A visit from Norma

Last week, our friend, Norma, came to visit from Arizona. I love Norma, and I am so thankful that she works for Intel and occasionally comes to Oregon for business. It's allowed us to stay in touch by letting us see each other on a semi-regular basis. She usually stays with us for at least a part of her time, and we always look forward to having her. Although we were all at work or school during most of her visit, she took Tuesday off so we could play!

We decided to take a drive up to Mt. Hood and have lunch at Timberline Lodge. It was a perfect day, and the drive was beautiful. They had a buffet lunch at the lodge that was just delightful - lots of salads and fruit.







After looking around for a bit, we headed down the mountain and back home by way of the Hood River County Fruit Loop drive. This is a beautiful scenic drive, and every time I do it, I stop at some place new. One of the first stops we made was to take pictures of some alpacas.



From there, we found our way to Mt. View Orchards. It was quite a winding route to their off-the-beaten-path location, but worth every minute.



Ruth and Lyle were very personable and helpful. They let us taste the fruit we were interested in, and helped me choose ripe pears for a recipe I wanted to try. We bought apples and pears. Unfortunately, Larry just bought peaches at the grocery store, which made me sad; these were SO much better!



Our next stop was at the Hood River Lavender Farm. What a treat for the senses. We stepped out of the car and were immediately met with the scent of lavender wafting through the air. Heavenly! The location was lovely, and the lavender fields so picturesque.



We made our purchases, and headed off to the river where we were surprised at how alive it was with kite boarders. I'm amazed they avoided running into one another! In the parking lot, more people were just arriving after work, and were donning their wet suits for their turn on the river before the sun went down.



Thursday night (while I cooked and graded papers), Larry took Norma to Chapman School to see the annual migration of the Vaux Swifts and their funneling into the chimney to roost for the night. Such a spectacle! I'm so glad she was here at the right time of year to witness it.

Upon their return home, we enjoyed Pork Tenderloin with Pears, using Tuesday's pears from the Fruit Loop trip.



Peach Crumble became our dessert another night, and it was tasty, too.



Come back again soon, Norma; we'll go on another adventure!