very happy to have had the experience.

Map Tracks

None for today.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Day 40 - (08/27) Portland, OR ... Day 2

We had breakfast at Petite Provence, a French bakery/restaurant on nearby Division Street. Our order included a cinnamon roll and a pecan roll. Though very nice, these pastries didn't make our best-of-trip list.

We did laundry, grocery shopped and had dinner with Kenny, Barbara, Shirlene (Kenny's mom) and Lucy. We laughed a lot and had a really good time.

Map Tracks

None for today

Day 39 - (08/26) Portland, OR ... Day 1

We head to Portland today for an extended stay (about 2 weeks) with Carol's "Portland Daughters" and their families. As you'll see, the grandchildren are a big draw for grandma.

We spent the early morning visiting with Eric and look forward to seeing him again at Lucy's baptism in a few weeks.

The departure from Eric's narrow driveway was challenging. We had to jockey the trailer around to clear a cement wall and make it onto a narrow road/alley. It worked ... we cleared the wall by about 5 inches!

The drive to Portland went smoothly. We finished the trailer moving task with our tightest backing act of the trip. We're tucked into Tim & Elizabeth's driveway between shrubs and tomato plants. Their busy street made it even more interesting. Maybe we're fortunate that our toughest exit and entry came on the same day.

It's a tight squeeze here.

Tim, Elizabeth, Jacob and Anna were off camping when we arrived. They'll be back on Saturday.

We had a few assignments in our hosts' absence. We fed the chickens (this is not a typo) and two cats, and watered the flowers. Carol then quickly connected with Barbara and made arrangements to hold and hug her new granddaughter Lucy.

Here's the little prize, Lucy

Ah, the smile of a contented grandma!

Kenny joined us for some Daddy-holding time.

And the picture wouldn't be complete without Mommy Barbara

The five of us ended the day with a fun dinner at Por Que No, a busy little Mexican restaurant a few blocks away.

Note: There will be little or no traveling for the next few weeks. We'll post daily comments until we get back on the road, however.

Map Tracks

Start: Salem, Oregon

North on I-5 to I-205

North on I-205 to Division St. exit

West on Division St to SE 50th St

Right on SE 50th St to SE Lincoln St

Right on SE Lincoln St to the Winslea home.

End: 64 miles @ Portland, Oregon

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Day 38 - (08/25) Salem, OR

We started slow today, maybe because of yesterday's exercise or today's short travel distance.

We left Pacific City at 11:15am, drove a short distance to Cloverdale and ... yup, stopped for breakfast at the Blacktail Cafe. This is a cute place. It appears to be the only open eating place in town. The staff is friendly, the menu is varied and their meals are quite good. The service is really SLOW, so plan ahead to enjoy the atmosphere. They let us know Melba Toast (a.k.a. cinnamon rolls) was/were just coming out of the oven. They were outstanding They rated in the top three of our trip cinnamon roll contest (St. Mary, Jasper and now Cloverdale).

Blacktail Cafe

We continued the drive to visit Eric Witchey in Salem. Eric is a special family member to both of us. The story is complex and won't be included here. We don't get to see him very often, so this visit is real treat.