April 4, Sampling Oregon

        Beth and Graham had us over for breakfast on Saturday morning before we went to the beading class.  Beth greeted each of us with published material.  Two books for me, two books for Jenna and a flyer print out for the upcoming community theatre for Roland – hoping he might addition for Oklahoma.  Beth taught Jenna how to do Sudoku puzzles and then Jenna taught me. 

        Beth had made some outstanding biscuits and Graham was taking orders for omelets.  I’ve never had an eight egg omelet before.  I don’t know how many eggs were actually used.  But that is what it looked like.  We were definitely fed well.

        After the beading class, we toured downtown McMinnville and were invited to sample various vinegars, jellies, syrups, and spreads.  We had sampled Amish butter just the night before.  We were introduced to the marionberry.  I think they look like small pinecones.

            Both Graham and Beth had told us that we could cross the street whenever as pedestrians have the right of way and not all crossways are marked with lights.  The average Oregonian driver will stop and even smile at the person crossing – at least in McMinnville.  I quite enjoyed the friendliness.

            Beth parked her car in the parking lot of the church that they attend and we all piled in the rental to look at a few upcoming rentals and then we took a drive to Willamette Valley.  We did more sample tasting at Red Ridge Farms and enjoyed different olive oils, more jams and vinegars.  

            I forget the name of the place where we ended up eating.  It tasted like home cooked food.  They gave us a LOT of food.  Had we known it was going to be that big, Roland and I would have just split something.  Even the “kids” meal was too big for Jenna.  She didn’t like the homemade chips that came with her sandwich.  I could have made a meal on those chips alone.  They were delicious.   
 

            Our initial plan was to spend each night in a different city just to see if one city influenced my breathing better than another.  But we ended up spending our first three nights in McMinnville – which was more than satisfactory to Jenna who took every opportunity she had to go into the water.  She also enjoyed the complimentary breakfast each morning