Meandering on the Way — August 1 to 4, 2025

Friday, August 1st

We drove our friend P down to Springfield today. Her 20-year-old Volvo was on its last legs and she had been looking for a new car. She wanted a Toyota Corolla Cross, a small SUV that is available either as a gasoline car or as a hybrid. The Corvallis Toyota dealer had one on the lot, and it was a nice shade of green. But it was a gasoline only car and P wanted a hybrid. The hybrid version, though, is much in demand right now. The dealership could order one for her, but it wouldn’t come for a month or two. The Volvo wasn’t going to last that long.

When we heard about this problem, we immediately put her in touch with the Chambeck Buyer Assistance Service–a shadowy group whose origins and ultimate purposes are almost completely unknown to the general public. They suggested that she travel to the Washington, DC area and take a look at a green Lamborghini Urus.

P said that although she liked the Urus very much, it was the wrong shade of green. CBAS then went to Plan B and offered to drive her to the Springfield, Oregon area, where a local dealer had two Corolla Cross Hybrids on offer, both of them lightly used 2024 models. So off we went this morning, venturing deep into the southernmost parts of Springfield, where we had never gone before. At the dealership two salespeople assisted us, which was a little strange, but both were nice–laid back and not constantly chattering. We took a test drive (unaccompanied by a salesperson!), asked a few questions and then adjourned for lunch at a place called Plank Town. After a bit of strategizing, we went back to the car store to talk about price. How did that go? Well…just a little while later, M and E were driving back to Corvallis by themselves.

Sunday, August 3rd

We were on the road again today, going to Portland for a mild version of a night on the town. We got to the city at about 4:00 and checked into the Royal Sonesta Hotel. The hotel is located on Fifth between Washington and Alder, a part of the old downtown whose best days lie a few years in the past. (Just across Alder sits the huge cream colored building that was once the Meier and Frank flagship.) The building that the Royal Sonesta occupies is a beautiful old property that has been home to a succession of hotels over the years. We first stayed there years ago, when our friend J recommended it during its time as the Fifth Avenue Suites.

For us, the hotel had two other advantages: it wasn’t very expensive and it was close to Huber’s. Huber’s is a bar and restaurant that E had heard of and wanted to experience. It is located on Third between Washington and Harvey Milk, an area whose best days lie even farther in the past.

Huber’s claims to be Portland’s oldest restaurant, having begun life as the Bureau Saloon in 1879. A few years later the Bureau was bought by a man named Frank Huber, who gave it the name it still bears. In 1910 Huber moved the business into the newly completed Oregon Pioneer Building, where it has remained ever since. Frank Huber himself tended the bar. In the kitchen, a talented cook became famous for his roast turkey dinners. This cook, whose Americanized name was Jim Louie, was a Chinese immigrant who had come to America as an 11-year-old stowaway on a ship from Guangdong.

In 1911, when Frank Huber died, his widow Augusta hired Jim Louie to manage the restaurant. Jim took over the bartending while also keeping an eye on the turkey roasting. During Prohibition the bar shelves were empty, but the restaurant side of the business remained very successful, partly because your meal could include one of Huber’s legendary Manhattans delivered to your table in a coffee mug. When Augusta died in 1940, her son John allowed Jim Louie to purchase a half interest in the business for the sum of one dollar.

For dinner we shared crab cakes and a turkey dinner in honor of the old days. Plus, E sampled Huber’s famous Spanish coffee, which combines coffee with Kahlua, 151 proof rum, and triple sec. The drink is mixed at your table in an extravagant presentation that involves two different colored flames–one blue and one red. The end result is delicious.

Monday, August 4th

Today we went up to the Clark County Fair in Ridgefield, Washington and said hello to A. He’s up there with his food truck serving Nachos for Dessert and selling cold drinks. We indulged in our favorites, for E a Nacho S’more and for M a Cookies and Cream. While we were there, we walked through the chicken hall, looked at some prize-winning baked goods, and rode one of the ferris wheels. The Clark County fair is a big one, considerably larger than the Benton County version.

When we finally got back home to Corvallis, we found a note on our door from UPS. It said that they had tried to deliver a package that included COD charges. This was strange; we knew we hadn’t ordered anything COD. Was COD even a thing anymore? We found out that in order to get our $350 item for which the vendor had already been paid, UPS needed us to pay an additional $140 for something or other. Can we all guess what that was? (There’s a clue on the label below.)