Tag: adventure

Mainly Muskegon

Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that it was a whole year ago that I had been to Michigan and spent time in Holland and outside of Grand Rapids in Jenison. This time around was so different. With the freedom to travel by car, every day activities like going to a movie or to the grocery store were just easier. It’s one of the things I’ve had to adjust to outside of the RV. In Grand Rapids, unlike Evanston, I was able to establish a routine, which felt like a step back to getting normal.

I read a few books, I did some meal planning with an actual oven and full-sized refrigerator, and I did more baking – one of my favorite things. I made banana bread and chocolate chip cookies and monster cookies. Thankfully, I had friends to share them with, but I ate my fair share. I also went to the same hairstylist twice. I found Studio 3 Salon because it was open on Sunday, and I found a wonderful stylist who really listened to what I needed and was able to deliver.

These might seem like small things, but it all feels like really big – like I’m returning to a “normal” life. I am forever grateful for my time on the road and all the adventures, but there’s a part of me – a very big part of me – that is yearning for a place to call my own and, well, my own furniture. 😂

Muskegon

I did get a chance to drive out to Muskegon a few times when I was in Grand Rapids. On my first trip, I had intended to go to the Muskegon Museum, but I failed to read the tiny print, and it was the only Saturday (other than holidays) that it is closed during the year. 🍫 So, I went and bought a purse instead.

My second trip out to Muskegon involved a tour of the area with a work friend who spent the day taking me around the area and showing me all the fabulous beaches and places to eat. To start, we had delicious hand-press lemonades and cookies at The Gooleyguk Cafe.

On the way around Lake Michigan, we stopped at cantilevered, replica of the historic Fort Dearborn – The Block House – in the State Park. It sits high on a hill and is a remarkable piece of craftsmanship.

We visited a lighthouse that was built in 1875 – White River Light Station & Museum. We didn’t take the tour, but we did enjoy its channel and the lake views.

We stopped at a great shop in Whitehall, Colby’s Hokey Pokey, as well as the town’s General Store, which had souvenirs and so much beautiful fabric. We had lunch at Colby’s Cafe and Brew in Whitehall and shared a really great strawberry lemonade cupcake. On the way back through Muskegon, we stopped at the pop-up shops in the downtown area. One of the spots we stopped was Jeremy Church‘s photography, and he gave us both a free print and signed them. We had a great day!

On my third trip to Muskegon, I was finally able to tour the Muskegon Art Museum. Now, I will bore you with some of the art that I loved while I was there.

(L to R) Bow of Ulysses by Richard Hunt (the picture doesn’t do its form justice); The Road Through the Common by Jose Weiss; there was a whole room of glass art that was all unique and lovely to wander through.

(L to R) I didn’t grab a close-up of the title card for this one, but it’s so striking I had to include it; Nassau Beach by Leon Cabo; Tea Cup by Lee Price.

The primary reason for my visit to the Muskegon Art Museum was to see the Julia Child exhibit. There were many artifacts from her life, and I enjoyed taking a peek at those items. I didn’t appreciate how it was organized – more like things were put to fit a space instead of any kind of order. Nonetheless, it was worth it to spend some time amongst her things and her history.

For lunch, I asked the person running the gift shop for a recommendation for a great burger place. She recommended Hamburger Mikey’s, which was a short walk from the museum. It was a really delicious burger and French fries. I enjoyed the burger and fries on the pier at Heritage Landing. And, even though it was Bike Time in Muskegon, the pier was fairly empty other than seagulls and a few fishermen.

I really enjoyed spending time in Muskegon and would go back for another burger in a heartbeat.

I will also make time to check out their beautiful Hackley Library. This is the Shakespeare garden outside of the library.

A Rainy Day Adventure

In mid-June, we had some rain, and it was that kind of rain when the world just feels fresh after – not the kind of rain where it feels like a sauna. On one of those rainy days, I had the chance to drive to see a couple more Frank Lloyd Wright houses northwest of Detroit.

