On Vacation

McMinnville, Oregon: After a very busy and kinda exhausting four days at the track, we brought in the slide room and headed out to the airport to return our rental car. DT drove the RV. I drove the POS Honda Civic. (No kidding, this car was so low to the ground, we both struggled getting in/out - and we have a one-foot height differential!) Old People Problems. We stopped to fuel-up both vehicles and just as I finished returning the car, Dave was outside the terminal waiting for me in the RV. Effortless.

The Olympic Trials do not begin until 21 June, so we have a few days to relax and have fun between the meets. Vacation!

We took the back roads (Highway 99 West) from Junction City to McMinnville, through Monroe (hometown of Captain Smith). It is a most beautiful route, through miles of agricultural land. Acre after acre of hazelnuts growing on filbert trees, miles of walnut trees, and so many pretty farms. Our first stop was for brunch in Monmouth, at the very nice Grain Station. Cute little brew pub (sadly, no brewski while driving), with a huge menu. Patrons were of all ages, with many families with kids. Sports on the TVs.

My Driver had two over-easy eggs with hash browns and toast, while I was a bit more adventurous with a Mexican-style omelette - spicy and loaded with jalapeños. Fun place. We recommend - huge portions though.

The Olde Stone Village Resort, in McMinnville, where we will be all week, is basically not recognizable from the place we have stayed so many times - and as recently as two years ago. This place is associated with a mobile home park next door and I guess the trailer people were tired of sharing a swimming pool with the RV people, so a new fabulous clubhouse, office, pool, fitness center, and laundrette was built for the RVers. It is so nice! Really fancy and the clerk told us they have only been open 3 weeks and maybe everything isn't quite working yet, but we couldn't decipher which things. This resort is next-door (walking distance) to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, home of The Spruce Goose.

In the past two years since our last visit, the fields around the air museum have been completely planted in wine grapes. Two years ago, the fields in front of the museum were grapes, but now every inch is covered in grapes vines.

After settling-in, we decided to ride our bicycles to downtown McMinnville. This would have been a good idea, but for the bicycle/pedestrian lanes under construction across the bridge into town. We had to walk our bikes a bit and maybe I sliced my leg on my bike pedal. Drat. Downtown McMinnville is so stinkin' cute and there were so many interesting restaurants with people sitting outside sipping on wine. We returned to our campsite, after covering only 6 miles, so I could dress my teeny wound. Later, I cooked the meal prepared yesterday for our first night of vacation: lamb meatballs, au gratin potatoes (potatoes from Gina's garden), and a pretty tomato, onion and Kalamata salad.

As nice as the meatballs were, nothing topped the potatoes. The pommes had been out of the ground for a week. The two potatoes were sliced (not peeled, as the skin is soft and paper-thin) and blanched, then bathed in heavy cream, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, and Gruyere cheese. The resulting blob was placed in my teeniest baking dish (4x6?), and baked in my Barbie Easy Bake Oven, until bubbly and golden.

It is my burden to only own ovens that do not heat to their said temperature. But there is a new Sheriff in town - and she has a new oven thermometer. Don't mess with the new Sheriff.

More vacay action tomorrow. Food and wine are involved.

Until my next update, I remain, your McMinnville correspondent

Campground Information: Olde Stone RV Resort (I think it is no longer the Olde Stone Village RV Resort, but I don't know). With the new facility, this campground really has it all (except for a hot tub). Full-service paved pull-through and back-in sites. Picnic tables. Trash pick-up at your site. We are paying $55.42 per night with a weekly rate.

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