Day 4 - May 12

Rescued!

Since we weren't able to solve our mechanical problems in Long Creek, lacking the requisite tools and parts, we put out a plea to the Alfa underground, including the Alfa Digest newsgroup and a call to the President of the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon club, Char Sommers. Char really got the wheels spinning (unlike our own wheels) and mustered AROO's forces. This included a call from Doug Zaitz, who offered to drive the 250 miles from Portland today, haul us back to Portland on his car trailer, put us up at his house, take us on AROO's scheduled Wine Tour tomorrow, and arrange for Alfa specialist Dan Sommers (Char's son) to fix our car on Monday. We considered our options and decided to take him up on it. Wow! What a club! Doug is currently running for Alfa Romeo Owner's Club national office—vote for Doug!

Well, we hung around most of the day in Long Creek, enjoying its many attractions, such as an abandoned sawmill. At around 3PM, Doug (a.k.a. Our Savior) arrived in his souped-up 340HP Bronco with his sturdy trailer. We grabbed some lunch at Long Creek's lone cafe, loaded up the GTV, and were on our way. Despite the load he was hauling, Doug took us through some extraordinarily beautiful Oregon countryside. The roads would have been terrific Alfa roads, and we did have an Alfa with us, except that it was currently a one-ton lump that we were dragging behind us.

After a stop for nourishment at a brewpub in Hood River (about 60 miles out of Portland), we arrived at Doug's house a little after midnight. Doug has a beautiful house a little south of Portland and is an utterly gracious host, as well as an informative and entertaining tourguide (not to mention the fact that he saved our butts!)

This is where we went today
Today's Map

Downtown Long Creek
Here's a shot of Main Street, taken at great risk from the center of the road. On the left is the cafe that sustained us during our stay; on the right is the OK Garage. Behind it is the motel that put us up.

The OK Garage
Probably saw its first Alfa Romeo in many a moon yesterday.

Doh!!
Here's a good shot of Doug making a target for Dave driving the ailing GTV up onto the trailer.

Beer(s) of the Day

India Pale Ale
Big Horse Ales

This brewpub in Hood River served up a very fine IPA, undoubtedly made with hops grown in the Willamette Valley right near by.

Culture Feature

Doug pulled off so that we could appreciate this thrilling landmark, stating that we are halfway between the equator and the north pole. Note that the middle two lines are reversed; the correct version was on the sign on the opposite side of the road (see inset).

Alfa Spotting!

Day 1	0	(Except for a bunch while still in San Francisco)
Day 2	0	(No Alfas, but one Fiat X-1/9 parked, but standing on its own wheels)
Day 3	0	(No Alfas, no Fiats, but one Corvair that looked like it might have run)
Day 4	1	The Milano parked in Doug Zaitz's driveway when we pulled in.
__________	___
Total	1

May 2001

May

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