First off, I can't say how much fun it is to travel with a suitcase instead of a cargo trailer.
We rose early last Wednesday and drove to LAX for our flight to Portland, Or. A pleasant trip aboard Alaska Airlines with snacks and a beverage. Landing about 11am, we quickly found our rental car and were out of the airport proper in record time. A nice airport on the edge of town that was easily accessible to the freeway.
The trip along the Columbia River gorge was beautiful as always. We didn't stop anywhere to sight see because we had a goal. For lunch we stopped in Hood River at a Taco Bell. Man the wind blows there! No wonder they call the river from there to The Dalles the wind surfing capital.
The main reason for the trip was to see my junior and high school friends that I haven't seen since oh, age 20 and to see the 101st Pendleton Round-Up. Big rodeo!!
We pulled into La Grande at 3pm, had a little ice cream at Dairy Queen and checked into our hotel then headed over to Shannon's step-fathers place for dinner and a get to know you again evening.
Over a few beers we talked over old times and what we'd been up to. Shannon's husband Scott is a nice fellow and he and Richard got along well. I was happy with that, kept them out of our hair! Shelley isn't married but us three girls gabbed for a long while.
While Scott cooked the burgers, we got the salads and burger topping ready. After dinner and a couple more beers, we went to our respective homes for the night.
At 8am on Thursday, we met Shannon and Scott for a day at the rodeo, landing in Pendleton about 9:30am. Finding the perfect free street parking about 3 blocks from the rodeo, we went wandering. We knew that another school chum had a shop there and we quickly found it and met Russell and talked for probably half an hour before heading off to Hamley's for lunch for good BBQ.
Heading toward the rodeo grounds, we found our seats and the festivities started promptly at 1:15pm. And it lasted till 5pm! Never have I been to a rodeo that lasted that long. They had 700 entrants and four days to get through them all.
After the rodeo was over, we wandered to the Safeway parking lot for more BBQ then headed to the Happy Canyon pagaent. It was interesting to say the least. A nice story about the indians and their history, the taking over by the white man and then a truly corny show about the old west that we could have done without. The same show for 96 years!! It was like seeing an old spaghetti western but with real indians.
Friday we all went our separate ways during the morning hours. Richard and I took a drive, went out to Hot Lake then to Nells N Out (56 years old) for a burger, sweet potato fries and a Scottie. Then we went to Hought's 24 Flavors (40 years old and looked just like I remember) for ice cream, we both had huckleberry.
Richard stayed at the hotel for some work for his new job and I went to see Shannon and Shelley again and to see Shelley's mom Bea, still going strong at 95 years. We went through the year book and discovered all sorts of memories. We left there about 5pm to go pack and then Rich and I went to dinner at Ten Depot St, a nice restaurant for salmon, veggies and rice.
Saturday morning we pulled out of La Grande and drove to Portland for a stay. We drove quietly through downtown Pendleton, it was a little erie since many of the inhabitants were at the rodeo Finals.
Stopping at Multnomah falls in the gorge is a must. The total height of 620' is divided into two falls, the top fall is 542' with a 9' break and then a 69' fall for the bottom drop. We had a snack and a hot beverage amount the drops of rain before getting back into the car.
We'd had good weather on the east side of the state and it was gloomy and drizzly in Portland. We visited the old China town that was more like a... a... red light district with drag queens and porno shops. We did visit the Chinese garden, it was lovely. We found a nice restaurant for dinner near the hotel and had salmon again with the best parmessean mashed potatoes.
Sunday we wandered the streets, we made two attempts to go to VooDoo Donuts but the line was long (30+people) and not moving. Taking a drive out to Beaverton then returning via Washington Park and the Japanese garden that was truly spectacular.
Arriving back at our hotel around 4pm, we talked about where we wanted to go for dinner and the Emmy awards started. Now the Emmy awards are filmed on the west coast at 5pm and in LA we get them at 8pm on the TV. Can someone tell me why we have to wait till 8pm to see them??? We ended up getting Subway sandwiches for dinner after the show, it was within walking distance.
Monday dawned a little clearer and after breakfast we packed our suitcases for the 15 minute drive to the airport and home.
The cat was VERY happy to see us.
