Our first stop along the way was in a small town called Cottage Grove, OR, home of Cousin Deb and the Tillson Tribe. No, they are not an entire tribe of nomads or Native Americans, it just happens to be the lovely nickname for the Tillson Family. Here's a picture of Deb, Jacob and Danny (Deb's husband, Brian, was still at work and their daughter, Autumn, had gone on a trip with some family friends) along with little Noah.
After bouncing on the trampoline, taking a walk by the babbling brook, picking blackberries, and eating a delicious dinner with the Tillsons, it was time to head west to the Oregon Coast. The drive to Florence, Oregon is not necessarily too long, but it's a pretty windy (and that's not the breeze definition that I'm going for) road. Plus, it was dark. It wasn't that bad as traffic was light for the most part.
Florence is one of those small towns that you hear about but never really see. There are a few major stores (and of course, fast food), but not much else. If you want a mall or a big brand name store, you need to drive to Eugene - 70 miles away. Florence is quaint and quiet and sits on the bank of the Siuslaw River. But it's also peaceful and full of small town kindness - a complete difference than what we are used to in California.
Grandma Schwartz was our first stop and we visited for several hours, reminiscing and watching her cat, Muffy, react to a baby in the house. Noah loved spending time with his great-grandma.
The time flew by and eventually we needed to go to Aunt Paula and Uncle Tom's house for a good old fashioned home-cooked meal. Uncle Tom grilled hot dogs and we had macaroni salad and chips. And for dessert - Aunt Paula's world famous Kuchen (it's delicious). Papa Ted (Grandma's husband), Aunt Cheri and her husband, Jim, also joined us for dinner. We had a fun time chatting , eating, and watching Noah & Paula's dog, Sabrina, have the time of their lives together.
On Sunday, we went to Aunt Cheri and Jim's house for another home-cooked meal. It was Mexican night at the Jordan household as we partook in enchiladas, beans, guacamole, taquitos, chips and salsa and, of course, margaritas. Aunt Cheri is a great cook also and our dessert consisted of bumble berry tarts with ice cream - yum.
Before we left the Florence area, we stopped and said our goodbyes to Grandma and Ted.. They were grateful that we could make the trip and we, also, were glad we had gone for a visit. Joanna's "Oregon" family are great company. If only we lived closer...
When we left Florence, we took the Coast drive north to Lincoln City, Oregon, stopping for lunch at a wonderful Chinese restaurant. I know what you're thinking - Chinese food in Oregon? How does it taste? It tastes great. It really did. And we were also surprised that we continually saw not only Chinese restuarants, but several Thai restaurants as well. A pleasant surprise to say the least. From Lincoln City, we turned east and headed to Portland on a two-lane highway. With a lot of traffic. And I mean A LOT of traffic. At one point, it seemed that if someone were to get out of the car and walk - they would get farther than we would in the car.
We arrived in Portland, checked into our hotel, and rested a bit before heading over to my aunt and uncle's home in Vancouver. When you approach the house during the day - like we were fortunate to do - you will notice the vast yard. People from California don't really see lawns that are this large in most places. My aunt and uncle had met Nick and Anna previously (at our wedding) but it was nice for them to meet again and have more time to visit.
We all went out to the backyard and my Aunt Teresa took everyone on a tour of her large sunflower and fruit & vegetable garden. Our homemade dinner there was as fresh as possible, with Teresa using several vegetables from her garden. It was nice to see Genaro and Teresa along with my cousin, Marisa, and her husband, Dan.
It was special to see everyone that we were able to on this trip. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful dinners and hospitality.
