The Scenic Route......Home At Last??

It still amazes me that five grown women, one motel room, (albeit with three queen size beds) and one bathroom survived a night together with nothing but each other for entertainment. It had been a busy week, we were tired, stressed from the events of the day, and ready for our own homes and beds. Miraculously, we made through the night with no hair pulling, weeping, or gnashing of teeth.

It took at least three hours before we all performed our morning miracles, got a rental car, loaded up our treasures and ourselves and headed toward home. After stopping for a short brunch, we were finally on the last leg; no stops from here on out we promised ourselves.

If you've ever been to Portland, OR, you know how there is no line of demarcation between all the little towns in that area. So, when we left the Gresham restaurant where we had stopped, traffic was pretty heavy in all six lanes and, since we were headed for Interstate 84 East, Sandee moved the van over to the far left lane to avoid traffic entering the freeway from the many off ramps on the right. This portion of the freeway was separated from West bound traffic only by concrete barriers, maybe four feet in height. As we settled down for the remainder of the trip, we were commenting on how good it felt to finally be our way and MaryHell was on the cell phone giving Bill an estimated time of our arrival and telling him to have (he's a great cook) some dinner ready when we got there. I was sitting on the passenger side of the back seat reading some pamphlet. What happened next seemed to be in slow motion.

Coming up to our left, traveling West in the center lane was an eighteen wheeler pulling an empty flatbed trailer; both lanes to the right of us were filled with traffic. Suddenly, in the West bound lanes and out of nowhere, came a bright blue PT Cruiser traveling at a very high rate of speed. The driver came upon that trailer very quickly, turning the wheel too late to safely pass. I heard a loud banging noise and suddenly this flash of bright blue was everywhere as it seemed to tumble toward us. The only sound I remember hearing at that moment in time was my own voice saying "Oh, My God!" It looked almost certain that the Cruiser was going to bounce over the barrier, hitting us head-on. I'm certain the lives of each of us passed before our eyes in the matter of a second or two because we all knew there was no way to avoid a collision with two lanes full of traffic on our right and a concrete barrier to our left.

The cruiser hit that barrier hard, breaking a huge piece of concrete off the top. I could see the driver flopping around like a rag doll as his car bounced backward into traffic, the chunk of concrete bouncing into the path of our rental van. The knuckles on Sandee's hands were white as she swerved very slightly to the left before the concrete hit the right front side of the van with a loud bang. We all felt the shudder of that hit, frightened to death, but Sandee hung on, keeping that vehicle under control until she found a hole in the traffic and was able to pull off the right side of the freeway about a half mile down the road and right at an exit. I firmly believe that her calmness and good driving skills had saved our lives or at least, saved us from some very serious injuries.

We all got out of the van, visibly shaken from the experience. It was only then that Sandee, with tears in her eyes, admitted that she was "scared shitless". Indeed!

It was several hours before the van and the five of us were once again loaded onto and into our second tow truck in as many days. We were taken to a shop a short distance away where, after a myriad of phone calls and paperwork, they determined that a new rim and tire would get us back on track to home. We were at that shop long enough, and were giddy enough from escaping a terrible death, that I'm certain the guys at that shop haven't forgotten "those five women from Idaho" yet. Why cry when laughing is so much more fun?

Well..........we finally made it safely to our own homes, vowing to never take the "Scenic Route" again in our travels; at least not until next time. It's kinda like having baby..........the rewards are so great, the pain is soon forgotten and you know you will most likely try again sometime.

Just remember, when the sign says "Falling Rock" it doesn't mean brown paper bags! Happy traveling!

Oh, yeah.........MaryHell found out that even though several vehicles were damaged and the Cruiser was demolished in that accident, no lives were lost that day. Life is good!

The Scenic Route......continued

We headed North on the Coast highway, Bill and Michelle ahead of us, back to life as normal. After stopping in Depoe Bay for gas and one last stop to see whether we could spot any Whales, we continued on to Lincoln City where we had agreed to stop for breakfast at a new Pancake House that had recently opened. There we filled our tummies said our final good byes to Bill and Michelle and continued on toward Tillemook, OR where we stopped to tour the cheese factory. We bought some goodies and ooo'd and awed over the trinkets in the large gift shop. This was to be our last stop, except for gas, when we loaded ourselves and more "stuff" into the van and drove North to Portland before heading East to Pasco. Of course construction and traffic were heavy so, by the time we drove through Portland, we were ready for lunch. We stopped somewhere in Gresham, had our lunch, then it would be straight through to MaryHell's home.

Well, we hadn't driven far when we saw the Scenic Route sign. We all agreed, "Why not", knowing it was only about a 30 minute delay. The winding road was a narrow two lane leading us up a mountain to where we could stop at an observatory and see the beautiful river views from a completely different perspective. We stayed for a while, taking pictures, and touring the building before continuing on that very narrow road which would join with the Interstate, a few miles East. Traffic wasn't bumper to bumper, but there were plenty of other "tourists" taking in the beauty of the byway. Sandee was driving at a safe speed, while the rest of us chatted about our week and the things we had seen and done. The road narrowed as we started the downhill decent and became darker with the lushness of the forest on both sides. I could see a curve ahead, noticing what appeared to be a brown paper bag laying in the middle of our lane. I knew Sandee couldn't swerve to miss it because of the blind curve coming at us. Next thing I knew there was a loud crunching sound as we passed over the bag which was, in fact, a rock. We drove on for a couple of miles and spotted a rest stop to our right, deciding to stop to check for any damage that might have occurred. It was not pretty! Although the damage was not visible, the lake of oil flowing from under the car told us that we were in deep doo-doo.

