She's Baaaaaaaaaaack...
Jun. 2nd, 2012 03:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aearwen2Got back from my Oregon trip on Wednesday, and have been trying to catch up on both sleep and necessary things ever since.
First of all, let me say that I'm having to seriously re-assess the feasibility of taking the train back to KY, when/if I have the funding to do so this fall. Or, better, I'm reconsidering whether or not I'd want to purchase a sleeper compartment for that journey. The seats in the small sleeper compartments (big enough for only two people) are not comfortable for me at all; there is no lower back support, no real neck support at all. The seats do not recline, nor do they have any provisions for foot-rests. There is also no real place to put a pillow (or two) that would make the seats comfortable for sleeping. This is a HUGE issue for someone like me, whose back and shoulder issues make it nearly impossible to lie down to sleep (I am forced to sleep in a recliner at home.)
On the trip up, I didn't have the seat made into a bed, and tossed and turned trying to get my pillow in a comfortable enough spot that I could fall asleep and stay that way. So, thought I, I'll have the bed put down on the way home; surely that would be better, right?
NOT!!!
But, to be honest, that's the only real complaint I have about the whole trip.
Somewhere just a little bit north of Klamath Falls, CA, it started to snow - and snow on trees and plants already in full spring growth/bloom! JJ had never seen it snow in his life, so he was truly enjoying the view. And it went from barely there, to a pleasant dusting, to enough on the ground and in the pine trees that the clumps of snow were falling "Ker-plop!" onto the ground.
Once we got to Eugene, things seemed to fall into place. We were met at the station by Lacey, Squeek's wife, and we were able to have the rental folks pick us up and take us over to where we picked up our rental car - a nice new Impala. When the trip was through, the same folks took us back to the train station from the rental place in plenty of time to meet our train. So I have nothing but good to say about Enterprise.
We went to Lacey's where we stayed the four nights we were in OR, and waited for Squeek to be done working. Picked her up and stopped at a store for deli sandwiches for supper. Everybody was either travel-worn or tired from working, so we crashed early.
Saturday morning, we all got up early to go to the Saturday Market, a weekly event taking place in the downtown Eugene area. Saturday Market is an intriguing combination of half Farmer's Market, with fresh produce and plants of just about every kind you can think of, and half street fair, with arts and crafts venders of everything from clothing to kitsch.
Got some great pictures taken of and with the kids:
This is me, with Squeek (left) and JJ (right)
And this is Squeek, Lacey, and JJ
After we finished wandering the Market and making a few purchases for the folks back home, we got into the car and started driving about the place, taking a gander at all the various places Squeek and Lacey have lived in the two years since they moved up there. Quite a few of those places were outside of town - something I hadn't known until then.
That night, I cooked the meal Squeek had requested: hominy and bacon, in bacon-grease gravy. And yes, I know it isn't exactly heart-healthy, but it was a birthday request and a dish Squeek hadn't had since leaving CA. The kids played Monopoly while I rested in the overstuffed chair.
The next day we all slept in. After a very late breakfast, we were once again on the road. Squeek is in the process of moving back in with Lacey, and we made a couple of trips all the way out to Springfield to pick up clothing and sundries from the place she's leaving. I'm really glad she's getting out of there, because the vibes in the place were really not all that great. Once we had done that, we drove around town a bit, including driving to the top of Skinner's Butte and the really nice vista point park they have established up there. As we looked down, the whole city of Eugene was laid out literally at our feet...
Our jaunt that day ended up at Voodoo Donuts - a positively sinful place.
Open 24/7, the display case you can see in the picture above has their super-fancy products displayed. Every 8 hours, they empty the case to put in fresher stuff and sell the old stuff at a HUGE discount. We were lucky enough to hit just at the right time... and walked out with a dozen whoppers for under $8. You can imagine what we had for supper that night!! (Daughter Súl had told me to try the maple bar topped with a slab of bacon. I thought she was nuts, but gave it a try anyway. Oh. My. Gods!!!! Out of this world!!!)
