Guest of the Day
I’m a great believer in all “travel is broadening” theories, even when the destination is not far from home. This past weekend we journeyed just a few hundred miles, round trip – gone just twenty-four hours – and we found things to be thankful for, things to wonder at, things to amaze and confound and give us a chuckle. Truly.
Our destination was the 41t Annual Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance and we stayed overnight in a nearby motel which was uneventful except for the sign in the lobby, ‘Guest of the Day, Joey Fraser.’
“I wonder who Joey Fraser is,” I said to Nyel and at that moment, out of the breakfast room came a member of a young soccer team who said, “I am!”
To my query as to the reason, Joey said, “Because I hounded the guy until he did it.” (Oh boy! Could I ever relate! How many Joey Frasers did I have in school during those 39 years of teaching?) That little encounter was definitely a chuckle.
Old Timer
As we approached our destination we saw an old house that somehow made us thankful. It was one of those ‘there but for the grace of God’ images. I took a photo to remind us of what the ravages of time can do and why we have to keep on keeping on when it comes to our place…
And then we were in the midst of a gazillion of THE MOST beautiful classic cars I’ve ever seen. Never mind our local Rod Run (which I love but is totally different) and never mind the LeMay Car Museum. These cars were perfection! Scores of them looking shinier and more perfect than they could have on any showroom floor. In fact, they were so gorgeous that I wasn’t even covetous. (I can’t speak for Nyel, though.)
Down Memory Lane
Like hundreds of others who were there, it was a trip down memory lane. We pointed out cars we had owned back in the day – a MG TC-3 but mine had wire wheels (me); that red Porsche but mine was a 1960 (Nyel); that Hudson Hornet like my dad’s (also Nyel),,, and on and on.
Shocking
The grassy, tree lined campus of Pacific University was a fabulous setting for the Concours and we wandered happily for several hours. There was entertainment and there were several low-key food tents and then, in the front of one building (the Ag Building?) we came across a small patch of wheat all tied off in shocks. I wasn’t the only one trying to capture this curious growing method but, as the woman next to me said, “it doesn’t translate well in a picture.”
We returned home in time for the very ending of Lyric Ladies Choral Ensemble Vesper program and I was glad of their extra songs (including the Irish Blessing) outside afterwards. Their soothing tones were just what I needed to prevent me from going into sensory overload. It was a glorious ending to a glorious outing not-so-far-from-home.
Wow! It was a whirl breeze trip, Sydney. I always find old falling down houses sad. The house my father was born in looked like the one above in 1972 and is completely gone now save for a painting he did of how he remembered it as a child. My cousin has that. I cannot understand the mad rush we have to dispose of things and move on. Maybe it’s because I don’t want someone attempting to dispose of ME! I’m glad that you got to see cars that have been lovingly preserved to celebrate Nyel’s preservation!