McMinnville, Oregon: It gets SOOOO cold here overnight. 42! Our little ceramic heater is getting a workout in the mornings. The extra "just in case" blanket has also been deployed. No matter the weather, we worked out this morning. The next-door Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum has a great series of bike/walking paths, so Dave and I went for a bike ride. We rode for the same amount of time and My Driver probably covered twice the mileage. Show Off. With all the grape vines surrounding the museum, it truly is a pleasant place to spend time.
parked on top of the Wings & Waves Water Park.
You really do not see a plane parked on top of a building every day, so it is a fun place to ride your bike, and the paths are very nice.
After our workouts and showers, we drove into beautiful downtown McMinnville. Such a pretty little town, with tree-lined streets with free parking. Chatting-up a local, she asked where I was from and told her, but mentioned I was born in McMinnville. She said she was born in the McMinnville Walgreen drug store. What? Her mom was with her and confirmed the fact. I assumed it had been one of those "couldn't get to the hospital in time" deliveries, but it seems the hospital where she was born (and I was born) has been torn down and replaced with a drug store. So the "thing" with the locals is to say you were born in the Walgreens. I feel like I was initiated into a secret club today. The three-story, 56-bed McMinnville Hospital (right) was built in 1931 and demolished in 2002.
Our plan was to have lunch and shop for a cherry pitter. Yes, I have a cherry pitter. Two, in fact. One for our home kitchen and one for the RV kitchen. The RV cherry pitter (think of it like a hand-held staple gun that pits one cherry at a time) didn't make the "is there room of this" cut and was left at home. Now tell me what kinda idiot goes to Oregon in June and July without a cherry pitter? Answer: me. (Give me a break, okay, I was born in a drug store.)
While here two years ago, we enjoyed a very nice brunch at the Atticus Hotel, so we went back. The restaurant is now Mediterranean, and very nice.
(that he didn't feel was really wrapped)
Our lunches were quite nice, though my kofta was pretty salty. After lunch we walked the streets. So many cute shops and restaurants in the small downtown area, and many tasting rooms from the local vineyards. We did find a cherry pitter (the exact same one I left home - in cherry red).
We both laughed when we saw a tee shirt in a small shop window. Brought back so many memories. When asked where we were from while living in SE Asia in the 80's, the Oregon reply drew only blank faces. No one knew where Oregon was... so I started saying I was from the province just north of California, and everyone knew exactly where I were from. 99.9% of Filipinos said they had a cousin living in California!
As we approached our car to return to our campsite, we started noticing a lot of ice cream cones in people's hands. My Driver insisted we have an ice cream. The source of all the creamy temptation was Serendipity Ice Cream, and there was a line of customers streaming out the door of their Historical Landmark building. Today was the last day of school and parents were taking their kidlets out to celebrate at Serendipity. How fun. They do not make their own ice cream, but vend local brands. We had small scoops in paper cups - chocolate peanut butter for me. DT had espresso with chocolate chip.
Lisa took the Tres Amigos golfing at 6a, then pool time, then to an escape room. Apparently they escaped, because she asked me to make dinner reservations at our clubhouse for 4 people. Super Momma has arranged for pickleball lessons tomorrow morning before heading back to Los Angeles to get the boys home before Father's Day.
One last photo to share tonight - Sister Gina said her fig tree is ready to pick. She has never had fruit this size before and sent this image:
Until my next update, I remain, your "we are have a salad for dinner tonight" 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.
I definitely want to visit McMinnville on our next Oregon trip !
Lovely figs, yum!