Date: Mon, 04 Nov 1996 20:01:02 -0800

Subject: Postcard from Portland

Dear Family and Friends,

Harvest greetings! Summer has sped past and left in its wake memories of
sizzling afternoons and suspended eventides. Living in a latitude where
the canicular days last nearly sixteen hours makes it all the more
difficult to embrace the autumnal equinox. Possibly that is why we are
treated to a splash of color before the gray days dim what little light
we receive. And perhaps the caterwauling of coyotes which awakened us in
the wee hours of the morning during the middle of September was their
way of lamenting the lapse into fall.

I apologize for not having sent out the Postcard from Portland last
month. This mailing this covers two months of activity.

Liz and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary in September. Since
the true date fell mid-week, we began the festivities early by spending
the weekend of 9/21,22 in the Columbia River Gorge. I located on the
internet a wonderful B&B called the "Inn of the White Salmon". It is
located in, of all places, White Salmon, Washington - which is in the
Hood River region of the gorge, about an hour's drive from Portland. The
inn is run by Janet & Roger Holen and staff. Our affable hosts made us
feel right at home in their beautiful surroundings. We had a lovely room
furnished in antiques which afforded a spectacular view of Mount Hood -
or at least the clouds which obscured it from view when we arrived :-(
White Salmon has less than 2000 residents. Liz and I explored the town
after arriving. There are a handful of artists plying their trade - such
as Julie Ueland (dba Backsplash), a ceramic artist whose tableware we
saw at The Framery. We had quite a long and interesting talk with Jan
Jones, who owns and runs The Framery. She's a lifelong resident of White
Salmon and gave us the lowdown on the locals and the local color. The
population of the town has steadily declined over the last thirty years,
but they are trying to attract more creative people and turn it into an
artist community.

We also talked at length with Janet Holen. She and her husband Roger
(who is also Mayor of White Salmon) have run the inn since 1990 and are
deeply involved in the community. As a gift to the town, Roger recently
restored the Glockenspiel Bells, which had been silent for decades. His
background in the computer industry led to the rebirth of the bells in a
high-tech fashion - computer controlled with a MIDI interface. It's the
only one of its kind.

After touring the town we headed back to the inn and got ready for the
lavish supper for which we had made reservations. When we had
investigated where we wanted to celebrate our anniversary we had
considered the Columbia Gorge Hotel - but decided it was too expensive
(rooms start at $150/night). That did not, however, preclude taking
advantage of their dining room, the Columbia River Court! We arrived
early enough to take a stroll around their grounds. The hotel is perched
on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River and Gorge. The beautifully
landscaped grounds have walkways which wend their way through exotic
plants and over footbridges which cross the twisting stream that accents
the finely manicured gardens. They even have their own 200 foot
waterfall. It was originally built in 1904 and has hosted Presidents and
famous actors. It is now a popular spot for weddings and romantic
getaways. We were not disappointed by dinner (to put it mildly ;-). We
started with crab cakes and graduated to the wilted spinach salad - a
house specialty. It's a flambé affair prepared at your table.
Spectacular! I'm surprised the fire marshall does not provide escort.
Liz had the salmon for dinner, which was expertly baked with a minimum
of fuss. I had sturgeon for the first time in my life and enjoyed it
thoroughly. The main course was accompanied by a variety of vegetables
cooked to perfection (i.e. still slightly crisp). We washed this down
with a fine bottle of wine (from a local vintner, of course). Dessert
was also a flambé course - an apple concoction which was caramelized by
the inferno. By the time we had finished we were ready to retire.
Fortunately, the White Salmon Inn was a short distance from where we
dined, so the drive back was mercifully brief.

The next morning we hoped to get a better view of Mount Hood, which
should have been visible from our room. When we awoke it was totally
covered by clouds. But it performed the dance of the seven veils as we
stood sentry, alternately giving us glimpses of her hemline, flashes of
her slopes, and peeks at her summit - until suddenly she was revealed in
all her glory, standing before us naked and proud. We watched in awe
until it was time to join the other guests for a sumptuous breakfast. We
couldn't believe we were hungry after having made such pigs of ourselves
the previous evening. But we were. Liz selected the Artichoke Frittata
and I had the Brocolli Quiche. We were invited to have more than one
selection, but the serving size was just right. Besides, there were over
twenty kinds of pastries, tarts, cakes, and rolls which needed to be
sampled! The fare also included a wonderful blend of coffee prepared
especially for the inn, fresh fruit and fresh squeezed juices. We
waddled away quite full and returned to our rooms to pack. Before
checking out we had a long and interesting chat with Janet. We will most
certainly return to the inn and look forward to getting to know Janet
and Roger better. They and their staff have created a cozy and
affordable getaway in the perfect place to enjoy one of our favorite
spots in Oregon.

