* Twenty years ago today, on November 9,1999, I fell into unconsciousness and learned, a couple of days later, when I woke up, that I had contracted bacterial meningitis. Throughout the day, today, I pondered my good fortune that I survived this illness and today was a good day to do so.
1. After breakfast, Ed, Mike, Terry, and I piled into Terry's truck and bolted down to McKay Creek National Wildlife Refuge, but the main access road was blocked with a gate.
So, we fell back to plan B. We rocketed east on I-84 to Emigrant State Park.
It was open.
We spilled out of Terry's truck and wandered around. I thought we might find an interpretive nature trail in the park, but we didn't. No problem. We sauntered around the place, enjoyed the mild weather and the fresh air, yakked, and had a very relaxing time.
We were close to the town of Meacham and drove to it. It's a tiny place with a gravel pit and seems to be a highway department staging area for snow plows and gravel trucks. In Meacham, we stopped in at the Oregon Trail Store and Deli, a tiny business furnished with a handful of tables, a whiteboard with the daily specials written on it, a sign informing visitors that eggs, milk, and other products might be available in a cooler in back, and a glass case generously stocked with candy bars.
Dave and Sonja, the owners, were running the place and Dave greeted us with a huge helping of friendliness. We took our seats at a table and Dave showed no sign of disappointment when we told him we were there for a beer, not food, and he cheerfully took our requests and served us.
The Oregon Trail Store and Deli was a perfect place to hang out, yak, enjoy a beer, and get a brief glimpse of life in Meacham as people came in and out.
2. We returned to Pendleton and strolled into the Oregon Grain Growers Brand Distillery. As was the case a year ago, the distillery was enthusiastically paying tribute to military veterans. A museum of military displays were set up in a large room off the distillery's restaurant and tasting room. In the restaurant, as we entered, an enthusiastic pair, a man and a woman, worked at a table pouring samples of the distillery's newest product, Torpedo Juice, a pineapple flavored vodka. Torpedo Juice paid tribute to the sailors who discovered that the 180 proof grain alcohol that fueled the steam powered torpedoes could be re-distilled, filtered, and made safe for human consumption.
After listening to the history of Torpedo Juice and enjoying a sample, we sat at a table and our very helpful, efficient, and friendly server, Mary, brought a tub of bottles of vodka, gin, and whiskey to our table and we sampled several of the offerings.
All of us ordered a light lunch -- I had a very tasty Caesar salad with a gin and tonic -- and we yakked more and commented again and again how much we enjoyed this business -- the alcohol, the food, the atmosphere, the service were all superb.
3. Back at the casino, we all went our different ways and reconvened for our annual steak dinner at the casino's steak house, the Plateau. I started dinner with a classic gin martini while Terry, Mike, and Ed broke into the bottle of Cabernet we purchased. Soon, dinner arrived and I dove into my 14 oz Pendleton Whiskey Steak, a New York strip prepared medium rare, with a side of garlic cremini mushrooms and lemon pilaf rice. Somehow, even though we'd eaten a huge dinner, we all agreed to have dessert and coffee and I loved my huckleberry cheesecake.
This was a great day -- I wrote, walked, spent great time with lifelong friends, ate superb food, drank some fine liquor, and thought a lot about my good fortune and its many dimensions.
No comments:
Post a Comment