On the first Monday of each month, I do a Memory Lane Monday post.   Yes, I know we already have TBT and FBF, but I like the sound of Memory Lane Monday.  Plus today happens to be Monday and I had a memory today that I wanted to share, so there you go.  So let’s step it up, and head down Memory Lane…

Before I get into the memory, I just have to THANK GOD that today we are finally feeling the beginnings of fall temperatures here!  What a sweet relief!  With that out of the way, back to Memory Lane Monday.

 

How the Trip Originated

I was thinking today how a year ago this month Big Eagle and I went on one of the best vacations we’ve had.  It’s funny how things work out.  The impetus for this trip was our son Danny and his then fiance Erin and their wedding plans.  At the time their plan was to get married at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon.  We wanted to preview the site and find a venue to host their rehearsal dinner.   We had never been to Oregon before, so we were looking forward to seeing new sites!

 

Hood River Valley Harvest Festival

Because of weather delays, the first day was all travel.  But the day after we arrived in Oregon, one of the fun things we did was attend the Hood River Valley Harvest Festival.

 

After we ogled all of the wonderful fruits and veggies for sale, we made a couple of purchases and had lunch while listening to live fiddle music.

 

Montinore Winery

One of the highlights of the next day was driving to Forest Grove and visiting the Montinore Winery for a tasting!

We bought 3 bottles to take home.  Then after lunch at Ridgewalker Brewing Company, we drove to Newburg and did a tasting at the Rex Hill Winery.

 

Crater Lake

The next day we drove to Crater Lake National Park.

 

This picture shows Big Eagle at the top part of Cleetwood Cove Trail which leads down to the tour boat landing.  Crater Lake is absolutely beautiful!  I took many more pictures than this.  If you’re ever in Oregon and able to go… DO IT!

 

Silver Falls State Park

The next day we drove to Silver Falls State Park.  This was the main reason for the trip, so we were excited!  We didn’t get there until late afternoon, and we had nothing with us to eat, so after checking in and getting our things into our cabin, we drove into town to eat and pick up something to take back to our cabin for breakfast the next morning.  So we didn’t really get to venture out into the park until the next day.

Checking Out the Ranch Houses

Danny had told us he was interested in reserving one of the two ranch houses at the park.  So the next day, we spent some time scoping them out.

 

 

 

I could definitely see a party happening in either one of these places!

 

Hiking

Next, we spent some time hiking some of the trails.

 

The fall foliage was spectacular!

 

This is just one of the waterfalls we saw on our hikes over the two days.  On this particular one, you’re able to hike right behind the waterfall in what looks like a little cave area in this picture.  During that hike is when Big Eagle noticed a group of older male hikers using trekking poles.  He was inspired to put them on his Christmas list.  That was a good thing, because they sure did become a valuable tool when we were hiking last August!

 

Possible Reception Spot?

After our waterfall hike, we went to a part of the park that touted a shelter surrounded by grassy meadow.  We weren’t sure if it was anything the bride and groom had in mind, but maybe it would make a nice reception location.  So we snapped a few pics to share with them.

 

In this picture, it looks kind of like a little cabin in the woods, but that’s the shelter.

 

This is part of the inside of the shelter.  Not a bad party spot, right?

 

Possible Venue for Rehearsal Dinner?

That night we drove into Silverton and had dinner at the Silver Grille.  We were hoping it might meet our expectations of a rehearsal dinner spot.  For dinner I had a wine and cheese plate, and Big Eagle had tomato soup.  We were saving room for dessert, because we knew we would want one served at the rehearsal dinner.

This was my dessert.  Don’t ask me what it was, because I don’t remember, but I DO remember that it was good!

And this was Big Eagle’s dessert.  We decided this place would fit the bill, and I spoke with the owner before leaving and let her know we might be back in touch.

 

Sad News?

The next morning, Big Eagle spoke with the staff at the park to make reservations for the weekend of the wedding.  We were pretty shocked to find out that there were no reservations to be had!  There was already a wedding booked for that weekend, and they had the whole conference area already reserved.

I made the heading to this section a question, because I’m not so sure the way everything turned out, that it really was sad news.  We had had a truly marvelous vacation.  One we may never have taken if the circumstances hadn’t been what they were.  And it’s a pretty futile exercise to wonder what might have been in this situation.

As it turned out, Danny and Erin were married in Haines, Alaska.  If you haven’t already, you can read about it here.  I can say some moments couldn’t have been nearly as meaningful if it weren’t for this turn of events.  The particular spot where the ceremony was held and the words that were spoken by their officiant and friend Sam gave so much meaning and sentiment to the nuptials that could not have happened in the Oregon setting.  Danny’s childhood friend Ryan was able to play such an important role in the weekend, and that also would not have been the same in Oregon.

Oregon was beautiful.  And Big Eagle and I had a vacation that we can look back on and savor.  Like I said near the beginning…it’s funny how things turn out.  I do believe there’s a master plan.  And a beautiful plan it is.

 

Back Home

I can’t write this post without saying a special thank you to my sister Susan!  The whole time we were in Oregon, she was at our place with our sweet mom.  I can never ever thank her enough for all the times she stood in for me so Big Eagle and I could have our getaways.  I love this gal so much!

 

So…October memories.  What does that bring to mind for you right now?  Please share anything that is on your mind: memories, weddings, vacations, life in general, whatever is on your mind.

 

 

 

 

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