Found out that my friends took a trip down to Oregon checking it out as a possible residence for Uncle J. Made me think of my favorite scenes from down that way. From 2003-2008, we made many trips (300 miles down I5) to Eugene to support Ducks softball. I loved Eugene, always threatened to move there. I find the Willamette Valley gorgeous, nice town, lots of culture, dominated by UO, fun downtown. Sometimes I felt I had a whole other life in Eugene. Exaggeration but still we participated in the athletic subculture. We knew the players, coaches, families, event staff, athletic department staff, fans, etc etc.
Dennis and I always found things to do in Eugene, the hazelnut orchards, rhodedendrons, other sports where we knew some athletes, Saturday Market. Always enjoyed ourselves even on rainout days. Good letterboxing too.
I'll feature two images here that I have not worked on or featured before.
My friends said they went over to the coast. They likely went over Hwy 126 through Elmira. One of Susanna's teammates came from the beautiful rural area around the small town Elmira. The Cook family lived on pieces of land that had been in the family for several generations, doing farming, raising some cattle. They invited the team for several dinners and we stayed with them one weekend. I admired this family immensely. Pam was the high school softball coach, raised her family in this rural setting with tremendous grace and ingenuity. Their complete embrace of their corner of the universe impressed me so strongly. I loved visiting them.
And the land, so sweet. The first shot is the view from their front porch. They and their extended families also had lots of horses you could feed. Just a peaceful rich setting IMO. They lived several miles west of Elmira at the end of a county road.
Second shot shows Dennis striding into Prince Puckler's Ice Cream at dusk. Small place located right near the university, down the street from the law school and (historic) Hayward Field. Always, always, people at Prince Pucklers spilling out onto the cement in front of the store. Lots of students. I remember meeting the Oregon AD there. Really, everybody EVERYBODY goes to Prince Pucklers. Barack and Michelle stopped there on their campaign swing. The flavors they preferred were proudly labeled ("Barack's favorite!" "Michelle's favorite!".
Dennis says "A trip to Eugene is not complete without a trip to Prince Pucklers" You can get that great hot fudge there. Very modes, you see the whole place in the picture.
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