Day 12 – A Change in Plans

Since it didn’t make sense to sit in the RV while it rained for another day, we decided to keep driving south. Out next planned stop is Ashland, but that is a 4 ½ hour drive from Silver Falls, so we broke it up by finding an RV campground south of Eugene. On the drive from Silver Falls, we passed lots of Christmas tree farms. We went through Linn County “World’s Largest Supplier of Grass Seed”. There were huge grass farms (not to be confused with weed farms). We tried to visit 2 Towns Cider house, but there was no RV parking. We had lunch at a truck stop in Coburg. Our waitress was super friendly, but the food was not worthy of a photograph.

One of many Christmas tree farms we passed

After we got the RV setup at Rice Hill RV Park, we went to a nearby winery. MarshAnne Landing is owned by a couple from Maryland. They moved to Oregon 17 years ago to open the winery. The owner is a former chemist, and they grow all their own grapes on about 11 acres and process and bottle the wine themselves. It was pouring rain when we arrived, and by the time we left the sun was shining over the vineyard. We left with bottles of Viognier, Pinot Noir and Red Planet their signature blend.

MarshAnne Vineyards

Sunny skies over the RV park

We watched the news for the first time in 12 days and saw all the fires in northern California. Hopefully all the rain we are seeing here, will move south.

Comments

Boulders, A Castle, and a Bunch of Churches and Fancy Buildings

I was probably a little harsh about the B&B last night. We got up this morning and Norman and Stephanie had prepared a lovely "Kiwi Lite" breakfast for us. It is their take on the continental breakfast, but Norman said he can't call it that if they're not on a continent. The table was laden with fresh raspberries, rhubarb, fruit salad, granola, toast, yogurt, cheese, butter, cream, custard, and jams. Then they passed around hot cross buns. We shared the tiny dining room with two couple from China. One couple from Hong Kong spoke English and told us about their trip. They left their one year old son with the grandparents so they could take a 2 week holiday. On the way from Oamaru we stopped to view the Moeraki Boulders on Norman's recommendation. The boulders jut out from the beach. Scientists explain the boulders as calcite concretions formed about 65 million years ago. Crystallization of calcium and carbonates around charg...

Thoughts on Retiring

Early this morning while lying awake in bed, I did some mental math and realized I will be retiring from my career in IT almost exactly 30 years from the day I started my first job out of college. It is a bittersweet experience. While I’m excited about the next chapter in my life and our big adventure moving to Idaho, I’m also sad to bring my IT career to a close and leave my work family. I have spent 40+ hours per week for the last 30 years solving problems, writing code, implementing systems, learning new technologies, meeting with customers, counseling staff, reading email, and attending way too many meetings. To help me through this change, I started thinking about all the things I won’t miss, like those meetings. People compliment me on my copious note-taking in meetings. Here’s the truth, I started taking notes in boring meetings to keep from falling asleep and then it just became a habit. I started with legal pads and saved the loose l...

Sounds Like a Fiord

At 7:00 AM we were standing in the rain waiting for our bus to Manapouri and our final destination of Doubtful Sound in the Fiordlands. We switched to a ferry to cross the lake, and then back to a bus to finally reach Doubtful Sound. The sound got its name when catain Cook got close to its entrance in 1770. Fearing he would not be able to sail his ship Endeavor back out, he noted that it was Doubtful. We travelled through the fiords for 3 hours. The rain was a curse and a blessing. There are only a handful of permanent waterfalls in the sound, but when it rains there are waterfalls everywhere. If it had stopped raining (which it did not), our guide said the waterfalls would be gone within 4 hours. So we had low visibility with the rain and mist but lots of waterfall sightings. The pictures do not do justice to the beauty and vastness of the fiords. You'll just have to trust us, or better yet plan a trip! We g...

Kristin Laura

Search This Blog