Portland to Medford, Oregon

Hello!

To be honest, there’s not too much to report today, as we basically made the drive from the suburbs of Portland (Hillsboro) to Medford, Oregon.  We had originally planned to be here for two nights, and now that we’re here, I have to say (no offense to anyone with ties to Oregon!) that Medford isn’t anything like the charming city of Bend!  So glad we viewed the eclipse from there, so thank you again, very much, Katy!  We had planned on doing some wine tasting here, but the multiple forest fires in the area have made the sun red, and the air very hazy.  I can even feel it when I breathe, so we’re trying as much as possible to NOT be outside!

A bit of blue sky early

And then haze for most of the day

Not great weather for breathing!

Wikipedia (that source of all knowledge!) says that Bend and Medford are about the same population-wise, but the comparison ends there.  Bend has a stunning downtown area, with beautiful houses and stunning landscaping.  Here in Medford, I think the entire community is made up of strip malls!  I do have to say, however, that the DirecTV here at the Medford hotel is the best we have seen on our trip.  We are actually able to watch a baseball game on the baseball TV channel, and it has been over a week since we’ve had the opportunity!  We are definitely ready to get back to California, that’s for sure! 

We left Hillsboro about 7:30 am this morning, and got to Medford somewhere around 12:30 pm.  As we weren’t sure how early we could get into the hotel, we decided to stop first for lunch – and it was great!  R found a place called Punky’s on Tripadvisor, and, while of course it was located in a strip mall, the restaurant itself was great.  The hours are something like: 6-ish – 3-ish!  Great to see on a restaurant door!

It’s rather diner style, but the wait staff is terrific, and the place itself is fun.  Where else can you hear She Wore An Itsy-Bitsy Yellow-Polka-Dot Bikini while you dine?  R ordered a bowl of their chili with cheese and onions, and I had their chef’s salad with their homemade Ranch dressing.  R said the chili was as good as ours (which is his actually, as I don’t make or eat chili!) and he debated ordering another bowl!  Their pie, though, convinced him otherwise.  Their salad was great – put together really well, and I ate almost all of it!  For dessert, R got a piece of their Dutch apple pie, and I had a small chocolate sundae!  Yum!  R maintains that Punky’s pie wasn’t as good as mine, but it certainly looked good to me!  Then, back on the road for stops at Costco for gas, and Wells Fargo for $$ and then to the hotel.

Loved Punky's Diner!

R's chili

My Chef's salad

Loved the decorations!

And of course R didn't like it at all!

We are in another Homewood Suites, in room 424.  Plenty of room and it’s nice to spread out!  I managed to fall asleep on the comfy couch in front of a college football game – so nice that football season has officially begun!  We decided to go for take-out pizza tonight, and picked up a pepperoni and mushroom pizza from Abby’s Legendary Pizza.  There is so much pepperoni on the pizza that we can’t even see the crust.  I think it’s a bit much, but did enjoy it.  Now just finishing up catching up on emails, and then soon to bed!  Tomorrow to California, although Anne Vaughan reports that it is supposed to be 106 on Monday in Sierra Madre!!  And it’s only supposed to be 102 in Tucson, with the chance of rain!  No global warming there…

Lots of love!

m

xxx