We had an Adventure!
Sure, I have been out of the house since social distancing became a thing. I've gone to the grocery store a few times (Steve does most of the grocery shopping), I've had several doctor appointments for cataract surgery and follow up, two Costco trips, and one carefully distanced dinner with friends at a reopened restaurant.
But that's a far cry from the retirement I had planned when I left my job of 21 years in February. A cross-country road trip, regular yoga classes and gym time, etc. etc. were all cancelled by the pandemic. Instead I have stayed home except for absolutely necessary outings.
I attended a conference immediately after I retired, where I handled admin and logistical tasks. I consulted with my replacement at my old job by (sometimes lengthy) phone calls. I wrote (fewer days than I should), I did yard work and cleaned the house and washed dishes and clothes. I watched way too damned much television, and knitted my way through piles of yarn.
But I didn't take a day and get out of the house just for the sheer escape of it. I didn't see anything outside my tiny bubble, and the lack of connection to the outside world was taking its toll.
So a couple days ago Steve and I took off in the late morning for a drive. We had no plan, no destination, and no limits. We didn't get home until after 8, and it was marvelous! We spent nearly all the time in the car, but it was a beautiful day and we saw things we had never seen.
We drove to McMinnville (about 50 miles) for lunch from Arby's, one of the many chains we don't have in our small town. Then we drove around the local area, stopping at Evergreen Air & Space Museum. The indoor waterpark was closed of course (and I would seriously love to meet the pilot that landed that 747 on top of the building! *G*). Steve took some pictures of outdoor exhibits, but neither one of us was comfortable about going in, even though with masks and only a few people in a building large enough to house the Spruce Goose it was probably safe.
"Probably" safe isn't my jam at the moment. I masked up, walked up to the ticket counter and stuck a few bucks in the donation jar. We figured that were probably hurting as much or more than everyone, and we had benefited from the outside exhibits, so we gave them some love and went on our way.
We drove around back roads east of McMinnville, and ended up in Wheatland, where we decided to take the Wheatland Ferry over to Salem.
For those of you not familiar with Oregon geography, most of the state is defined by its rivers. The mighty Columbia forms the western two-thirds of our northern border, the Deschutes runs through Central Oregon where it powers hydroelectric facilities and eventually joins the Columbia, and the Willamette -well, a large swath of Western Oregon IS named the WIllamette Valley. It was this last one we crossed on the Ferry.
We got in line and as is common around here we were behind a large pickup truck so we couldn't see much. We were speculating about how many cars the boat could carry because we couldn't actually see it around the truck. Steve shrugged and said, "Well, it can't take too many, otherwise it would just be a bridge." For some reason I thought that was hysterical. Even after all these years he still makes me laugh. I think that's a relationship goal right there.
The picture above was taken from the ferry as we made the crossing, one of 8 or 9 vehicles on the boat. The crossing is a whopping 580 feet and took only a couple minutes, but it was just so utterly charming, and we couldn't have asked for better weather for out excursion!
From there we drove toward Salem and continued east into rural areas and small towns we had never really visited. We dawdled along back roads, circled in block in a couple tiny towns in order to see a particular historical artifact or interesting building. We saw field after field of unidentifiable green things growing the the rich soil of the river valley, with the occasional field of flowers - I think one was lavender and the another was golden poppies - providing spots of brilliant color that no camera can do justice to.
For the first time in the 30+ years we've lived in Oregon we visited the Abbey at Mt. Angel, a far larger place than I expected. It sits at the top of a hill overlooking a wide swath of the valley amid tall evergreens, with spectacular views. It was truly beautiful and peaceful. The small town below is the home of a local Oktoberfest, and the entire town is themed around that celebration. Someone I know described it as constructed entirely of sausage and beer.
We circled back into Salem, headed for the highway that would take us back across the river and over the coast range that separates our little town from the Willamette Valley. In the end we drove more than 200 miles, spent several hours just gawking at things, and ended right back where we started.
It finally struck me late in the day that I had not taken a real day off since retirement. I hadn't gone to work, but I hadn't really taken a recreation break either, and I was feeling that far more than I realized. Until I did take a real day off.
It was an Adventure, but it was also a necessary mental health day. I didn't realize how much I needed it!
