Friday, April 28, 2006
Since this day was projected to hit 78 degrees (and it did hit 82), we started early to beat the heat. Lisa dropped us off at the Marys River bridge west of Philomath, then drove back home to do more planting.
We were still out in the country, but now less than two miles from the town of Philomath. It seemed half the vehicles speeding by were logging trucks, some loaded with logs, others empty with the trailer piggybacking over the top of the cab.
In Philomath we stopped at a McDonald’s for a couple of breakfast sandwiches.
Between Philomath and Corvallis we found a bike path that provided relief from the constant near-misses from passing cars. Once in Corvallis, we followed Western Avenue until we reached Reser Stadium, Home of the Oregon State Beavers. We wandered around this complex and on into the main university campus, stopping at the Memorial Union (MU) building to mingle with students in the snack shop and bookstore. I bought a Beaver shirt to commemorate the visit.
We left campus and continued through downtown Corvallis, turning north once we again reached Route 20. The name “Corvallis” means “heart of the valley,” and now the road followed the Willamette River downstream along the floor of its valley.
Marty and Lisa picked us up on the highway just as we were coming alongside the Hewlett-Packard complex.
In the evening we ate dinner in Albany at Novak’s Hungarian Restaurant with Frank’s cousins Derald and Andrea Herling from Corvallis. This is an eating experience worth driving awhile to find. Service was excellent, and portions arrived on generous platters filled with delicious home-style Hungarian food at very reasonable prices. We all took leftovers home with us.
