Meandering on the Way — August 5 to 14, 2024

Sunday, August 5th

There has been a spate of credit card fraud in Corvallis. Both E and her friend H have been affected. Early this morning E checked her Visa statement online and discovered that just yesterday her credentials had been used to pay a $126 check at a local restaurant. Wanting to clear this up before departing for her trip, she immediately called the fraud prevention number. To prevent further fraud, the card was blocked. Fortunately E had another card that she could use on her trip. Then E happened to examine her card more closely. What she noticed was that it wasn’t her card. In fact it was her friend H’s card. She and H had had lunch together two days before; the cards must have gotten mixed up then.

So E went over to H’s place and they exchanged cards. So that was good, and E would be able to go off on her trip knowing that the mystery was solved. But it wasn’t clear what was going to happen about the $126. Who would end up paying and what were the ramifications? Had this simply been an accident? Or had H realized immediately that she had someone else’s card, at which point she had called her family together and announced that they were all getting a free all-you-can-eat party at the Indian restaurant, whoopee?

Then, three hours later, that was a new development. E got a text from H saying that she had checked her own Visa account and found that some fraudster had been on a spending spree! There were three separate charges that came to a total of $101. Oddly enough, the three shops involved were the same three shops that E had visited when she was out shopping the previous day. What an incredible coincidence! Or maybe not.

After dinner it was time for us to start off for the Portland airport where E was to catch a redeye to Albany, NY. We are proud to report that we did remember to bring her luggage with us.

Monday, August 6th

Mrs H met E at the Albany airport. On their way north from there, they stopped over near Corinth to see JSC, who has just had a house built for himself. E says JSC is very pleased with it.

Tuesday, August 6th

Today E moved from Mrs H’s place up to JAC’s place at Lake George. (We suspect that the trip included a stop for ice cream at the Hillbilly Fun Park.) She is staying in a small loft apartment belonging to JAC’s neighbor–the perfect location.

Back in Oregon, M took the Jaguar out for a drive into the Cascades, up over Tombstone Pass and then south down Highway 126 to MacKenzie Bridge. From there he drove Highway 242 up to the top of MacKenzie Pass, which is quite a ride. The road has dozens of very tight turns as it gains 3,500 feet of elevation in just 21 miles. At first the road climbs through forests but eventually enters a vast barrens of old lava flows.

Thursday, August 8th

M had tertulia with J and R, E having skipped town. He then went on another driving expedition, this time in the truck. He went into an area of the coast range which is quite near Corvallis. His goal was to go through the town of Alpine, Oregon and continue south. This would lead him into a 100 square mile area of rather rugged terrain, the kind that is too up and down for regular farming but perfect for tree farms and also the kind of place with no through roads but lots and lots of log hauling routes. The idea was to go in on the east side and come out on the west side.

This turned out to be a struggle. M’s map was vaguely accurate but imperfect. M’s map reading ability is much the same. Once he was into the mountains, there was only one route west, but finding it remained elusive. After several false starts, M finally found what he thought was a road that would take him to a road that would take him to the right road. Things were looking up! After a bit, however, he noticed a big pile of gravel, one that he had seen before, which meant that he was somehow circling back to where he had started. Not a happy thought.

Finally, M decided he had to give up. He was going to have to drive down out of the mountains and get himself to somewhere (anywhere) with pavement and cell service. He picked a likely looking road and off he went, much downcast about his failure and curious about exactly where he would come out. After driving another half an hour or so, he started getting more and more curious and eventually came to an inescapable conclusion: he was on exactly the road that he had always intended to take. It reminded him of the old joke about the three holes. Well, well, well.

Sunday, August 11th

Eve departed the lake today as JAC took her up north to see N, D, and H in Malone. There she was presented with a cake(!) and also got to meet Bodie.

Monday, August 12th

E stayed up the north country today so that she could visit her friend S, who lives in Saranac Lake. S lives on the upper floor of a carriage house in a nice neighborhood. The classic Saranac Lake Hotel has been recently restored and luxuriously furnished.

Back in Oregon M continued his exploration of the wilds of Benton County, this time driving from Alsea through Lobster Valley and other southwesterly places. Lobster Valley is a lovely strip of mostly level land that is enclosed on all sides by forested ridges. It’s way back in the hills and was very quiet on this summer morning. Perhaps the quietest place is the Lone Fir Cemetery.

The Sapp family were among the first Europeans to homestead in Lobster Valley and it was they who donated the land for the cemetery. Sapp descendants still live in Benton County. M met a fellow named Bob Sapp back in the seventies.

Also on this trip, M found what he believes to be a new and quite excellent route from Corvallis to Yachats. More on that another time.

Tuesday, August 13th

The next morning Mrs H drove up to join E and S for breakfast. Mrs. H–the only halfway civilized member of the group–is the one wearing shoes. Later in the day E went back with her to Glens Falls. And what did she find awaiting her there? More cake! And equally delicious.

E had a wonderful time on this trip, interacting with the younger generations at the lake, then visiting with her last surviving aunt up north, and getting to talk to some of her own old friends. She might have liked to do a bit more of that, but unfortunately she was called away by a much less happy event: JSC, who had so recently moved into his new house, was in the hospital following a stroke. She was able to visit him today and be reassured by his smiling face and alert presence. The stroke was serious, resulting in paralysis of the left side of his body, but his mind and speech are fully functional. He has already regained some control of the left arm, and will soon begin intensive therapy at a rehab facility. A sobering and sad turn of events, but there is room for optimism.

Wednesday, August 14th

E’s flight left Albany at 1:00 PM, so she had plenty of time to pack up a bit of each kind of cake and put it into her carryon. At 8:00 in the evening she arrived back at the Portland airport, only to find that it had been utterly transformed during her absence! A whole new area, long under construction, had just been opened to the public–a new arrivals hall, new ticket counters, new TSA screening areas, a beautiful ceiling and even some brand new carpet in the exact same pattern as the much lamented old carpet, the one that was removed during the Great PDX Carpet Replacement Tragedy of 2015.