Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Wednesday - Portland, OR

Wednesday was another busy work day for me.  I worked and Pat rode the bike to the McMinnville Air Museum at the Spruce Goose Winery.




















If I had known they had a wine tasting in the museum I would have gone with Pat. LOL


Pat said that this is a picture of the water park.  You slide out of the plane into the pool.

 Below is a winery that Pat went by on his way home.

 



It has been mostly overcast and cool here all day.  Tomorrow is our last full day in Portland.  We leave Friday to drive to Crater Lake, which is about a 240 mile drive.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Monday & Tuesday Portland, OR

Monday we awoke to a cold and overcast morning and before you know it, it was raining.  It rained most of the day so we decided it was a stay at home day.  Pat went to the store and purchased a roast with all the trimmings, came home and put it on to slow cook most of the day.  Needless to say the RV smelled scrumptious.  I worked most of the day as had a client that just had to have something RIGHT NOW.  I handled that and then later in the afternoon decided to walk around the RV Park area.  It had stopped raining and was in the high 60's.  Walked for about 45 minutes and returned to later have that roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery.  Yummy!!!   Watched my favorite show on HGTV.  It was a relaxing, cozy day.

Tuesday woke up to my phone ringing.  It was an office call but 6:00am was too early to get up.  Got up about 7:00 and handled the phone call while drinking my morning coffee.  Settled in to work and had some coffee cake that Pat made this morning. The aroma was so inviting.  I shouldn't have eaten but couldn't resist.

After I quit working took a shower and got ready to do some sight seeing. We rode to Hood River and we visited the Naked Winery. If you remember we visited thier tasting room in Custer, South Dakota. In Oregon they actually make the wine. I purchased one of thier "outdoor wines" Its bottled in a plastic bottle with a screw on top and another shirt. Pat then took me to Mt. Hood Winery and I bought another bottle of wine. This winery was very nice. Their bathroom was so cool, I loved the faucet. 





This is Mt. Hood above and Adams below.



Here's me at Mt Hood winery doing a little tasting.




We then stopped at one more wine tasting establishment, the Gorge White House.  Here they offer several tasting of wines in the area for a $1.00 a taste.  I tasted 2 and bought one.  I tasted the Big Nose wine but was not impressed enough to buy.




On the drive home we took the scenic route and had to pay a toll to cross the river and were back in Washington.





It was very windy on this side of the lake and we watched many kite and wind surfers enjoying that wind.




We got back to Oregon and home to the RV park.  We drove past the park as Pat had to show me Roy Disney's (The Disneyland Man) boat that was used in the Ocean Transpac racing.  I believe it is here for some kind of repair but has been here for a long time, perhaps it's retired.



Once we got back to Oregon it's no longer sunny but overcast  and cool.  It didn't get over 69 today and there are kids swimming in the pool at the RV park.  Oh to be young again. Another great day!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Friday, Saturday & Sunday - Portland, OR

Friday... We left Prosser, WA and the wine tasting behind today about 9 ish and are on our way to Portland, OR.


On the way into Portland we drove alongside the Columbia River.





Pulled into our new RV home about 2:00, got set up and decided to hit the pool(s).  It was a hot 85 so I swam in the pool that was in the 70 degree temp.  There are 3 pools here, one kiddy pool, a 9 ft pool that is in the 70's temp and then another pool that they claim is in the 80's.  This RV park is basically in the middle of town so we have more noise here than in the other parks we've been but it is a very nice RV park.  Later we found a restaurant overlooking a marina called Norma's.  It was a very small and quaint place that served cajun food.  It was different but good.

Saturday.... we got up and kind of lazed around, eating a late breakfast.  We then decided to walk to Target. Did I mention that we are across the street from a shopping center with all the stores I like??  Anyway, into target.  I thought I would try on some bathing suits and now I'm on a strict diet. LOL  I did purchase some new placemats for the dining table.  I then went to the pool for about 2 1/2 hours, reading my book and soaking up some sun. Pat joined me for a little bit and then he went grocery shopping.  Later I  sat outside under the RV awning having a glass of wine and reading my book.  Pat and Blaze joined me later.  The breeze was awesome.

Sunday...We got up early, had breakfast and out the door to ride the 101 along the Pacific Coast. We stopped to get some gas and that is when we found out it is illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon.  Say What!! 

We started out with several layers of clothing and our lined summer jackets.  As long as we were in the sun it was fine but as most of the roads are lined with tall pines and various other trees the roads are shaded and cool.  As we got closer to the coast it got cooler and then the fog rolled in, heavy fog that is.



I'm not sure you can see the fog above the trees in the first picture but this is the spot we stopped at and decided to put on our rain gear to keep warm.  Once we had this on we were more comfortable and could enjoy the ride.  Before long the fog was misting up the windshield on the bike.  The first little town we came to along the coast was Cannon City.  It was very quaint.  Everyone was out walking thier dogs and going to coffee shops and restaurants along the main road.  We also saw a lot of people walking along the shore.







We continued our ride along the 101through small towns along the way. We then came upon the Tillamook Cheese store.  The parking was lot was crowded so we pulled in.  We got to taste some complimentary cheese.  Pat bought some sharp cheddar and I bought a basket.  (go figure)


We finally hit 18 on our way back to the RV park and found all the wineries along this road. I thought there were a lot of wineries in the Prosser, Washington, area but along 18 they were thick along each side of the road.  I just couldn't do another wine tasting so soon after Washington.

We finally got away from the coast so was warming up fast.  We stopped at a DQ to grab some lunch and once we pulled in we started removing clothes.  We got down to just our unlined summer jackets.  We ate our lunch outside as the inside of the DQ was freezing.  The traffic home was very congested and traveling at a speed of about 40 we finally got home.  Did I mention that the speed limit in Portland on the highways and freeways is 55?  That seemed strange to me.

We got back to the RV about 4:00 and changed into our bathing suits and hit the pool.  This time we went into the warmer pool.  Came back to the RV and had happy hour under the awning.  It was a great day!!  We are having so much fun.  Tomorrow its back to work.......