Road Trip to Oregon 2014

I just returned from Debbie's Big Adventure - a road trip to Oregon. I had never driven more than 2 hours from home, so this was big stuff for me. I left a week ago on Sunday afternoon after playing the piano at church, arriving 7 hours later in Medford, OR (just past the California border) to meet up with my daughter Lisa. We spent the next several days vacationing near the Oregon-Washington border in Portland and Seaside, with a side trip to Forest Grove to meet one of the entrepreneurs I've helped through Kiva.org. Lisa did most of the driving in Oregon. We got back to Medford Thursday night to drop off Lisa, and drove home on Friday. I even stopped in Sacramento on the way home for a quilt guild meeting (special day and time). It was a great trip.

Sunday, June 15

Northern California to Medford, OR

Granzella's Deli - Williams, CA (north of Sacramento)

Granzella's

Mount Shasta (Weed, CA)

Seagulls in the mountains. Seems odd.

These folks must have been feeding the seagulls. There was much laughing coming from inside the car. 

Monday, June 16

Medford, OR to Portland, OR

Memo's Mexican restaurant. Breakfast with Lisa, who joined me the night before as travel buddy.

Was hoping for a better photo of this cool Dodge Charger. We saw the guy again later, stopped by an Oregon State Trooper. Oops.

Rest stops in Oregon are beautiful.

View from our room in Portland, OR

Another view (Convention Center)

Dinner at Pok Pok (Thai restaurant)

Seen on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and Best Thing I Ever Ate

Lisa (right) and me at Pok Pok

Tuesday, June 17

Portland, OR

The Waffle Window

Order at the window, eat outside or in the adjoining cafe.

Bagdad Theatre, near The Waffle Window

Old theater, one screen. We didn't go this time.

The next few photos are flowers seen near The Waffle Window.

Lavender

Lily

Pansies

Pretty purple flowers

Mossy steps

This green home caught my eye.

Mt. Tabor Park. This worker was very helpful and informative. Talked to him near our parking spot, saw him again at the top of the hill. He's power washing the benches.

View from one of the benches in Mt. Tabor. Can't see much. Had to wait for the park worker to finish power washing the bench we really wanted. It was a rainy day and I was glad I had brought along a quilt to keep the damp off of our bums.

Much better view of Downtown Portland. Must be beautiful at night with the lights, too.

Quaint building at the top of Mount Tabor. Actually, I think those are restrooms, not in service at the time.

While Lisa met her friend Cole T. for lunch, I walked a few blocks to the mall. Pretty fountain I saw along the way.

I love this clock.

Pretty fountain at the entrance to the mall.

Skating rink in the mall. What a nice surprise!

Billy Heartbeats - Fifties diner for lunch

I love bookstores. A stack of books and a coffee make me very happy.

Lisa and I went to see the movie Chef. This sign was just outside the room where it was playing. At first it looked like a bunch of bottle caps. Then I saw "Chef". Clever. The movie was good, by the way.

Buffalo Wild Wings - downtown Portland. After the movie Lisa and I met up with Lisa's friend Kerrie M., who brought friends Carrie and Carol. I ate five Mango Habanero wings, which were pretty hot but I ate all of them.

Wednesday, June 18

Portland - Multnomah Falls - Forest Grove - Seaside

(All in Oregon)

The lady on my GPS app has trouble pronouncing some words. She calls Everett "Vritt." We heard it a lot while we were downtown, and I made fun of her every time.

Darcelle XV. Drag show that Lisa wanted to take me to, but the schedule didn't work out.

Theatre Paris. No clue what might be in there now. I love things Parisian, so I had to get a photo of this old sign.

Voodoo Donuts - downtown Portland. Great timing for breakfast because the line was really long by the time we finished eating.

Seen on TV's Man vs. Food, No Reservations, Food Paradise and Unique Eats.

Glitter on bricks - Voodoo Donuts

One display case

Another display case

Racks of donuts - Yum!

Donuts for breakfast with daughter Lisa (right)

Gate to Chinatown

Lisa is quite a connoisseur or Chinatowns. Unfortunately this one didn't have much to see so we moved on.

Gas station - downtown Portland. This was supposed to be a quick stop before we hit the road. But there was quite a line at the register as the cashier counted the till. Another employee kept us (okay, mostly me) entertained with his kookiness. What a character!

