The long “LEG” leg of the journey, followed by the last leg:

After breaking down the tent and making our goodbyes, we were off to Oregon.  This was going to be a long day of driving.  We were due in to Eugene by 6 p.m. for a dinner, cooked by our friend Bill, a serious foodie.  We had thought we could squeeze in Crater Lake on the way, but we would have driven to the shore and gave a very brief “Wow!” and then would have had to run, so we opted to take a more direct route instead.

We have all decided that Oregon is one of our most favorite places—green green with tall trees and mountains and 0% state sales tax.  The volcanoes that dot Northern CA and OR can give pause, but I’ve seen Dantés Peak and know how to survive the pyroclastic cloud—if I can only find a mine shaft big enough for an Expedition . . . or even a Honda. 

Mt. Shasta

We arrived at 5:58, even with a stop for a picnic lunch, all the potty breaks, and stretch time in this 9-hour drive.  Bill and Sheila had prepared a feast, and we enjoyed food, fellowship, and our environs, including 2 puckish raccoons, who were feasting on wild cherries in the trees above the deck. 

Bill is one of those friends from the 70s who we have reconnected with in the last couple of years through email and Facebook.  We had never met Sheila and the girls except through pictures, and it was fun to flesh out pictures with life and personality.  They are a homeschool family (as are the Begins), so right there we have much in common.  We spent time catching up, solving the world’s problems, and analyzing thrash metal and screamo . . . or whatever (one of Daniel’s tutorials J).  I kind of hoped that Bill’s love of classical music would have rubbed off on Danny, but Danny may have made such an impression that Bill and Sheila may feel the urge to hit the mosh pit.  Or not.

And now the LEG leg of the journey:  Kelly’s bad leg (Think:  motorcycle wreck.) had been bothering him before we left—enough so that he made an appointment with the orthopedic.  (You know it is probably long past necessary when a guy makes a doctor appointment for himself.)  Obviously, his doc was also in vacation mode since Kel couldn’t get an appointment till the end of August.   He had been trying to baby it and stay off it as much as possible, but it got really bad at Bill’s—the worst it has looked in years.   I’ll spare the gruesome details.  It was of great concern, and we didn’t know whether or not we should get Kelly on a plane for home and medical care.  We opted to go to an urgent care, and the one the Jensens had suggested just happened to be the only one in the area to take Kaiser patients.  Another providential accident. 

If you are ever in Eugene, OR, and find yourself in need of care, this is the place to be.  They were not only efficient and friendly and close to a Dutch Brothers coffee place, but they also knew enough to suggest they may be in over their heads with this one.  The PA debreeded the eruption site (Look that one up in your medical dictionary!), prescribed antibiotics, and bandaged the site with an antibiotic wrap and sterile bandages.  (We thought about opting for the unsterile, but figured, hey, we’re on vacation!)  They recommended seeing a wound care specialist at the Kaiser in Salem, but when we got there, we realized they had no urgent care, and we could get an appointment if we wanted to check in to a hotel, lounge round the pool, and wait for 2 weeks.  So onward to Seattle!

. . . on the street where you live ♪♫

The duplex

We arrived in Seattle and proceeded to invade Adam and Monica’s already cramped quarters, moving boxes lining the walls.  We had a great meal and settled down for the night.  Kelly was sure to take his Zyrtec and to lock the cats out of the bedroom.  It is amazing how feline animals gravitate to Kelly, who does not particularly like them, especially since he is so allergic.  But I, however, who love kitties, they disdain as the relative they begrudgingly are required to endure.

Garfunkle

Gloria . . . I think I got your number. ♪♫

The eyeliner is a real trick to apply.

In the morning, we left AB and Monica to do more work at dismantling their duplex.  Seth, Erin and Danny went to the Seattle Zoo to observe all things cute, ferocious, and in all ways interesting.  Kelly and I went to the local hospital’s ER to stare at the wildlife in the waiting room, which amounted to tropical fish (but they may have been virtual) and some local color from a group home who apparently like to hang out and swap stories and toothless exclamations. 

Fish people-watching

It seemed important to have a doctor, and hopefully a wound specialist, examine the leg.  We waited about 6 hours and were seen long enough for the folks to tell Kelly that all the Eugene folks had done and prescribed was perfect, and have a nice day.  So, not as much fun as the zoo, but we got naps, some reading done, and 2 big chef’s salads from the cafeteria that I paid for by the pound (a dangerous practice).  When you get as old as we are, I guess that’s about as much fun as a roller coaster at Magic Mountain. 

Actually, while Kelly was being poked and prodded, I walked the neighborhood to get some air and exercise and also try to trap some local “souls” in my camera.  At one point, I was standing under a tree with my camera held low in front of me, lens facing up.  I like taking pictures of gnarly trees from that perspective, and my camera can go places that my knees will not take me.  Every so often, I would look up to see again what image I was trying to capture.  This lady, a hospital employee, came by and started looking up also and asked me what I saw up there.  Perhaps she thought I too was part of the local color.  I very briefly thought about pulling her leg, but I don’t lie well.  We had a nice chat as I explained my preoccupation with capturing knobby trees, color, texture, and pattern.  By the time I was finished my wanderings, Kelly was ready and the zoo contingent had arrived to take us back. 

The next day was filled with boxing up and loading up the Seattle Greens’ belongings in the rental truck, and the following morning we hit the road for the final leg of the journey, Seth driving the Expedition and Adam driving the rental truck.  This trip had so many legs, it could have been a spider. 

The last leg of the journey: 

We kind of meandered north, but the trip south was to be a fairly straight, no-nonsense shot.  The first leg of the last leg J ended in Redding, CA.  We had booked a camping space near Mount Shasta to pitch our tents for the night.  We arrived late and left early, and other than Danny overcoming a possible aversion to the thought of sharing a tent with his older brother and parents, the stay was brief and uneventful.  So much so, I forgot to take a picture.

By the way, our ever efficient Eugene UC called Kelly twice on the way home:  The first time to see how he was doing and to tell him his culture showed staph.  The second time, they called to tell us that the staph was not MRSA.  They are a very impressive group!

The next day we drove straight through to Dinuba to visit two of Adam’s college friends: Chris, his college roommate, and Jenny, Chris’ wife.  Chris and Jenny supplied a tasty lunch, while their cute toddler twin boys provided the entertainment; and then we were on the road again. 

When we saw the wind farms of Tehachapi, we could almost experience the tastes home, which is very much like the taste of grit in the teeth.  The cirrus and cirrostratus clouds sweeping across the sky with weavings of grey, peach, and gold could almost convince you for a second that living in the desert has its very own beauty. For a second, you could imagine that those streaks were not the contrails of a subversive democratic government, seeding aluminum into the air to combat global warming and destroy the life and vitality of our innocent young.  Well, maybe for a second. 

It was a worthy trek of about 2400 miles with fun, food, laughter, stress, and scenery all in the mix.  But it is always good to be home where your dog loves you (though he barely noticed you were gone) and where the ants know you by name.  Home again, home again, jiggity jig!