The first tour was at the Affleck House in Bloomfield Hills. There were a lot of unique features to this property that I enjoyed.

Under one of the cantilevers there was this shaded lounge area that had a small stream running through it. The bathroom and office area featured these unique windows to aid with the cross breeze and added to the aesthetic. The living room and dining room featured this beautiful planked ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows/doors. The natural light was stunning even on that overcast day.

One of my favorite parts of the FLW houses are the locations. They are almost always set in treed and lush properties – so naturally part of the landscape.

The Smith House was associated with the Cranbrook in Bloomfield Township. I had no idea how big the campus was, and I missed an opportunity to tour the Cranbrook House, but I did have a chance to wander around the Art Museum on the campus before the Smith house tour. I’m on the fence, in general, about midcentury modern design. The museum featured work done at the Cranbrook in support of that design style with different furniture and textiles and art pieces. The Eames exhibit was very interesting. I had lunch in their downstairs cafe and walked around some of the gardens as well.

The Smiths were art enthusiasts and had art in their home and on the property, which backed up to a small pond. Because of all the personal effects still in the home, it felt more “lived in” than some of the other FLW houses I’ve toured.

The Smiths also re-appropriated some of the spaces as well, which probably had FLW rolling in his grave, but a house only works when it fits what its dwellers need, so I could appreciate the changes they made to make it work for them. Isn’t that office just so great? Proving that a small room can be a functional retreat for work and rest.

I really do love the windows that utilize the mitered glass to create an invisible corner for a better view of the outdoors. Like Thoreau wrote: “We can never have enough of nature. We must be refreshed by the sight of inexhaustible vigor, vast and titanic features….” Another beautiful property that I am grateful to have gotten to explore.

When you tour more than one FLW home in the same day, you often run into the same people. This time, I met a couple from Ohio and a young man at the Affleck House and then again at the Smith House. It was fun to compare notes with them about the different houses and about my travel plans. I wish I had more time and energy to spend, but I was ready to head back home after the Smith tour.

Back in Grand Rapids, Arthur had extra time for cuddles and cuteness and helped me most days at work from his perch.

Tales of a Tourist

I did make some time to be a tourist in Chicagoland. I was able to schedule tours at two of the Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Oak Park, including his home and studio.

It really was like a “full circle” kind of moment when I was on the tour of his home. Even though he didn’t live there long, you can feel how the origin of the person and the design aesthetic began. There were some more traditional styles mixed with what would become his signature style.

Some interior pictures of the woodwork and a mural in a bedroom.

His office was my favorite part of that tour.

In late May, I had a chance to tour the Robie House as well. The lighting and the glass art were beautiful in this home.

Based on what I’ve learned about Frank Lloyd Wright over the dozen or so houses I’ve toured, I don’t think he’d be my first pick for an architect. I admire his work, love the art glass, and can truly appreciate his style, but living in the FLW house would be a nightmare – leaky roofs, dark spaces, and uncomfortable, built-in furnishings.

On a particularly adventurous day, I drove into the city proper for some museum time and a boat tour on the river.

I saw some pretty famous art the Art Institute of Chicago and also saw some art that I really liked.

The Chagall stained glass windows were incredible, and I was surprised and delighted to see a Monet winter scene and an O’Keefe that was not set in the southwest.

There was so much to see, but I think I did get to every wing of the institute and would highly recommend it if you have a few hours in Chicago.

I also saw the “bean” from a distance when I was walking to the Art Institute.

I thought I could fit all of the tourist stuff in one post, but alas, I am tired, so one more about Chicagoland, and then we’ll be off to Michigan.

What’s Next?

I finally had a moment to make a page dedicated to our 520 days living in Estella and traveling the country. If you haven’t seen it, you can find it here: https://mshapsandestella.com/where-we-stayed/. Some days, it feels like that time passed in a blink of an eye, and other days, I am so exhausted when I think back to all the places we traveled.

