Dinner Last Night in Troutdale and Fun All Day in Albany

Hello ZZ's We begin today's pictures with dinner at Tad's in Troutdale along the Sandy River. Though chicken and dumplings is the house specialty, neither of us like dumplings and the chicken appears to be made much like a chicken pot pie. I took a shot of the round huge bowl in which the meal is served--the one huge dumpling makes it look like an ice cream sundae. Many of our fellow diners were lapping it up and had to go boxes to take home. We, on the other hand, both opted for liver, onions and bacon with wine--reisling for me, merlot for Barb. We had salads before--honey vinaigrette for Barb and Bleu Cheese for me. Then we finished with coffee. Barb brought home her leftovers but I did not--I ate most of the two liver steaks but don't like reheated liver or cold liver. So Barb has her dinner tonight--I think I'll have carrots and hummus with fruit and yogurt for dinner. This morning we headed out to Sandy and through Estacada and down a 22 mile mountain road to Mollala where we decided to follow the valley to Woodburn and I-5 south. Lots of fruit trees and vineyards once we reached flat land--nurseries and green houses as well. I loved how the vines covering the soundproof wall in Woodburn are changing colors in sequence producing a wonderful wall mounted tapestry of color. When we neared Albany a billboard for an antique carousel caught my eye so we got off at the exit and went to the info center. Amy, the greeter, was astounded that we planned on going to Corvallis. She said spend the day here in Albany, we have lots to see including the Carousel. So, we agreed to walk the six or so blocks to the specially built building housing the Carousel. As soon as we walked in the door, I recognized the beautiful ride from a PBS special I'd seen within the past two years about its restoration. OMG--It is gorgeous. We were descended upon by two little plumb ladies who reminded me of two little birds. Each on chirping at us--where are you from? Ohhhh, you are so long from home! What brought you here? Yes, this is the one from PBS. How did you find us? I saw the billboard. Oh, you must go to the gift shop and take a tour of the workroom and get a token and ride on the carousel. And you can get coffee and hot dogs to eat! And there is a little museum about the restoration, They were so cute. We started walking around the ride and looking at the wonderful animals--each one more adorable than the next--and the details--so much to see on each one. The Frog is Harriet and she has a bag of flour behind and a canning jar clutched in her arm. There is Tuesday the brown cat and the spotted cat with a flamingo draped on its back and a monkey propped on its tail. On and on--each more fun than the next. Then there were some animals from older carousels and a miniature carousel that served as the tree stand for the family of the man whose family built the original mechanism etc of the this carousel. At the back of the gift shop, we met Larry, one of the wood carvers who was working on some hibiscus flowers that will eventually decorate one of the chariots already on the ride. He talked about the building and how they managed to get just what they wanted. It seems that the town owned the property and sent out requests all across the country and the world to architects looking for a design that would hold the carousel but would also blend in with the old buildings in Albany--19th century structures. They received all kinds of modernistic glass and steel designs and despaired that they'd ever find someone who " got it" Then one day a young man was on one of the tours of the workshop where the animals and floor and ceiling and mechanism were being refurbished. After the tour he remained behind and asked where the finished ride would be placed. Larry told him of the problems they were having and he asked if he could submit a design since he had a small architectural firm in Eugene. Sure, why not? And, voila, he got it! Soon the floor was finished and Osha came in and said it would not meet current standards. A guy a couple of towns away heard about the problem and he came and said, if you can find someone to mill it for you, I have two old stand Douglas Fir you can have. Found a mill to do it and the floor was done over. The mechanism was really worn and they were looking for someone who knew how to repair this 19th C drive. The grandson of the original manufacturer heard about the problem and said send it back to us --we'll fix it. We spoke about the rooster that Larry and a couple of others are working on--all painted it now needs to have the shadowing and contouring with other paints. Then it will get a coat of clear material containing sparkly particles to give iridescence to the feathers and then the whole thing will get a thick clear coat to give it the hard shine of the real carousel creatures. He pointed out the eyes--specially made so that no matter where you stand that nasty old rooster is keeping you in his sights. And he does. Then Barb and I checked out of the gift shop, clutching two tokes a piece to take two rides on the carousel. Dropped the tokens into an old San Francisco Streetcar fare box and boarded the ride. Oh, my gosh, I haven't smiled so much in years. No music but it was magical. When the ride stopped one of the fellows operating it, came by and said stay on for another ride. The man who was watching from the floor to make sure we all were behaving came by and said to me, the music wasn't playing--so I know it is hard, but you'll just have to ride again. Hard, right! I took pix of the animals going up and down and just loved it. Then, when it was over, I got off and put my second token in the box for another ride. Oh, if I lived there I 'd ride until I'd been on every animal at least once. But, sadly, it was time to move on. We walked back along 1st and then saw a cute little German café so in we went for a late lunch. Ginger lemonade, sauerkraut salad--didn't taste like sauerkraut at all and was cold--and a half beef and cheese sandwich with horseradish sauce. Bought a chocolate chip scone to go. Maybe that is dinner. Then we took spin out to Corvallis but it is now a boutique, fancy bistros, etc town. Not any evidence of myrtle wood which was its big claim to fame 18 years ago. Guess, they found a better draw these days--too touristy for us. So back to I-5 between mountains on both sides--like Burlington with the Adirondacks on one side and the Greens on the other. Got through Eugene as easily as through Salem, the capital. Ten miles out came to Cottage Grove and checked into our motel. Now, I have to study the Oregon/California border on the map and decide how we are going to proceed to Sacramento and our visit with Cindy and John and other old friends. It has been much too long since we've seen each other--18 years for some, much, much more for others! So, we are off for the evening. Enjoy the Carousel--really look at each animal--so much detail and hidden fun things. We'll catch up again tomorrow. For now, good night BarbZig and KatZag