Learning the ropes (roads)

"Follow us," was the admonition from the natives. We went in two cars just before noon as we headed for Beaverton, OR a suburb of Portland about 20 miles from here. Beaverton, by the way, is famous for Nike and Intel. It is somewhat upscale and, of course much more congested that Newberg.

Please picture the terrain here as similar to parts of PA. You come in through flat land but quickly you are in hills and roads bend and wind all over. Maybe that is what we like about Oregon so much: it reminds us of parts of Pennsyltucky (as my old friend, Russ George, Sr. used to say.) The valley is flat, to be sure, but there are hills, and foothills and PA type mountains around the next bend...and looming in the eastern horizon are the big white ghosts. On a clear day on the right road you can see several of them. This is all germaine to the story, so hang with me.

We were headed to a Korean restaurant for lunch. Bren was in Dallas, TX all week and the boys missed their dad. They thought it would be a good family outing. Aleene and I were along for the cuisine. We hadn't had B-bim-bop for 12 years and we heard that the Bul-go-gee was really quite nice.

When you follow someone in traffic on winding roads you are always subject to not making the lights or turns. And with a few such pauses, we made it all the way there...past the big mall with its Nordstroms and Cheesecake Factory; pretty direct, we thought.

We had a wonderful lunch with the traditional side dishes: kim-chee, cukes, seaweed, tofu, fluffy egg, and patoto salad. You heard me right. Some of the best tasting patato salad I've had is about six months. The boys did well and we got reacquainted with the delightful flavors of veggies, rice and soup. Amy got egg on hers...which is how it normally is served, but Aleene and I said no thanks, or as they say in Korean "...egg upsayo" or something like that.

From the restaurant we followed the Scion to the Asian market...big sucker, it is. Uwijimaya it is called. Got some rice (very inexpensively priced) and saw loads of other stuff. It reminded me of the Strip in PGH because of the meat and fish presentation.

In the parking lot Amy asked if we needed help getting home..... "Nawww, we know our way back," I said. Well, let me tell you. We should have left bread crumbs. We got out of the big city, but evidentally missed a turn half way home (at Roy Rogers Road) and ended up in rolling mountains just west of here. It is on the top of one of these that Bren and Amy were married...and low and behold we saw where we were. Saw, you ask? Yep, when you go winding up this road you can see clear to Mt. Ranier on a clear day...and clear it was. There they were...Mr. Hood, Mr. Adams, St. Helens and I think the Big R. What a treat. I forgot that within ten miles of Newberg you could see these great shimmering ghosts. They are snow covered clear down as far as you can see so they are really reflecting sun on a day like this. What a sight.

We made it back ok, but were disappointed that we did not make it the way we thought we were going on the first try. This is very rural country once out of the burbs and we passed lots of sheep and grapes and Hazel nut groves.

We are getting better at getting around. But this is not like the midwest or other flat places we have lived or visited. You better know your route or else you will get off in never, never land.

"Yo, Bren, we're right behind you."