Even holidays need a break! It’s Sunday today and we’re keeping the itinerary easy. We slept in longer this morning.
We spent the day without a fixed itinerary so we decided to do something fun – a round of mini golf!
Then it was basically checking out all the stores around town to see lovely packaging design and colorful produce on the shelves. It’s a good bonding time.
Yesterday we were on the road for slightly over 13 hours, reaching Corvallis at 11.30pm after the day’s adventure.
The drive back heading West after Bend was crazy. There was one stretch through Willamette National Forest that made us felt like we were racing along the Monte Carlo circuit in Monaco.
It went on for an hour or so, as we turned left and right many times on the road that curved almost like Monaco. Along the way, we saw a few more deers and even a dead one by the road side. Oh dear (no pun intended).
This fella paused to pose for me in Bend!
Bend was very nice and we had dinner at McMenamins, trying out their stout and beer. As M1 is now of legal drinking age, we had three drinks. I must say, I still can’t appreciate a Stout, even a good one, so I stuck to beer.
Well deserved drink after a long day
It was interesting this morning to check out the Farmers Market akin to what we have back home, the ‘Pasar Tani’ which means the same thing. The only difference is the produce of the stalls.
Back home it’s more of daily vegetables, food and made in China gadgets, here I see things like unusual mushrooms, seasonal fruits, exotic jams, honey, cheese and organic produce. Besides these, there were also crafts, plants, flowers, some clothes and coffee.
I bought a jar of Chardonnay Pear jam after taste-testing a couple of exotic combinations. We also bought a pound of roasted hazelnuts, some pastries and a tray of fruits (Mulberries, Golden Raspberries and Gooseberries) to eat in the car.
After trying out the other berries, I think I like the Mulberry best. The Golden Raspberry are a bit mushy in its overall texture and the mini Gooseberries are almost like grapes, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside but not as sweet though.
By noon, we made our way towards Crater Lake.
After saying goodbye to M2, we left Portland and headed for Washington Square to check out Dick’s Sporting Goods. There I found a box of matte fluorescent golf balls which I had to buy. I’ve never seen a purple matte golf ball before. Pretty cool.
So colorful
We hung out at the mall and the Tesla showroom caught our eyes. There were two cars – the Model 3 and the Model X. The X was way, way cool with its super huge double iPad touchscreen panel and wing doors.
The super cool Model X
Checking out the Model 3
The 3 has its appeal too with its super minimalist look and equally huge iPad-like touchscreen panel which controls everything. So clever.
We left the mall to go get an Earl Grey boba tea at Bubble N Tea en route to TopGolf golf range for some fun. The weather by then was beautiful to be semi-outdoor, so we ended up spending an hour and a half there, hitting balls into targets. Quite a good workout!
But the day went by slowly as we waited to hear from M2 which we did when she finally arrived at Atlanta in transit to connect for the next flight to Ireland. Feeling assured that she’s safely on her way, we made our way back to Corvallis, had a home-cooked meal and prepared for an early good night’s sleep to recover from today’s trip.
We got into Portland in the late afternoon and the must-do included taking pictures of several iconic places. The weather here feels more like Summer.
Our precious box of doughnuts
The choices we picked
One of the stops included Voodoo Doughnut and we got got our good things that came in a pink box! Yum…
Next was Powell’s Bookstore. I felt so overwhelmed with so many books and categories, I didn’t know where to begin. M1 suggested for us to explore in pairs otherwise we would be lost. By eight, hunger got the better of us and we headed off for dinner at Washington Square. We had to have Xiao Long Paos!
It was ten by the time we checked into our Airbnb. Tomorrow we will sleep in!
Last night was tiring, I couldn’t wake up early. This morning we left at 9:45am, a little bit off our intended departure but we weren’t in a real hurry. The first stop: Newport.
When we got out of the car, we could smell the strong seafood stench in the air. Well, it’s a fishing town after all. The wind was quite strong and the air was very chilly. Brr… isn’t it Summer? Why is it so cold?!
Newport
Next stop: Yaquina National Park. Here we hiked quite a bit. And the place was much more windy thus, colder. I had to zip my jacket up all the way to just about my nose and kept my hands in the pocket as much as I could to stay warm.
Yaquina National Park
From Yaquina, we headed to the Visitor Center and then hiked to the lighthouse. Dang… it was even colder. Brr…
Dramatic clouds in the background
Next stop was Devil’s Punchbowl where we had lunch at Mo’s. We tried the Oyster Stew which was basically milk with butter and oysters. Unusual. The chowder and fish tacos were good. After lunch, we hiked to see the Punchbowl, which was like a crater in the rocks except that there’s water below that connects to the sea.
Lunch at Mo’s
The Devil’s Punchbowl
After this, we headed towards Depoe Bay to see the world’s smallest harbor. And this place was super cold with strong winds. Brr… for the umpteenth time.
We headed inland a bit to Tillamook–no more coast and wind (phew)–to see the creamery and its cheese production line. There we sampled all the cheeses (there goes my tummy as I know the Endometriosis pain will spike later tonight) and decided to eat dinner too, consisting of ice cream, fries and a kale pizza.
Tillamook cheese production line
The Oregon coast was very scenic and unusual. Along the way, towards evening, the clouds were so low, descending to the ocean level, it was as if we were driving amongst the clouds.
People having BBQ on the beach with the clouds
By six, we left Tillamook for our last stop, Cannon Beach to see the Haystack Rock before heading towards our motel for the night. What a day!
I have forgotten how tiring Commencement Day can be, after all I am a dinosaur and things of the past (my Commencement at NAU) sometimes elude my memories. We got to campus by 9.30am, looking for M1 in queue for a quick photo before making our way towards Reser Stadium and it was already packed.