Beautiful stone building at Multnomah Falls (east of Portland)

Multnomah Falls - surprisingly short walk from the parking lot.

Lisa and I didn't hike up to the bridge, but I'm sure the view is spectacular from there.

With my daughter Lisa (right) at Multnomah Falls

Foliage, moss and tiny flowers

The pattern in this grate caught my eye. Perhaps it will work its way into a quilt someday.

Another view of the gorgeous stone building

After Multnomah Falls, we drove to Forest Grove to meet up with Salud Gonzalez, owner of Don Felipe Products, whom I've supported through Kiva.org. Salud makes two flavors of chorizo which he sells at various farmers markets in Oregon. It worked out that Lisa and I would be passing by the Forest Grove area on the same day as its farmers market. I made an appointment to meet up with Salud at 2:30, during their set-up time. The farmers market doesn't open until 4:00, but we wanted to get to the ocean without too much delay.

Pattern in the sidewalk - Pacific University - Forest Grove, OR

I love flowers hanging from lampposts. Pacific University.

Pattern in the sidewalk - Forest Grove

Stopped in Forest Grove, OR to meet one of the entrepreneurs I've helped through Kiva.org. Unfortunately, Salud couldn't make it by the time we needed to leave. On the plus side, we got a tour of Adelante Empresas, the organization that helps local folks get loans. Above: Javier (left), Arturo (center) and me at the kitchen where the food is prepared by many business owners for the farmers market.

Senior citizens center where the kitchen is located. Business owners use the kitchen, which is certified to prepare food for selling to the public.

Don Felipe Products, farmers market booth of Salud Gonzalez, one of the entrepreneurs that I've helped through Kiva.org. We didn't get to meet Salud, but we met his wife Angelica, who is very active in the business.

Samples of the chorizo (red and green) made by Don Felipe Products. The packages are sold frozen. We weren't able to sample any cooked chorizo as the farmers market wasn't open just yet.

Angelica Gonzalez (center) gave us lots of information on how the business has grown and their plans for the future. It was such a privilege to meet one of the entrepreneurs I've helped through Kiva.org. Since most of my loans go outside of the U.S., this may have been my only chance to meet a borrower face to face. I am really glad Lisa and I took the time to visit.

Beautiful forest. I snapped this photo as we were stopped for road work on Highway 26.

More pretty forest

Finally to Seaside, OR. Some of the rooms at our motel, little cabins, just a block from the beach.

Seaside Beach - Seaside, OR

It was quite a walk to get close enough to the water to hear the waves. Yikes!

Sun on the waves (daughter Lisa)

Dinner at The Twisted Fish, near our motel

Thursday, June 19

Seaside, OR to Medford, OR

Breakfast at Firehouse Grill - Seaside

Carousel in a little mall - Seaside

I shopped for my granddaughters while Lisa went to the beach. I met her at the beach after shopping.

It was a long drive back to Medford. We stopped in Eugene for dinner at Cornucopia. Got into Medford around 10:00 PM.

Friday, June 20

Medford, OR to Northern California

In the morning I dropped off Lisa at her home. I went to Sharis' for breakfast.

Top Stitch quilt shop in Medford

I picked up a few small pieces of fabric. Nice shop. By the way, it's the only fabric shopping I did during the trip.

Stopped in Weed, CA, again. Here's a better photo of Mt. Shasta than the one I took on the way to Oregon.

Silva's Barbecue, in Weed. I saw it on the way to Oregon and intended to stop on the way home..But I was still very full from breakfast. Maybe next time.

I used to go to the Sacramento Modern Quilt Guild every month. However I had to make some financial adjustments at the beginning of the year, so I hadn't been to a meeting since January. The group normally meets on a Saturday, and I wouldn't have been able to make it this time, because I needed to turn in my rental car at the same time. During the Oregon trip I read that the meeting was going to be on the Friday night that I was going home. So I stopped in Sacramento as I passed through, arriving half an hour before the meeting started.Usually I show several projects in various states of process. Being unprepared, I could only show off the fabrics I bought that morning, but that was enough.  It was great to see my quilting friends and to meet newcomers.

As always, I had a wonderful time with my daughter Lisa. We travel well together..Altogether we put over 1600 miles on the rental car in less than a week. (She did most of the driving in Oregon.) I pushed the limits as far as driving distance from two hours to seven hours. I'm kind of proud of that. It was a great trip.

Debbie

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