We have narrowed our list for phase two of the journey, and I’ve updated the page to reflect that we’re on to our next thing – just me (Ms. Haps) and Arthur. If you missed it, I started jotting down ratings of the cities that I thought could possibly be our new home. When we were in Texas, I narrowed the list down to a few of my favorites and eliminated some others.

Chicagoland, IL

I initially didn’t have this on the list because Chicago is huge, but there were a few things that swayed me to add it. There are a lot of potential suburban areas that aren’t as big as Chicago itself. It’s easier to find a condo where I would have zero yard work. And, most importantly, it’s really close to my family and friends in Minnesota.

Grand Rapids / Ann Arbor, MI

I really enjoyed my time in Michigan. Both Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor are great-sized cities, and they both have a lot to offer in terms of medical care, diversity, climate, and all the other things on my list. This was an easy choice to add.

Buffalo, NY Area

I just fell in love with East Aurora, NY, and the towns in that area. I could take or leave Buffalo itself, but the surrounding communities and the proximity to the Great Lakes and the East Coast vibe were definitely drawing me in.

Why didn’t those other highly rated cities make the list?

If I only had to give one reason why most of them didn’t make it, it would be because it would too hot in the summer. Prescott, AZ, Albuquerque, NM, and Austin, TX were all really great, but I know the summers would do me in. Missoula, MT was right up there in the running, but in the end, it was too small for what I was looking for and maybe a bit too remote. Salem, OR, was highly rated, but the west coast seemed just too far west. Prince Edward Island (yes, all of it) was my hands down favorite, but Canada just isn’t in the cards for me yet.

So, back in April, Estella was stored in one of my parents’ out buildings, and Arthur and I left for Chicagoland – Evanston, IL, to be exact. We will spend a couple of months in each of the areas and have a longer stint in the Buffalo area. I know IL and MI winters, but a winter in Buffalo is something I’ve never experienced, so we will be spending the 2025-26 winter there to see if we can endure it. It’s been over a decade since I experienced a real winter; I just want to make sure I’m still made of the stuff that can take it.

We will be living in furnished places in all of these areas. While we were in Texas, I booked AirBnBs and places through Furnished Finder for the next 12 months, signed leases, and tried to explain to Arthur that we weren’t done just yet.

What if they don’t work out?

It’s a distinct possibility that we’ll travel to all these great areas and not be as enamored with any of them as I had hoped. I’ve kept Estella just in case that’s what happens, and we’ll head back out again. I’ve been lucky enough to live in all sorts of places, so I think, at the end of the day, it’ll either be somewhere I’ve lived before or one of these new areas.

I hope you’ll stick with us even if we’re not traveling in the RV anymore. There are many more adventures to come as we continue the search for our Unicorn City.

Weirdly (about) Austin

I was realizing that the last post was more about San Antonio instead of Austin, so this one – I promise – will actually be about, you guessed it, Austin.

When I returned from Austin, the part for my fridge had arrived, which I also forgot to tell you that I ordered when I got to Austin. I figured out that it was likely the thermistor after doing some reading and asking around. This did involve me learning what a thermistor is, but when it arrived, I installed it without issue, and just like that – we have refrigeration again. Thankfully, I have small hands and a basic sense of survival, which proved to be vital in this repair. 🍫🍫 Throughout this journey, I’ve learned that I can live without running water, refrigeration, and in the most desperate of times – without electricity.

This prompted a trip to HEB for fridge-worthy supplies, an hour and thirty minute round trip to Chicken Salad Chick, and a stop at an independent bookstore (BookPeople) for a book. Austin is excellent for indie shops, and since I decided I was going to go to some library book clubs while I was in town, it was a great find.

Meanwhile, back in Minnesota, my Dad went to test drive a car for me that I had seen online and had expressed some mild interest in. (After Austin, it was gonna be just a short amount of time before Arthur and I would leave Estella behind and head out for some extended stays in the cities that were the finalists for our Unicorn City.) So, through my Dad and his BFF at the car dealership, Troy, I was able to buy a car in MN while living in TX. More on that later.