We couldn’t get a spot at the lower section we wanted which was right behind School of Agriculture but we managed to get that same area at one level up. It was quite a challenge to find M1 but her decorated mortar board helped.
The ceremony took so long because there were so many speeches, several times the three of us dozed off. We learnt that this commencement, OSU has 7,492 students graduating! Wow. This figure is inclusive of their other campus and online programs, on top of all the three degrees – PhDs, Masters and Bachelors. However on the field today, there’s slightly over 4,000 graduating students in attendance to receive their certificates. Very impressive numbers nonetheless for the 150th Commencement.
We got home at 3.00pm and then we had to go out again for a private tea party celebration hosted by M1’s professor. Spent a good two and a half hours there before we had to excuse ourselves for our family celebratory dinner. We had tapas and dessert which were all bursting with strong flavors. Loved the choices we selected.
Our tapas and drinks
Dessert was oh so yummy!
When all obligations are done and checked off the list, we had to pack for tomorrow as we will start our road trip! Yay. It will be fun because they are places that we’ve never been to before and M1 will play host to show us. After all the excitement died down and packing done, it was 1.15am before I called it a night.
When evening came, we drove our ‘new’ car to go in search of dinner. We ended up trying Mexican – Tacovore, which was very flavorful. After our meal, we checked out the local grocery store.
Our ride, a Cadillac XT4
Herbivore Taco, Chips & Salsa, Carnivore & Seafood Taco and Seafood Stew
American food items on the shelves are huge which makes me wonder, cheaper by the bulk? We were amazed at some of the oversized items like cereal, peanut butter and chips which we don’t get back home in terms of the sizes. It’s quite an eye-opener.
Huge, huge, HUGE!!!
Biggest bag of chips ever!
The day ended with meeting parents of some of M1’s friends who are also here for the big day on Saturday.
Finally by noon, we arrived yesterday after that delayed last leg departure and what a long and tiring trip it has been for us. If I counted from the time we left home for KLIA at six in the evening on Tuesday, and arrived at PDX airport by Wednesday noon in the US, meaning it’s 3.00am Thursday back home (not including the journey thereafter), the total travel time would be 33 hours. And during that time, hardly any good sleep, one can only imagine the tiredness.
The A330 aircraft being readied for the journey
Crying toddler who sat in front of me in the plane could be heard in the Immigration Hall when we all got there. And he cried all the way pass the officers. Poor little fella. Passport clearance was slow because there was only one counter opened for International passport holders but customs was a breeze because we declared everything. When we stepped out to greet our firstborn, all that traveling time and tiredness were forgotten. The family unit was complete again and the heart felt whole. What a feeling!
Then when we stepped out of the terminal, a wave of hot air greeted us. Dang it was hot! 37 degrees. Are we in the US? It felt just like arriving at KLIA only that it’s not but it’s PDX.
Our first stop was Woodburn premium outlet to keep us awake, to walk and adjust to the local time. But it was too hot to walk around outdoors so the outing was shortened. We decided we needed to eat and opted for Jack in the Box. And the premise was equally hot because there was no air-conditioning. Only the bathrooms were air-conditioned but can’t stay in there! Haha…
The food portions were huge especially the chicken fingers! Can’t be fingers when they are so huge as I don’t remember them being this size before from our last US trip. We couldn’t finish and saved them for later.
Jack in the Box
M2 and I succumbed to our tiredness and had a good power nap in the car on the way to Corvallis. But it was still early, and we had to still stay awake, otherwise it would take longer to adjust. The town is typical of any college town and it reminded me of Flagstaff and my college and those dinosaur years.
We settled down quickly, unpacked and made ourselves comfy in her room, big enough for the four of us. But by nine, after dinner we were ready to crash. Might as well for the exciting days ahead await us and we need to adjust and be ready to enjoy ourselves during this time together.
It rained and poured like crazy thus we had to leave home a little bit earlier to beat the traffic to get to the airport. What would normally take slightly under an hour took us an hour and a half.
But we had to leave early because sometimes when the timing is off by a mere five minutes, the consequences are very stressful. In this case, anticipating the traffic heading towards the airport.
But luckily we managed to arrive early despite a 45-minute crawl at one stretch on the highway. Oh well, we didn’t mind. Better early than late. We waited for an hour before the counters opened for check-in. And within a short time, we were checked in and all set!
We then went to the Premium Lounge to have a light dinner and a nice cold Carlsberg, chilling for an hour before heading to the gate. Everything was smooth sailing.
However, departure was slightly delayed because the runway was congested and we took off at 11.48pm, a 28-minute delay. We are finally on our way.
Within a short while, dinner was served! My goodness, talk about a midnight snack, it was a hearty Briyani Chicken rice. I ate whatever I could, which was not much, and tried to sleep. Not easy though.
Throughout the long long night, it was very uncomfortable. The seats were very narrow. I turned left, I turned right and couldn’t find a comfortable position. Needless to say, I hardly slept and we have another ten plus hours journey to go after the transit.
I dozed in and out of sleep. Somehow time went by pretty fast and soon, day was breaking and I couldn’t sleep anymore. My watch showed 7.45am, KL’s local time. And the first thing that came to my mind was my Candy Crush Soda! Hah! Still can’t let go.
The phone and the iPad could register Day 1024 because both are in flight mode and not updated with the time zone that we are in. Heheh… maybe the next leg, I won’t be so lucky.
Next I checked my MiBand2 and I actually only had 40 minutes of deep sleep and five hours and 21 minutes of light sleep. Yeah, I’m tired.
As I am jotting my thoughts now, the screen is showing another 23 minutes to arrival. Yay.
Angieneering 
Remarks