On Monday, we gassed up the car and headed west, towards Florence and the ocean. While the sand dunes right around the town are filled with a lot of detritus, so very different (and not half as nice) as the white-sand beaches here at home, we drove north to where the cliffs start. Absolutely beautiful scenery commenced!
When we got home that night, I made meatballs and gravy over rice with buttered broccoli for supper. Lacey had to be up and out of the house by 6AM the next morning for work, so we all went to bed early.
Tuesday morning, Squeek, JJ and I took our time getting ourselves all packed up for our return trip. We decided to check three bags this time, so as not to have so much to carry on the train. Squeek had to be at work at 1PM, so we had a late-ish brunch and then dropped her off at the Goodwill Industries where she works, then drove over to where Lacey worked and waited for her to get off at 1:30. Went to the train station and checked in everything but the carry-on stuff, then drove back to Enterprise to drop off the car.
After we got back to the train station, we went over to a little cafe across the corner from the depot for a soda and some time to sit and chat. Got there at 2PM, the train was due in at 5PM. Lacey stayed around for about an hour, and then she took the bus home while JJ and I went over to the depot.
While there, JJ took a slug of pictures outside - and I took some pictures of him having fun with the camera:
One thing that fascinated us both was the Victorian house just across the tracks and across the street from the train station. Evidently it's open to the public for tours and special events. The hill behind it is Skinner's Butte, which we had driven to the top of a couple of days before.
The train trip from San Luis Obispo, CA to Eugene, OR by train (Amtrak Coastal Starliner) takes 21.5 hours - if they're not running late, like they perpetually were this time around. Crossing gates not working right throughout the Salinas Valley meant that the train had to stop at each of them just to make sure nobody got hurt. Hubby picked us up at 4PM Wednesday - both JJ and I were exhausted.
Needless to say, while I enjoyed the trip and the time spent with Squeek and Lacey, I'm desperately glad to be home again. And that's my trip.
First of all, let me say that I'm having to seriously re-assess the feasibility of taking the train back to KY, when/if I have the funding to do so this fall. Or, better, I'm reconsidering whether or not I'd want to purchase a sleeper compartment for that journey. The seats in the small sleeper compartments (big enough for only two people) are not comfortable for me at all; there is no lower back support, no real neck support at all. The seats do not recline, nor do they have any provisions for foot-rests. There is also no real place to put a pillow (or two) that would make the seats comfortable for sleeping. This is a HUGE issue for someone like me, whose back and shoulder issues make it nearly impossible to lie down to sleep (I am forced to sleep in a recliner at home.)
On the trip up, I didn't have the seat made into a bed, and tossed and turned trying to get my pillow in a comfortable enough spot that I could fall asleep and stay that way. So, thought I, I'll have the bed put down on the way home; surely that would be better, right?
NOT!!!
But, to be honest, that's the only real complaint I have about the whole trip.
Somewhere just a little bit north of Klamath Falls, CA, it started to snow - and snow on trees and plants already in full spring growth/bloom! JJ had never seen it snow in his life, so he was truly enjoying the view. And it went from barely there, to a pleasant dusting, to enough on the ground and in the pine trees that the clumps of snow were falling "Ker-plop!" onto the ground.
Once we got to Eugene, things seemed to fall into place. We were met at the station by Lacey, Squeek's wife, and we were able to have the rental folks pick us up and take us over to where we picked up our rental car - a nice new Impala. When the trip was through, the same folks took us back to the train station from the rental place in plenty of time to meet our train. So I have nothing but good to say about Enterprise.
We went to Lacey's where we stayed the four nights we were in OR, and waited for Squeek to be done working. Picked her up and stopped at a store for deli sandwiches for supper. Everybody was either travel-worn or tired from working, so we crashed early.
Saturday morning, we all got up early to go to the Saturday Market, a weekly event taking place in the downtown Eugene area. Saturday Market is an intriguing combination of half Farmer's Market, with fresh produce and plants of just about every kind you can think of, and half street fair, with arts and crafts venders of everything from clothing to kitsch.