Because I was so close to College Station and had meant to go to the George Bush Presidential Museum the last time I was there, I made the trek there. It was a really well done museum. I even got to look very presidential.

I really didn’t want the picture behind his desk, but the docent made it sound like it was a requirement, so TA-DA, here I am behind a replica of President Bush’s desk, looking very presidential with my backpack. The sculpture outside the museum was also outstanding. I love horses and how they incorporated them into a monument celebrating the Berlin Wall coming down was well done.

There were some really beautiful moments at the RV park as well. Like this sunset.

And stars!

I had a work trip to Florida during my time in Austin, so I got to experience the Austin airport, which was great – easy and breezy – a very different experience from Houston.

A friend visited from Waco for a day of adventure in Austin. We went for brunch at True Food Kitchen at The Domain. Then we headed over to LBJ’s Presidential Museum.

There was a really nice art display and a good amount of Lady Bird’s personal effects and her office, overlooking the university. We had a good time wandering through history and then decided to go to grab a snack near the RV park. It was good, but I can’t remember where we were, but it’s just outside of Del Valle, TX. And I do remember that I had the steak nachos.

Well, we’re all starting to get tired, so more Austin later.

Keeping Austin Weird – Part 1

It’s almost been two months since I’ve had a chance to sit down and write. Between work, getting out and about, and adjusting to living in spaces larger than a van, I’ve been busy, but it’s time to finish up our RV journey and talk about how our search for our Unicorn City is going.

I’ve always known that Texas would not be my final destination for one reason >> the seemingly never-ending, oppressively hot summers that start in March and last through October. If you ask a Texan, they’d probably disagree and tell you that it’s “really nice in March, April, September, and October”, but I am here to say that 100 in September is not “really nice” in my book.

So, January and February in Austin were perfect for me, Arthur, and Estella. On January 17, we left Houston and headed to Austin, and I planned a three-hour drive for many reasons but mostly because Arthur hadn’t been on the move for over two months. He did pretty well considering, but when we stopped in Bastrop for provisions, his will to continue had completed depleted.

Since we were only about 30 minutes from our RV park, the howling was tolerable. We stayed at Austonia outside of the city, and it was one of the very best parks we stayed at. When I made the reservation, they were undergoing a renovation but were certain they would be done by the time we arrived. The bathrooms were fantastic. The shower rooms were so spacious and clean, which was great for our two-month stay. They were also a lot more comfortable about water usage during the winter, and that was refreshing.

On our second night, we got snow! It wasn’t a lot, but it was really nice to have some snow and feel a little winter.

This was the view out of Estella’s front window.

I picked up a rental car after being in Austin for about two weeks. Time to get out and explore! I went out to get my hair done, found a Sbarro for a slice of pizza, and got ready to head to San Antonio for work. Once again, I found a wonderful Arthur sitter through Rover.com, so I knew he would be in good hands while I was away.

My drive to San Antonio was a reminder of what happens to highway infrastructure when cities grow faster than the roads. There was a lot of road construction, and the traffic was more than your average city’s rush hour. Even though Houston’s labyrinth of highways and frontage roads were daunting, it efficient.

In San Antonio, I had some credits to use, so I stayed at the Eilan Hotel & Spa. This place was massive, but my room was the perfect size with a balcony and plenty of space to spread out.

Great views from my hotel room balcony.

Since I didn’t get into San Antonio until late afternoon, I didn’t do a lot of exploring. I did try Raising Cane’s and went to see “A Complete Unknown” in Boerne. I had heard so many good things about Raising Cane’s and about their sauce. I thought it was fine. The chicken was good, but the sauce – to me – was meh.

I was treated to this beautiful sunset as I was leaving Raising Cane’s and headed to the movie.

