Cottage Grove
Feeling a tad guilty for going to Scotland for two weeks with the strongly implied caution, “this is a boy’s trip” i.e. left Mare home, I proffered to take a Holland America cruise to Alaska. I, being previously ambivalent about the destination, found it pretty amazing. But this bit is from the week before the cruise.
I decided that to fly all the way to Seattle at considerable expense (no companion fare available on short notice) we should take another week and go see Doug and Leslie Colberg. I have been friends with Doug since I was in the seventh grade. Doug and Leslie, after years of testing where to retire, now live in Cottage Grove, Oregon [CG].
CG is roughly half an hour South of Eugene, Oregon just off the I-5. It is also tucked into a wide valley and has remarkably pleasant weather. CG has other claims to fame from two motion pictures filmed there. The General, 1926, starring Buster Keaton. A silent movie in which steam locomotives are zipped around during the Civil War including a real engine crash, the remains of which were on view in CG until the 1970’s. The other was filming the parade scene from Animal House, 1978 starring John Belushi.
Doug and Leslie are, and have been for decades, practicing Tibetan Buddists. They are also vegan and grow wonderful things in their complex garden systems. Fear not of the plant based fare. Doug, among his many varied careers was classically trained at the New England School of Culinary Art and served as executive chef in fancy venues in Minnesota, Arizona and Switzerland. The pie alone was worth the trip.
My initial panic was a news report that car rental companies had at times run out of available vehicles whether or not you had a paid reservation. The news story fixed on Thrifty and Thrifty was our vendor. Why panic? Well, our first night hotel was in Cathlamet, Washington a solid two and one half hour drive from SEATAC airport. It worked out fine with a 2021 Toyota Carolla. Got 40+ mpg!
We were very happy during our three nights there. There was regular appearances of wild birds and deer. Doug said that doe that came into the yard/meadow our first day was pregnant. The next morning she showed with a brand new fawn. Upon our initial arrival Doug ran off to get “something to show you” and at the same time I ran to our bedroom to get something also to share. Turns out we both brought out the exact same photograph of Doug and myself holding our pet rabbits, Violet and Petunia. (Violet later discovered was really a “Victor”). Goes to show our long standing connection. Later during an excellent E-Bike ride with Doug I learned a number of things about his life at home before college dealing with his brother Roger. It deepened my understanding of his relationship to the Reizner family. I learned that he felt more at home across the street at our house and had very fond memories of Bernie and Alice.
While the trip South to Oregon was essentially an add-on to the cruise, it truly was a vacation in its own right. We explored the Coast including visiting the Sea Lion Cave and the Devil’s Churn, dining to an old man playing excellent jazz guitar and simply cruising around in our little car. The three nights at Chez Colberg was worth the whole trip all by itself.