Thursday, October 18, 2007

Texan travels...well, actually, stays for awhile...in Oregon

So I got a message from a friend the other day, saying "You're doing that disappearing act again...where are you?"

Well, I'm near McMinnville, Oregon, staying with my sister and her family. I went to college here my freshman year so this is familiar territory - but we won't talk about how many years ago that was. Fall has arrived and the colors are amazing - like the main street in McMinnville, a cute little downtown area with all kinds of fun shops:

Since this is the Northwest, there are coffee shops on every corner. One of my favorites in McMinnville is Cornerstone Coffee, where you can get a White Tiger Mocha:

White Tiger Mochas are divine...there was a period of time, when I worked in Nebraska, that my sister would buy a little bag of the white power mix and send it to me. I lived in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest town of any consequence being 30 miles away but, miraculously, there was a espresso place. (Remember the last century, before Starbucks had conquered North America? And did you know there's a Starbuck's inside the Forbidden City in Beijing??? I have photographic proof somewhere!) Anyway, there were a few odd looks the first few times I schlepped my plastic container into the store, but pretty soon I had them hooked, too. :)


McMinnville is also home to Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose (although he didn't like that name...) and the Evergreen Aviation Museum. My sis has a membership, so I've had a chance to wander through a couple times already:

And then there's just quality time with family, like the walk we took last Sabbath afternoon. My nephew decided, for reasons unknown, that he wanted to push his old stroller. On a 3 1/2 mile walk. A walk that was ALL uphill on the way there...


So, Wendy, I'm still alive and kicking - and that's what I've been up to! :)

1 comment:

Michelle said...

Oh, that is not a flattering shot of me at all....