On Sunday, I met with some friends at the historic Pearl district near downtown for lunch at Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, and we had great conversation and a lot of laughs. The food was delicious as well. We walked around after lunch and visited a gorgeous market. I also stopped at Bakery Lorraine for an almond chocolate croissant and cookies. A tres manifique day!

The rest of my time in San Antonio flew by. I was able to work in the company office in downtown San Antonio and then had a delicious dinner with a friend, his wife, and their kids at Dough Pizzeria Napoletana.

Arthur enjoyed looking out the window at our neighbors throughout our time in Austin.

On To The Mitten

(I’ve been on a break from blogging as we finished up 2024 with a lot of travel and some rest. Hope to keep a more regular schedule in the New Year.)

So long Illinois! After a month in IL, Arthur, Estella, and I were ready to make our move further east into Michigan. Our first stop was outside of Holland. We stayed at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds, which was very, very empty, but we did have some squirrel friends that kept Arthur entertained. RV camping at fairgrounds around the country has been hit or miss. This was kinda a miss. 🍫 Certain stays make you grateful for newer bathroom facilities and the safety of just having other campers around – this was one of them. We felt safe the whole time we were there, but it was definitely not the best fairgrounds for a week-long stay.

A lovely part of our location was its proximity to Lake Michigan. A co-worker who lives in the area drove over for dinner one night with her family. We had dinner at The Curragh in downtown Holland, which was a great Irish meal. We also ventured over to Kilwins for dessert. It was so lovely to hang out with their family as we drove around and took a trip out to the lake before they dropped me off. I had forgotten how fun conversation can be with two young boys!

On the Fourth of July, I walked to Holland State Park. For this part of our trip I went without a rental car, and my legs felt it. It was about 3.5 miles each way to the park, but it wasn’t too warm, and I made some stops along the mostly shaded walk and mostly overcast day. The park was packed! There were also numerous boats going through the channel and a lot of people taking in the lake and some beach time. The traffic into the park was unreal. I definitely beat many, many cars on foot.

I also made a pitstop at the Ottawa Beach General Store , which was very busy, but they had everything from ice cream to souvenirs to wine and beer. I picked up some post cards and a magnet and walked a little further down the sidewalk for a snack at Reservoir. I ended up having a Pina Colada, some broccolini, and garlic bread, but it was just want I needed to make it the last 2.5 miles back to the RV.

We spent the rest of the week just working and relaxing during our downtime. (Arthur demonstrating how relaxed he felt.)

A fun surprise greeted us when I started up Estella to head over to our next location. We had the dreaded you-only-have-so-many-starts-til-the-engine-goes-into-limp-mode message that Mercedes kindly provides when something is wrong. 🍫🍫🍫 We’d seen the message before when we were short on DEF fluid, but then it cleared when I put more fluid in. This time, I knew we were good on DEF, so no bueno.

I had already planned to check out of our campsite and drive up to the Hackley & Hume Historic Site in Muskegon, and since we still had 16 starts to go, we made the trip up.

Stay tuned…Did we make it to the next campsite without going into limp mode? Was the Hackley & Hume Historic Site cool? Did Arthur ever manage to catch any fish on the iPad?

On Wisconsin…and Iowa!

Over Memorial Day, I headed out to Wheeler, Wisconsin, to experience some wilderness and all that Menomonie had to offer. My friend and her hubby bought some land in Wheeler and have their camper trailer parked up there. So, for the long weekend, we ate pudgie pies, paged through magazines we’d subscribed to and never got around to reading, went a movie on a rainy day, drove around the UW Stout campus, and took in the sights of Menomonie – including the local Fleet Farm and a lovely greenhouse between Wheeler and Menomonie. We didn’t shower and sat close enough to the campfire that it didn’t matter.

We were basically boon docking, so I had a go at turning on my generator to get some power, and the good news is that it worked! It worked after several attempts, but it worked. 🍫🍫 I promptly celebrated with coffee and chocolate while charging my devices.

Our set-up in Wheeler and me, gaffawing at something very hilarious.

