2018 Fall Trip - Day Two, Pendleton to Portland

Our early finish last evening was a God-send.  We slept well and long and were off to a wonderful start this morning.  The Continental Breakfast was nice at the Best Western.  We deliberately ate light because we wanted to save room for lunch at the White House Cafe in the orchard country above the city of Hood River.  The drive there was wonderful, overcast and cozy, with a light rain now and then.  Riding along the mighty Columbia River is always amazing to me.  The effort to tame that mighty waterway and consequently turn Eastern Washington and Oregon into vast farms and orchards was sheer genius, and then to use the waterway to transport so much of that bounty to market is amazing!  Not to mention all of the hydroelectric power that is generated in the process!  What a marvel!

Lunch out doors in the mist was great!  I had Carnitas Tacos and Sweetie enjoyed a flatbread pizza with Gorgonzola cheese, caramelized onions and fresh pear slices!  Both were such a delight we were giddy!

The scene from our table.

Then we drove around the area enjoying the farms and orchards and wonderful scenery.

They grow apples a little differently in some orchards.

Here is how Mt. Hood looked today.

Here’s how it looked last year.

We were not disappointed.  This place is heaven in any kind of weather.  We drove on around the mountain in a pretty good rain storm and decided to head into Portland to see the special way the rain drips off the roofs at the Chinese Garden downtown.  Unfortunately, it stopped raining before we got there.  To assuage our disappointment we went to Blue Star Donuts instead.  They are the best, better than Voodoo Donuts for sure!  They use brioche dough and they’re so flavorful and pleasant to the bite!  We had ganache, key lime, blueberry and pumpkin bulee’ flavors and loved them all!  Next we decided to head for the Portland Temple to take a look.  We asked Siri for directions and she got lost.  Garmin couldn’t do it either, but Google came through and took us down Boone’s Ferry Road.  My kind of drive!  Winding through a long beautiful tunnel of trees overarching the whole road in many places.  The leaves are turning and the colors were awesome!  The Temple, set in the trees was among the most beautiful we’ve seen!

There is a Visitor’s Center at the Temple and we decided to stop in for a look around.  We were greeted by Brother and Sister Allen who asked us where we were from.  We were surprised they knew of Vernal, Utah.  But of course they did, Sister Martha Allen is Karl Flemming’s sister!  They were delighted that we knew and loved both Karl and Andrea and Karl and Martha’s wonderful parents! And that the Flemming’s daughter, Shawnee, lives in our Ward!  Small world!  What a joy to converse with them!

Here we are with Sister Martha Allen at the Temple Visitor’s Center.



We also got to meet sweet Sarah a recent convert who’d been attracted to the House of the Lord and taught the Gospel there in the Visitor’s Center.  She was back there working on her Family History.  Also we met some wonderful Sister Missionaries who stopped by.  One from Alpine, Utah, another from Springville and one from the Island of Bohol in the Philippines!  She was excited when I told her that I had the opportunity to escort the first Elders to Tagbilaran, Bohol, when the Province was first opened to missionary work!  Love goes around and around!

We checked into a nice Best Western in a few miles from the Temple on the Pacific Highway.  This little waterfall and pool is right outside.