We couldn't get any cell phone service to call for help, and even though there were at least fifteen other vehicles there, no one asked if they could help in any way. Obviously, we couldn't drive the vehicle, so what were we to do? Mary walked up and down the road trying to find a spot to get a cell signal, finally getting through to her husband after about forty minutes. I don't remember all of the details, but finally, after what seemed like the whole damn day, but was more like two hours later, along came a tow truck to our rescue. Bill had let them know there was five of us so the tow truck was equipped with a "crew cab". After he got the van onto the bed of the truck, we all climbed in, made ourselves comfortable, and headed back to Gresham.

By the time we got back to the tow yard, it was getting late in the afternoon and we had became friends with our tow truck driver. It was the weekend, and his day off, but he treated us with nothing but respect and concern. We let him know what a privilege it was for him to be in the company of five beautiful, intelligent and funny women. He agreed..........he dared not!. Truly, he was a fantastic young man. Anyhoo, after a dozen phone calls, we knew we would not be arriving in Pasco that night. We reserved a room big enough for all of us and arranged for a rental car to get us home the next day.

Realizing that we had no way to get into town and had about a ton and a half of luggage, and a ton of women, that same fabulous young man, called his boss, got another tow truck with a flatbed, unloaded Mary's van of our precious belongings and loaded them on the back of that truck and drove us to the motel. We were hungry and thirsty, so before getting to the motel, he agreed to stop at a convenience store so we could load up on beer, pop, water and snacks. We got more than a few looks of curiosity as we pulled up to the front door of that motel, five of us pouring out of that truck, bed loaded with suit cases, shopping bags, and to-die-for treasures. Donald Trump never had a better chauffeur than we had that day. If that young man never does another kindness in his life, he has earned more respect from five Idaho women than he'll ever need in this lifetime.

Damn, this is a long story but it's not over yet.............there's more to come.

Never Take The Scenic Route

One of the perks that comes along with my job as a store Manager is having the privilege of using one of the vacation properties owned by my company. My very favorite, which I have used for nearly ten years, is on the Central Coast of Oregon. It was a Condo located at Otter Crest, between Depoe Bay and Newport, one of the most beautiful (in my opinion) areas on the coast. About two hours South of Portland, it is surrounded by lush forests and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Certainly it is a tourist trap, but I love it there and love to have my family members join me to share my allotted time.

Two years ago, MaryHell, Phyliss (my sisters), Sandee, (my daughter, the chauffeur) and Karen, a lifelong family friend, joined me for the yearly jaunt. Phyliss and Karen flew in from Pocatello, ID, and Sandee drove in from Meridian, ID to meet MaryHell and me at MH's home in Pasco, WA. We all spent the night at MH's home before loading her Honda van full of enough luggage for a Summer in Europe, seated ourselves comfortably into the vehicle with Sandee at the wheel and off we went for a week of fun and relaxation.

We giggled, we gossiped, we sang, we stopped for breakfast, we stopped for fuel, snacks, and potty breaks and finally for fresh fruits and vegetables at an Oregon produce farm before finally reaching the Condo about eight hours after we started. Construction along the way had slowed us down by probably, two and a half hours so the sun was starting to set by the time we got our first glimpse of the ocean. We were tired and worn out from the long trip but charged with anticipation for the days to follow.

Michelle and Bill, my daughter and son-in-law joined us to make the troupe complete. Bill and Michelle went crabbing on some days, and to the oyster bay another, bringing home a bucket of fresh oysters that we fried up and feasted on for two days. They were incredibly delicious! The "Girls" lounged if we felt like it, or ventured out to the wharf to join the rest of the tourists, ate wonderful meals at my favorite seafood restaurants, spent money on "stuff" we couldn't live without which, I'm sure, not one of us remembers buying or what we did with it once we got it home. We Whale watched from the beaches with sand and surf blowing into our faces, gambled at the casino in Lincoln City, and shopped for hours at the Outlet Mall and antique stores. We took a Whale watching boat trip, resulting in a mass amount of sea-sickness (another story), toured the Sea Lion Caves and some light houses and went to the aquarium at Newport. There must be a zillion pictures of this trip out there somewhere in the World. Sandee and Michelle's cameras were hot all week.

In the evenings, we talked, laughed and cried about old times, cured all the troubles of the world, cooked and ate sinful amounts of food, drank margaritas and such, watched TV or movies and slept like babies after exhaustion finally set in. I must say that my son-in-law, Bill, was a pleasure to have around. What man, but a good one, would put up with six women for nearly a week, with nothing but charm, wit and personality. But then again, he and Michelle did escape on their own adventures for at least a part of each day........hmmmmmm.

We had a wonderful week together, but were ready when the day came to pack up and head for the barn. We loaded up our luggage and memories early on that last day, heading North along the Coast highway, not knowing that our real adventure was yet to come.

To be continued..................................................................