On to Iowa

Capping the trifecta of Midwestern states was a trip to Iowa. It’s possible that you’ve heard me refer to Iowa as Idiots Out Wandering Around, but it really isn’t that bad. I stayed outside of Ankeny and was able to visit my two favorite cousins who live in Iowa, go to Adventureland with a grad school friend and her family, and have dinner with a co-worker and her family at Hickory Park. Iowa was great.

I stayed at Cherry Glen Campground in Johnston, Iowa. They had great bathrooms, and their showers featured this push-button system, which is something I hadn’t encountered before. It was actually pretty great and probably even better for conserving water. The bathrooms were so clean – such a luxury. We had a limited view of the lake from our spot, and I even made a new friend when I went to take out the trash.

My new friend – just sunning itself and living life. Because I am a good friend, I just let it do its thing. 🍫 I did tell another camper about it, so he wouldn’t be surprised.

NOTE: WordPress has this feature where you can generate an AI image with a few key words. I went with “fun in Iowa alone”, and this is what I got. Absolutely brilliant output. While I do have other pictures in Iowa, there are kids in them, and that’s just not something I want to put on the internet.

Off to make some brownies. Only a short break. I’ll be back to discuss Springfield, Illinois, next.

Next Stop – Portlandia!

This is my first time in Oregon, and I wanted to spend a solid month here, but I also wanted to see other areas. Since I lived a lot of my 20s and 30s in Minneapolis, I thought Portland would possibly be a good fit for me – even if it was a little bigger than what I had originally thought I would like.

Before I could get on the road, I needed to dump my black and grey tanks. Since Arthur doesn’t like to do errands in Estella, I decided to do this right before we left. There was a dump station at the campground, but we had to drive through about 20 truck / horse trailers to get there since there was a horse show going on when we left. 🍫 This wasn’t a big deal, but it did test my turning skills. Luckily, I didn’t hit any trucks, trailers, horses, or people.

After dumping the tanks, I headed up to Portland from Corvallis in mid-March (and yes, I know I’m really late in getting to these blogs from March / early April). My co-worker who lives in Portland mentioned that the last In-n-Out Burger was just north of Albany, so I had to stop on my way to Portland. There’s a lot of hype around In-n-Out, so I wasn’t surprised that there was a line out the door at 11:30 on a Saturday. I only had to wait about 30 minutes for my cheeseburger, and it was worth it – flavorful and comforting. The fries – not so much; they kinda had the texture of styrofoam.

The drive up to Portland was uneventful. There was an accident once we got into the city, but it didn’t hinder us, and we ended up arriving at Jantzen Beach RV Park around 2:30. This RV park is on Hayden Island in the river between Oregon and Washington. We had a good spot – not too big, not too small. We were also right next to the bathrooms and laundry, which was really convenient for showers. The only downside was that there was always security light coming in from that building, and it drove Arthur bananas. 🍫🍫 I had to rig a curtain over the window to block the light, so he wouldn’t be chasing the light across my face during the night.

Portland just reinforced how much I enjoy visiting places where friends live. This time, I got to spend a lot of time hanging out with my co-worker and his wife. They were incredibly generous hosts who made sure I got to see the neighborhoods and downtown Portland on multiple occasions and ran me to / from the airport to pick up and drop off my rental car. We had dinner at places that only locals know about, I worked from their house when the power went out on the whole island one afternoon, and we even solved a mystery together! Unfortunately, we never thought to take a photo, so this visit will have to live in our memories only.

One rainy afternoon after work, I drove over to Multnomah Falls and took the quick hike up to the bridge that you can see in this picture. The path was slick, so I didn’t venture any further up, but it was a great drive, and I ate dinner at the restaurant that they have there. Full transparency, I would not eat there again, but they did have a tasty alcoholic peppermint hot chocolate…. The food was not great.

More to come on my weekend adventure to Seattle next time.

Cor-vuh-lis or Cor-vah-lis?

