Riding the Rails, Friday, April 22, 2011

I rode the Mount Hood Railroad's circa 1910 railcars alongside apple and pear orchards that were just beginning to bloom, past fruit warehouses and lumber loading docks, into the town of Odell, past pioneer homesteads and an early sawmill to Dee, "the company town that was," into the upper Hood River Valley to the railroad's southern terminus in Parkdale at the foothills of Mount Hood and then back to Hood River. I rode in the Upper Dome Car at Table #3. Halfway through the trip we spent an hour in Parkdale. I ordered a box lunch which included a ham & cheddar cheese croissant sandwich, bar-be-cue chips, diet coke and Snickers bar to eat on the train. It was a beautiful clear day. On the return trip the train picked up two A-frames of Mt. Hood lumber to haul into Hood River.

I stopped at McDonalds for a fudge sundae with nuts on my way out of Hood River. I should have crossed over the Columbia River either at Hood River or Cascade Locks and drove home on the Washington side. Portland was a huge parking lot! An accident closed the two right lanes on the I-205 Glen Jackson Bridge. I stopped for a sandwich, drink and shortbread cookies at Lloyd Center Starbucks just to get out of the traffic mess for while. It took me forever to get home!

Sixth annual Small Acreage Expo, Saturday, April 16, 2011

I volunteered for the 6th Annual Small Acreage Expo co-sponsored by WSU Clark County Extension and the Clark County Clean Water Program at Brigands HideOut Farm in Battle Ground, Washington on Saturday, April 16, 2011. Landowners could choose from classes on topics such as installing a french drain, weed management, alternative energy production, pasture management, and backyard chickens. I thought the last session on backyard chickens was the most interesting. Local vendors were available to provide valuable information to participants. Besides a lunch of "Italian" Sub Sandwich, Lays potato chips, chocolate chip cookie and soda drink I received a "goody" bag for helping out with registration/check-in and overseeing lunch. I wish that the weather was warmer but at least it was not raining!

Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler Cruise from Cascade Locks to The Dalles, April 14, 2011

This morning I boarded the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler in Cascade Locks for a one way cruise to The Dalles. There were only seven passengers on board; four passengers including myself had taken the repositioning cruise from Portland to Cascade Locks just a couple weeks ago. I rode almost the entire trip in the wheelhouse. I piloted the sternwheeler for about fifteen minutes. The weather was cloudy and raining until Hood River and sunny beyond. The scenery was breathtaking. We had a continental breakfast, lunch buffet, and cookies for dessert. We rode a bus from The Dalles dock back to the dock at Cascade Locks arriving about 4:30pm.

Lincoln City 2011 Geocoin Event, April 9 - 10, 2011

My daughter, Catherine, and I drove to Lincoln City early Saturday morning, April 9. We had Afternoon Tea at Serendipi Tea at noon. The scones and lemon curd were delicious. The tea was too strong, smelled strange and bitter tasting. We joined up with two men at the Event to make a four member team to discover the eight clues, decide whether Lincoln City is “guilty or innocent”, chose wrong so had to go to an extra location for another clue before we found the cache with the log, and then drove back to Parks & Recreation to pick up our Geocoins. Catherine and I checked into our motel where we had a suite on a bluff overlooking the ocean. We purchased dinner at Subway that we took back to our room to eat. We rented the movie “Up” which we thoroughly enjoyed. Sunday morning we purchased breakfast at Starbucks. We found three geocaches on our way home.

"The Civil War" - a film by Ken Burns

Between 1861 and 1865, Americans made war on each other and killed and wounded each other in great numbers. What began as a bitter dispute over Union vs States' Rights, ended as a struggle over the meaning of freedom in America. At least 618,000 Americans died in the Civil War, and some experts say the toll reached 700,000. The number that is most often quoted is 625,000. At any rate, these casualties exceed the nation's loss in all its other wars, from the Revolution through Vietnam. There were 412,200 wounded.

This week I watched the 11-hour mini-series, "The Civil War." Ken Burns used voice-over narrators dramatically reading letters and documents and stating the writer's name at their conclusion, fresh live footage of places juxtaposed with still images (photographs, paintings, maps, prints), and anecdotal interviews. I have never been interested in the Civil War until recently after reading "The Widow of the South" a novel by Robert Hicks and "My Name is Mary Sutter" by Robin Oliveira, and now having watched the very moving 11-hour mini-series "The Civil War".

”The Cocktail Hour” by A. R. Gurney

On Tuesday, April 5, 2011, I attended the Portland Civic Theatre Guild reading of ”The Cocktail Hour” by A. R. Gurney at The Old Church at S.W. 11th and Clay. Admission $6.00 was paid at the door. Coffee, tea and bite-sized donuts were served prior to the performance.

”The Cocktail Hour” is a comedy exploring the world of upper-class family in the Northeastern United States in the 1970s. It is "an examination of an overprivileged family that fights domestic battles while downing drinks."

I enjoyed the first half of the play laughing almost continuously. I thought that the second half was less successful. The acting was superb.

Portland Civic Theater Guild’s Play Reading Series is offered the first Tuesday of the month from October to May. For the season schedule and more information go to www.portlandcivictheatreguild.org.