Got some great pictures taken of and with the kids:
This is me, with Squeek (left) and JJ (right)
And this is Squeek, Lacey, and JJ
After we finished wandering the Market and making a few purchases for the folks back home, we got into the car and started driving about the place, taking a gander at all the various places Squeek and Lacey have lived in the two years since they moved up there. Quite a few of those places were outside of town - something I hadn't known until then.
That night, I cooked the meal Squeek had requested: hominy and bacon, in bacon-grease gravy. And yes, I know it isn't exactly heart-healthy, but it was a birthday request and a dish Squeek hadn't had since leaving CA. The kids played Monopoly while I rested in the overstuffed chair.
The next day we all slept in. After a very late breakfast, we were once again on the road. Squeek is in the process of moving back in with Lacey, and we made a couple of trips all the way out to Springfield to pick up clothing and sundries from the place she's leaving. I'm really glad she's getting out of there, because the vibes in the place were really not all that great. Once we had done that, we drove around town a bit, including driving to the top of Skinner's Butte and the really nice vista point park they have established up there. As we looked down, the whole city of Eugene was laid out literally at our feet...
Our jaunt that day ended up at Voodoo Donuts - a positively sinful place.
Open 24/7, the display case you can see in the picture above has their super-fancy products displayed. Every 8 hours, they empty the case to put in fresher stuff and sell the old stuff at a HUGE discount. We were lucky enough to hit just at the right time... and walked out with a dozen whoppers for under $8. You can imagine what we had for supper that night!! (Daughter Súl had told me to try the maple bar topped with a slab of bacon. I thought she was nuts, but gave it a try anyway. Oh. My. Gods!!!! Out of this world!!!)
On Monday, we gassed up the car and headed west, towards Florence and the ocean. While the sand dunes right around the town are filled with a lot of detritus, so very different (and not half as nice) as the white-sand beaches here at home, we drove north to where the cliffs start. Absolutely beautiful scenery commenced!
When we got home that night, I made meatballs and gravy over rice with buttered broccoli for supper. Lacey had to be up and out of the house by 6AM the next morning for work, so we all went to bed early.
Tuesday morning, Squeek, JJ and I took our time getting ourselves all packed up for our return trip. We decided to check three bags this time, so as not to have so much to carry on the train. Squeek had to be at work at 1PM, so we had a late-ish brunch and then dropped her off at the Goodwill Industries where she works, then drove over to where Lacey worked and waited for her to get off at 1:30. Went to the train station and checked in everything but the carry-on stuff, then drove back to Enterprise to drop off the car.
After we got back to the train station, we went over to a little cafe across the corner from the depot for a soda and some time to sit and chat. Got there at 2PM, the train was due in at 5PM. Lacey stayed around for about an hour, and then she took the bus home while JJ and I went over to the depot.
While there, JJ took a slug of pictures outside - and I took some pictures of him having fun with the camera:
One thing that fascinated us both was the Victorian house just across the tracks and across the street from the train station. Evidently it's open to the public for tours and special events. The hill behind it is Skinner's Butte, which we had driven to the top of a couple of days before.
The train trip from San Luis Obispo, CA to Eugene, OR by train (Amtrak Coastal Starliner) takes 21.5 hours - if they're not running late, like they perpetually were this time around. Crossing gates not working right throughout the Salinas Valley meant that the train had to stop at each of them just to make sure nobody got hurt. Hubby picked us up at 4PM Wednesday - both JJ and I were exhausted.
Needless to say, while I enjoyed the trip and the time spent with Squeek and Lacey, I'm desperately glad to be home again. And that's my trip.
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no subject
Date: 2012-06-02 11:44 pm (UTC)I can see your point about sleep and comfortable chairs for your trip to Kentucky. Maybe you can find an inexpensive plane ticket?
- Erulisse (one L)
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Date: 2012-06-03 12:40 pm (UTC)And even better for me to finally have seen some photos of you and the gang! :)
no subject
Date: 2012-06-04 11:53 pm (UTC)Glad you are back safe and got some writing time!