You know, I still don’t know for sure how to pronounce it, but I spent a lovely two weeks at the Benton County Fairground RV park. As a young person in 4-H, I spent a lot of time at fairgrounds, primarily the Martin County Fair. It’s a great idea as well – for fairgrounds to rent out their RV sites when there isn’t a fair going on.

We had a great spot, and it was a first long-term camping with only water and electric – no sewer. I wasn’t sure how much of a challenge this would be since we’d been staying at parks that were full hook-up (electric, water, sewer). Surprisingly, we didn’t have any issues. Our grey and black tanks were sufficient for that long of a stay. We used less water, but that’s probably just a good thing in general. We also had a spot in an area that hardly had any other occupants, so Arthur was on full-time neighborhood watch.

Must keep RV safe.

I did rent a car and ended up with one that I’d never had the chance to drive before – VW Tiguan. It was an older model, but interesting nonetheless.

Did it rain a lot? After coming up from Morro Bay, it wasn’t really that bad and definitely not unpleasant. We had a lot of days of sun and hit the 70s a few times.

The trying part of the trip to Corvallis was the stretch after we left Highway 101. It started out great. There was a beautiful snowfall and a good amount of traffic that was moving at a decent clip on 126 after Florence. There was an intersection in Mapleton where literally everyone else turned right to go to Eugene, and I decided to go straight on highway 36. 🍫🍫🍫 Not sure how the snow compared on 126, but 36 winds next to the Siuslaw River, which was high and angry. It was extra exciting because highway 36 was pretty narrow, and I was in the outer lane, right near the angry river. The good news was that there was no one else on this road, so I did Pac-Man the road for quite a long time. I did see some very beautiful small towns, including Deadwood near Triangle Lake. All in all, it was about 40 miles of white-knuckle driving.

When we arrived in Corvallis, I stopped at the Walmart to grab some supplies because – believe it or not, they don’t have a Target in Corvallis. Strike one against Corvallis. Between the RV, the Girl Scout cookie table, and somewhere in the store, I lost one of my airPods. I usually only use one airPod at a time, so I only lost one. 🍫 I didn’t discover that I had lost it until we were at our campsite. I did end up trying to go back and see if anyone turned it in, but – alas – no such luck.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before or not, but I love to tour old houses. Frank Lloyd Wright homes are my favorite to visit, but any historic home will do. So, I toured the Deepwood Mansion in Salem, OR. It was a great tour with knowledgable guide and a friendly group of young women. When I told them about my journey, one of them offered me her phone number and said to call if I needed anything while I was in this part of Oregon. Really can’t emphasize enough how many extremely kind people I’ve met on this journey.

The gardens were just starting to bloom, and the woodwork in this place was amazing.

After Salem, I headed over to Silverton, OR, for lunch at the Main Street Bistro and for a tour of The Gordon House, the only publicly accessible FLW house in the NW. The couple that commissioned the house were farmers, and the conservation group had to move the house from the farm land when new owners decided to tear it down. I’ve been able to tour Kentuck Knob, Fallingwater, and Taliesin. Can’t wait to see more on my travels.

On my way back from Silverton, I stopped by the Willamette Valley Pie Shop. This was a great idea provided by the gals I toured the Deepwood Gardens house with. I picked up some gifts there for my Dad’s birthday, and a Marionberry hand pie for me!! It probably goes without saying that it was delicious, and Dad enjoyed the gifts I found for him there.

I did end up swinging by and touring the other historic house in Salem – the Bush House. This was a grander house than the Deepwood Mansion, but it wasn’t as lovely. Before the tour, I was able to walk around a small gallery on the grounds of the house that featured art from local school students. It was really nice, and I ended up getting to meet one of the young artists who was there with her Mom.

The last highlight of Corvallis was the Ol’ Spaghetti Factory. The last time I had eaten at one of these was when the one in Minneapolis on Washington Ave was still open – maybe decades ago? The food isn’t great, but sometimes it’s the nostalgia that enhances the flavors.