Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sixty-two days after leaving
Olympia, we hook up the trailer one last time for the last leg of the
trip home. Gray, but not cold, we packed up and drove to the
visitor's center at Champoeg State Park to say goodbye to Carol and
Woody Wood. We had a great visit with them after the volunteer's
potluck at the camp pavilion the night before. We talked until
almost dark, which thanks to DST stretched the day for us. They will
be heading our way in May, so we look forward to seeing them again.
Sadly, we did not get to visit
with our friends Vern and Betty near Portland. It did not seem wise
to share our bug (or whatever) with them. Duffy and I hope to plan
another trip down the coast during the summer and touch base with
them then.
From the park, we drove
back-roads to Wilsonville, OR to have breakfast at Biscuits Cafe and
pick up a few groceries at the new Fred Meyer there (it looks like an
upscale Ralph's in Olympia, plus the non-food departments). Now, I
have heard from one reader that it seems from my blog that every
morning I ate yogurt and granola for breakfast on this trip. I think
when I wrote that I was eating those two items for breakfast each
day, we were on the road, getting up early and getting going without
spending too much time dawdling. (I'm not sure I like that word, it
suggests I am always dawdling. I •
don't •
think •
so. Just puttering, getting little things done. :) ) As for
breakfast, when we ate breakfast “in” I ate oatmeal and a banana,
or a breakfast bar and a banana, or yogurt with granola and a banana,
or cereal and soy milk and a banana. No, I did not eat a banana
every morning. When we ate out every so often, I usually ordered
eggs, either scrambled or an omelet, hash browns, bacon and or fruit.
Now you all know – there is variety to my meals.
Duffy drove us to Wilsonville
where I took over the driving. Duffy's cold, picked up from yours
truly and gaining momentum, had him feeling like he would rather ride
than drive, so I took over the wheel and drove us home, a three-hour
trip from Wilsonville. During the trip north from San Diego we have
been listening to a book-on-CD that is longer than the number of
miles left to drive. I cued it up and we listened to the story for
the remainder of the trip home. But, now we need to come up with
another short trip that is just long enough for us to finish the
book. Oh drat – I hate it when the trip ends before the book!
Our strategy for pushing on
home today was timed to see Maya before she flies to Washington D.C.
with her class at school. Yea, we succeeded, even getting home
before the grand-kids arrived home from school. Oh, those hugs! It
is so wonderful to love and be loved. And, there is nothing sweeter
than hugs from grandchildren. Not to mention hugs from son and
daughter-in-law as well. A warm welcome with eight multicolored,
latex, helium-filled balloons!
We are home. I am writing this
on the evening after our arrival. I spent the day sleeping in – a
long, long time - doing laundry, cleaning out the trailer and putting
things away. The usual. Duffy and I agree. We will have to look at
the photos to recall all that has happened in the last two months,
everywhere we've been, what we've seen. What a great trip. Is it
too soon to plan next year's journey?
Until next year,
Pam
Following: Birds we have seen,
new birds on our life list (*) in chronological order, in brackets –
non-bird [_]; Top to Bottom, Left to Right. 50 New Birds Added to
Life List.
|
Collard Dove Blue Jay Northern Mockingbird Crested Cormorants Ruby-Crowned Kinglet Osprey Great Egret Eastern Bluebird* Northern Flicker Cardinal Red-Winged Blackbird Boat-Tailed Grackle Brown Pelican Willet Lesser Yellowlegs* Wilson's Snipe Laughing Gull Blue-Winged Teal Caspian Tern Black Vulture White-Tailed Kite White Pelican Turkey Vulture Barn Swallow Northern Shoveler Killdeer Gadwall [Alligator] Northern Harrier Snowy Egret Laughing Gull* Long-Billed Curlew Roseate Spoonbill* Great Blue Heron Belted Kingfisher White Ibis* Greater Yellowlegs* Glossy Ibis* Fulvous Whistling Duck* Tri-Colored Heron* Forster's Tern* Neo-Tropic Cormorant* Black-Bellied Whistling Duck* Reddish Egret* Pied-Billed Grebe Redheaded Duck* Loggerhead Shrike |
Savannah Sparrow* Chipping Sparrow White-Crowned Sparrow Eastern Meadowlark* Tree Swallow* Mottled Duck* Ring-Billed Gull Shrike Kestrel Rock Pigeon Black Skimmer* Snowy Plover* Sanderling* Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher* [Alligators] [White-Tailed Deer] Mourning Dove Red-Bellied Woodpecker* Short-Billed Dowitcher* American Golden Plover* Swainson's Hawk* Pyrrhuloxia Whooping Crane* [Lizards] [Racoon] American Avocet Black-Necked stilt Marbled Godwit Long-Billed Dowitcher* Barn Swallow Western Meadowlark Semi-Palmated Sandpiper* American Coot White-Winged Dove Lesser Scaup Black-Chinned Hummingbird* House Sparrow Phainopepla Common Yellowthroat* House Finch Turkey Gambel's Quail Broad-Tailed Hummingbird Green-Tailed Towhee Curve-Billed Thrasher Yellow-Headed Blackbird Gila Woodpeckers |
Gray Hawk* Yellow Warbler* Vermillion Flycatcher Black-Headed Gnatcatcher* Lesser Goldfinch Merlin* Magnificent Hummingbird* Rufous Hummingbird Anna's Hummingbird Broad-Tailed Hummingbird Black Phoebe Audubon Warbler Painted Redstart Acorn Woodpecker White Nuthatch Violet-Crowned Hummingbird* Audubon's Warbler Lazuli Bunting* Bridled Titmouse Ladderback Woodpecker Abert's Towhee Black-Headed Grosbeak* White-breasted Nuthatch* Say's Phoebe Roadrunner Lucy's Warbler [Jackrabbit] Hepatic Tanager* Mexican Jay Dark-Eyed Junco – Gray-Headed Race Robin Yellow-Rumped Warbler Wood Duck Mallard Western Gull Black Oystercatcher* Fulmar* Sooty Shearwater* Petrel* California Thrasher* California Quail Yellow-Billed Magpie* Oak Titmouse* California Towhee* Costa's Hummingbird Yellow-Crowned Sparrow* Scrub Jay |
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