We spent part of Sunday afternoon looking around Hood River, Oregon (the
"windsurfing capital of the world"). Most of the stores center around
the wind surfers who frequent the town. One exception is the Chukar
Cherry store where we had some wonderful mocha, stocked up on chocolate
covered cherries and some mixed dried fruit, and bought a beautiful wall
hanging made by the owner's wife from dried plants. On the way out of
town we marvelled at the stately Victorian mansions that line the main
street.

Rather than head straight home on I-84, we took the long way -
travelling south on route 35 which took us around the east side of Mount
Hood before connecting to route 26 west. We enjoyed some truly majestic
views of Mount Hood during our circuitous detour. The area we passed
through is renowned for apples and pears, so we naturally stopped at one
of the roadside stands and stocked up on fresh fruit and apple cider. We
had made dinner reservations at the Timberline lodge, which is at the
6000 foot level on the south side of Mount Hood. Since we arrived
several hours early, we spent time exploring some of the side roads on
our way to the lodge. Unfortunately, the leaves had only just begun to
change color. But the air was crisp and clean, and the isolation from
civilization allowed us to enjoy something we hadn't "heard" in a long
time - absolute and total silence. Ahhhh... I had forgotten how
delightful that is! We arrived at the lodge early enough to check out
the exterior stonework, and the huge fireplace inside set amidst massive
hand-hewn beams. The building was constructed by unemployed master
craftsmen as part of the WPA during the depression. Work started in 1936
and was completed in only 15 months - an amazing feat considering the
harsh climate and architectural complexity of the project. We also took
a short hike on a trail leading away from the lodge and up the mountain.
When we got to the snow line we turned back, exhausted from the
elevation - and cold! Mount Hood enjoys the longest ski season in North
America due to its year round snow cover.

You may get the impression from these PfP's that all Liz and I do is
eat. Sometimes it seems that way, and this trip was no exception. Dinner
at the lodge was a gastronomic delight punctuated by panoramas of Mount
Jefferson in the distance and Three Sisters well beyond that. We watched
the sunset from our lofty perch as I dined on Salmon on a cedar plank
and Liz treated herself to venison. She had a small taste of it once
before, but this was the first time she had ordered it for a main
course. I even had a bite. It was out of this world! Darkness had fallen
by the time we finished dinner - and the temperature had plunged to 37
degrees. We cranked over "Babe", turned up the heat and headed home to
our warm bed. This was a weekend to remember!

The only other event of note in September was the lunar eclipse on the
26th, which we watched from our bedroom window. Very cool!

Liz and I made an unscheduled trip to California the first weekend of
October to be with her mother and father while her dad underwent
surgery. Two operations were required, spaced a week apart. I was unable
to get away from work to join Liz for the second trip, so she had to go
alone. Her aunt Mary (Bill's sister from Ohio) also flew in. The
operations (the details of which I won't get into) were apparently
successful. He's recovering at home. Prayers (from those of you so
inclined) and well wishes are welcome.

While Liz and I were in Hood River we learned that there was to be a
Fall Festival at the end of October. We had hoped it would be at the
height of the fall colors, but such things are difficult to time and it
turned out to be a tad early. We went nonetheless. It was quite a small
town type of event - kind of like a large church bake sale. They did
have on display blue ribbon produce which looked like it had been fed
steroids. And it afforded us an opportunity to restock on Chukar
cherries :-) We also stopped in at an art gallery that had been closed
on our previous visit. They had some absolutely wonderful paintings by
talented California artists who had migrated to the Gorge.

The trees have now put on their fall finery for the final fashion show
of the year. Everywhere we go there are sights which take our breath
away. Oregon is magnificent beyond my power to describe it. Even in the
rain!

Liz and I have been looking in earnest for a house and are zeroing in on
one. They'll be more news of that in our next Postcard from Portland :-)

'Til then, stay warm and dry!


we love you all,
Sandy & Liz
-- 
Sandy & Liz Herring            Portland         Peck of Pickled Pisces
webfeet@herring.org             Oregon          www.teleport.com/~shh/

                And that's the news from Lake Oswego,
           where the women are strong, the men good looking
               and all the children are above average.

guestbook

Webmaster

Home, Sweet Home What's New Back to Postcard Index

If you are harvesting email addresses, I know shnorrer.28/Aug/2008:10:19:04/pfp_9611.html@herring.org and the gummint would be delighted to hear from you.