8/22/17
Today is a travel day from Portland to Newberg (all of 35 miles). Newberg is the home of my 1st
cousin, Berk and his wife Gloria. Every
time we make it up to Oregon, we stop at Tom’s
daughter’s, and Cousin Berk’s, and Cousin Jeanette’s – three stops in Oregon. Berk is one of the only three 1st
cousins I have, as my family is relatively small. We are hoping to visit with the other two 1st
cousins on the way home, around the Sacramento
Valley area. Jeanette is not a 1st cousin, but
still counts as a ‘cuz’.
We arrived at their house around noon and parked in their
driveway. We met Randy, a friend and
past student of Berk’s, who has been a chemistry teacher most of his life. Randy was visiting Berk the day we
arrived. It turns out Berk and Randy are
both scientists, and when they get together, they talk a different
language. Randy was actually in Oregon for the total
eclipse with other scientists. They came
for the week, loaded with many telescopes and a myriad of other equipment. They camped out in the path of the total
eclipse somewhere inland, and got great pictures and data that they really
wanted. Randy was a funny guy, and we
really enjoyed his company, even though he spent most of his time on the phone
trying to solve internet problems with a client back home in Arizona. We all went out for dinner at a local Italian
restaurant in nearby Lafayette
that we have been to before. The food
was outstanding, as always. We stayed up
until 10:30, and then crashed.
8/23/17
Tom and I slept in until 8:30, then had breakfast with Berk,
Gloria, and Randy. We talked together
until about 12:30 when, Gloria and Randy had to leave for outside
appointments. Tom and Berk went out to
run errands and visit some classic cars.
Then Berk took Tom over to the new Bypass road being built in the
neighborhood to alleviate the congestion on Hwy 99. I worked puzzles and had Skittles on an empty
stomach, which made me ‘sugar sick’. It
took a couple of hours to clear it all up.
At 6:00, we left for hamburgers at an old converted gas
station, and went to the movies to see ‘Dunkirk’,
a WWII movie about the abandonment of the English and French in Dunkirk, with the Germans
coming at them. It really was a very
confusing movie, with a great deal of English dialogue with heavy accents. I didn’t understand at least half of
everything that was said. It also
continued three or four different storylines, and jumped from one to another constantly,
so you didn’t know where you were most of the time. Even Tom, who is very good with difficult
movies, took all night and part of the next morning to figure it out. Then he explained it all to us after
breakfast. I really don’t like movies
that make me work that hard to get the story.
We went home after the movie for tea and catch up on phone
messages.
8/24/17
Today, Berk and Gloria planned out a driving tour. We went to Champoeg (pronounced 'Sham-poo-ee'), a small town in the fertile Willamette Valley that was settled by native Indians of the Kalapuya tribe; then fur traders from The Hudson Bay Company; then white settlers from the East. We visited the Champoeg Historical Museum which did a fabulous job of telling the story of the struggle between the natives, the fur traders, and the white settlers. Government was established in 1843 (the whites won), followed by Oregon statehood in 1859. The museum was set up in such a way that it was easy to follow its beginnings. Also, it had 'hands on' displays for the kids to touch and feel. Whoever was responsible for this museum's structure did a great job.
We were so full from lunch, that we had a salad for dinner with corn on the cob, and strawberries for dessert. YUM! We were stuffed again.
8/25/17
Berk had a meeting this morning, so we just had a good visit with Gloria. After lunch, we took off for another driving day. First stop was Yamhill Historical Museum. It was filled with old cars and vehicles from the early days (ar4ound 1900), and farm equipment. We had a volunteer guide who explained about much of the equipment. Tom especially loved a 1946 Chevy flatbed truck with 20,000 original miles on it. It also still had the original tires. I really liked some of the older vehicles.
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1905 Hearse
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an exact replica of a Civil War Caisson
currently used at Arlington Cemetery
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1899 Fire Pumper
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1899 Fire Pumper
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1827 Conestoga Freight Wagon
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| 1827 Rare Conestoga Freight Wagon |
Next, we visited the Yamhill tribal headquarters of the Grand Ronde, who built a community of many different tribes in Oregon. There we learned how the first nation Indians were promised goods and protection via treaties with the US government in exchange for parts of their land. However, the treaties were not upheld by the government, and the Indians eventually lost all but 5 acres (their cemetery) of their original 640,000 acres to the whites.
The end of the story is actually good. The government granted the Indians the ability to set up casinos on their land. The casinos were so profitable that the Indians were not only able to buy back some of their land, it also provided a means for them to continue their customs and heritage.
We drove back over the Willamette River via a ferry. Tonight, Gloria fixed salmon and Walla Walla onions for dinner--YUM! Another wonderful day.
It was great to have you guys here. It got us out to sights that we had always intended to go see!
ReplyDeleteAnd, don't believe Randy's stories about me!
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