Corvallis with Auntie Allison

The longest driving portion of our vacation was from Reno, NV to Corvallis, OR--google maps said it would take 8 hours.  I figured it would take close to 10 hours with stops and it did.  The first 8 hours were fine.  We listened to Harry Potter Book 1 and were really enjoying ourselves---then 4:00 PM came and we were all pretty much done with nearly two more hours to go.  We were on a two lane road most of the day and when you get behind some semi's....well let's just say it makes the trip much longer and then add the voice from the back every few miles..."How much longer now until we will be to auntie's house?"  The scenery was beautiful and that did help immensely.  We finally made it and it is nice to know that we won't have that long of a driving day to get home.

We enjoyed a nice dinner with Auntie Allison and her friend, Brian at a local Indian restaurant,The Evergreen.  Ella didn't complain:)

Allison took us on a tour of Oregon State University.  One of the things we love to do when we visit family is to see where our family members spend their days.  Allison's office is in a building where classes and offices are in the central portion of the building and living quarters (dorms if you will) are on either ends of the building.  It was an interesting set up.  Ella wanted to see how the smart boards work in the classrooms....but alas after trying to get it up and running....it didn't work out....not so smart of boards after all.  There are kitchens throughout the building for joint cooking.  There are worship rooms throughout the building as well.  It was really enjoyable to spend time where Allison spends the majority of her time as well.

 This building reminded us all of Hogwarts....especially since it was on our minds anyway.

We had a lovely visit into the evening.  We navigated our way through town just fine.  The next day we enjoyed the local farmers market.  We love these.  We have shared lots of fun memories at farmers markets in many locations over the years.  There were local musicians playing guitar, flute, and the fiddle.  There were several items to sample and shady spots to sit and chat.  We enjoy deciding what we will purchase and the kindness of those there making a living.

We walked around downtown Corvallis, stopped at a bookstore (of course)--The Book Bin, had lunch at The Broken Yoke and then dropped Ella off with Auntie for a couple of days.  I MIGHT have shed a couple of tears when we dropped her off.  I don't know where those came from---especially since we--which includes Ella--have looked forward to her staying with Allison and Byron and I heading over to the coast in advance.  I chalk it up to a Mother's heart and I recovered fairly quickly.

Thank you Auntie Allison for being willing to spend some time with a girl who loves you so very much!!  We love you too.