Terminus

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.  On Sunday night Grigsby and I pulled into the parking garage at the Joule Apartments in Seattle, and we took possession of our new apartment, the end of our long, fantastic journey. 

If you'll recall, in the last post we were at Crater Lake.  So how did we get from Crater Lake to Seattle?  Well, it pretty much involved traipsing around Oregon to visit family.  And unless you're family,  you probably really aren't interested in hearing me go into detail about it.  So I'll try to keep this brief.

On Thursday, after Crater Lake, and at my sister-in-law Glen's suggestion, I drove due west to Powers, Oregon to meet her brother Harry and his family.  They live on a working ranch in a gorgeous valley that's off the beaten path, between two ridges of Oregon's coastal mountain range.

The view from the front porch.

Harry, his wife Lynn, and kids Nyika and Brennan welcomed me warmly, even though I had never met any of them in person before.  (Even though we had never met in person, Nyika and I had spoken over the phone a few times when she was thinking about going to law school.)

Harry, Nyika, Brennan, and Lynn in front of their house.

The visit was very low key.  They made a wonderful dinner, and we sat around and chatted, ate, and drank.  The evening ended with late night cards and conversation.  They tried to teach me cribbage and golf, and I pretty much sucked at both.  So I just tried to charm them with my sparkling wit.  (Um, right.)

In the morning, Harry and Brennan headed out before I even got up to go clear a couple acres of land.  Seriously.  Lynn showed me around her garden -- like no garden I've seen before.  At least four different kinds of compost and almost as much produce as you'd see at Whole Foods:  artichokes, beets, shallots, garlic, leeks, greens of every persuasion, tomatos, herbs, squashes, herbs, a variety of flowers . . . . it was all out of control.  It must be a full time job just to maintain such a garden!

Nyika and I then took Grigsby for a spin with the top off.  Grigsby did his magic.  I think Nyika might have developed a bit of a crush on Grigsby.  But then again, who wouldn't??!

After our excursion, Harry and Brennan came in for lunch, looking like they had just cleared two acres of land.  Which they had.  Lynn and Nyika cooked a substantial lunch befitting a morning of hard work:  Elk Burritos!  Seriously tasty.

Once lunch was done, we said our goodbyes and I headed north to visit more family.  But not before continuing west for just a bit more.  I simply had to introduce Grigsby to the Pacific Ocean.  I managed to find some beach access, and took Grigsby for a bit of duning.

Grigsby sees the Pacific Ocean for the first time!

I put Grigsby in 4WD-L and he handled the dunes like a piece of cake.  What fun!  We will have to do that again.

We then sped north up the coast to make it to my brother Keith's before it got too late.  My brother Keith and his wife Shelley live in Sandy, which is the last major town on the way to Mt. Hood from Portland.  I would spent the next three nights at Keith and Shelley's.

Even though I stayed in Sandy, I managed to work in a day visit on Friday to Salem to visit my mother and my sister Karen.  (Friday was Karen's birthday.  Happy birthday, again, sis!)

Grigsby meets his Granny Kay for the first time!

On Saturday, Keith, Shelley and I went up to the Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to grab a late lunch and a pint.  And to watch the skiers and snowboarders do their thing.  Yes, on the next-to-last-day of July, there were kids out on the slopes.  While it's 108 degrees in Washington, DC.

For kicks, Shelley and I rode the ski lift up and back down.  (Keith isn't much of a fan of heights, so he passed.)  Up at the top, it was crazy how much snow was still on the ground.  There has been lots of snow this year, great for late-late-late season skiing; evidently it even snowed over July 4 weekend! 

Shelley forgot her glasses, poor thing!  Snow blindness much?

That night, we all went to see Cowboys and Aliens (an excellent movie, if I do say so), and the next morning, Grigsby and I set off for our last leg -- Sandy to Seattle.  And a few hours later, there we were, in our new home.  

And thus ended this series of Adventures with Grigsby.  Because, like I said, all good things must come to an end.

However, that just means that I can make room for the next good thing.  It's kind of like graduation.  It happens only when you finish your education, yet they call it "commencement."  Because there's better stuff to come.  So while this series of adventures has played itself out, there will be future adventures, I'm sure.

Many thanks to all of you for reading and keeping up with me on the road.  I hope you've enjoyed reading these posts as I've had living them!  :-)

Until next time.

Cheers.