April 6-7, 2004

Oregon!

And we're off! Our flights out to Portland (via Phoenix???) were uneventful (except that the security guards pulled both of out of line for the thorough search) and we arrived in Portland right on time. Glenn Herz, the guy from whom I bought the car, was waiting for us and whisked us away to his house, where the Giulietta was waiting. We spent a couple of hours making a new friend and getting to know the car. Here's a shot of Glenn and his wife Ruth saying goodbye to us and the Giulietta (with the new license plates on the ground):

From there we motored down to Doug Zaitz's hillside house south of Portland where his Alfisti housemates, Patrick and Tami, had planned an Italian farewell feast for us (sans Doug, though, as he was out of town for work). Our thanks once again for the hospitality! That's Doug's Milano out front of his beautiful place.  

Here's a shot taken on the way to Mt. Hood! We took a little side trek to the Timberline Lodge (looks like any other ski lodge) on Mt Hood - a wonderful road, beautiful views, and no problems with the Webers changing elevation. And luckily, the weather was great.

Here's Mt. Hood from the air as we flew into Portland. It's unusual to see it, as it's usually fogged in, we hear. Looks kinda like a big zit, don't you think?

And again, on the Timberline Lodge road on the way back from Mt. Zit - good thing we didn't make the trip in February.

Do our Dunlops meet the 'traction' requirements?

Our first 'Top Down' experience! It warmed up nicely, into the low 60's about noon, so off came the top for the rest of the day. Up and over a couple of passes, through the valleys, and over the river, all the way to Ontario, OR, where we put in for the night. We had asked Glenn about the top-folding procedure and he just indicated that it folded down. He's a lot smarter than we are, but we finally figured out the order of things - pretty slick.

Somewhere along US26 - beautiful scenery, and nice mountains too:

Goodbye to Oregon as we cruise down into Ontario for the night:


Culture of the Day

You always run across something! Back east, a shoe tree is used for holding shoes that you might wear.  Here, apparently, they have a little different take. Or, maybe they're a lot taller and live outdoors. But anyway, here's an Oregonian Shoe Tree. And, believe it or else, we actually ran across THREE of them along Route 26!


Beer of the Day

We had stopped in to pick up some libation for the Italian Feast with Patrick and Tami and couldn't resist this 'Drop Top Amber Ale' (get it - drop, top??). We found it quite fitting for the occasion.

  

And get hold of the box the beer came in! Looks like a slightly younger John Pratt, wouldn't you say? (The one on the left, wise-ass.)


Anyway, in case you're wondering, the new car is GREAT!!! Nice power, solid feel, looks terrific, and corners with an incredible assuredness. Thanks, Glenn!

  

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