Corbett, OR

Thursday - Today, we left the RV at our friends home and drove the Jeep to Menucha. It’s a retreat center that my mom’s side of the family has been having reunions for about 25-30 years. 

This is the main meeting room and it is now air conditioned! Quite welcome with the 85°F afternoon temperatures. This picture was taken just after we arrived.

Friday - The reunion continues. There hasn’t been a reunion since 2017 due to Covid. So it is nice to see relatives again. There are essentially two families having reunions but I’ve known them since I was a child as they are the other side of my uncle’s family. This is the view looking west towards Portland. The trees are a little taller since our last visit. 

And this is the view looking east from the deck of the swimming pool. The yellow circle is showing Crown Point aka Thor’s Crown, a popular tourist stop overlooking the Columbia River. 

One of the most popular activity is making sushi. All of the ingredients are prepared and participants choose whatever ingredients they would like. 

Day 19 & 20

Yesterday was the mini reunion and I didn’t get a blog post up or take very many pictures. Much of the time was spent sitting around and talking. We initially met at the Asia Seafood Buffet in Murietta about 15 miles south of here. An excellent buffet with a fantastic selection of Asian dishes including a lot of sushi. All for only $9. A real bargain. After lunch, we went to my cousins home and visited. Some who lived nearby headed home and most are leaving this morning.

Today was a lot of driving. Menifee to Long Beach to drop off some stuff to my middle son. Then north to Culver City to have lunch with Bridget’s oldest. Then back to Menifee. Lots of traffic and around 6 hours of driving. Exhausted right now... L.A. has horrible traffic but only a handful of really rude or reckless drivers. Not as bad as some say. 

Day 79 - Corbett, OR

Today was the final day of the reunion. This is a so-so iPhone photo of the Columbia River just after sunset. There was some nice light on the cliff. This was taken last night when we were down near the lookout roasting marshmellows. The staff had started a really nice fire in the very old outdoor fireplace with hardwood. So there was some really nice coals.

Another shot from last night as we walked back up to the main building. I kind of liked the light coming through the windows. Since we aren't staying on the grounds, we headed back to the Crown Point RV Park at this point.

This morning there was a light drizzle. Kind of appropriate for the end of the reunion. Fortunately, we took the family photo last night. This time, they made an announcement that since everyone had access to the Internet, only one person would take a picture and send it out to everyone. At times, there would be a couple dozen cameras out for pictures.

For lunch, most of the group went to McMenamins - Edgefield after checking out from Menucha. It has become sort of a tradition. After lunch, we went back to Corvallis to pick up the dogs before heading back to the RV park. Tomorrow, we start heading back to Alaska.

Day 78 - Corbett, OR

The reunion continued today at the Menucha Conference Center. Today's activities included nature walks, sushi making, giant bubbles, frisbee golf, origami and other crafts. 

Later in the evening, Japanese dancing. 

Day 77 - Corbett, OR

Just some random pictures from the reunion. "Ukelele Salon" (not sure what that means). Origami. I think the goal was 100-200 cranes for a wedding reception. 

Day 76 - Corbett, OR

Today we are at a family reunion. This is the view of the Columbia River from the deck of the swimming pool. You can see Vista House around right-center. I don't think I'll ever get tired of this view. We are camped a short distance away at an RV park. Since we needed a place for the trailer anyway, we opted not to stay "on site" for the reunion. The dogs are at a kennel for the next few days as it has traditionally been really hot during the reunion. It's very pleasant right now. 

On the Road to Seward

Where to head to. This sign at Pioneer Park aka Alaskaland suggests the "MOOON". I guess their router doesn't have spell check. I took this photo on Sunday evening when we met my cousins from Watsonvillle who decided to start the reunion early from Fairbanks. They treated us and my mom to dinner in an early celebration of her birthday. We went to the Alaska Salmon Bake which is always a treat.  

On Wednesday morning, I headed down to Anchorage on the Ural loaded with food and supplies with Bridget and my youngest son in their cars all packed with more food and supplies. On Thursday morning, we went to Sam's Club and filled up the ice chests with perishable items and headed for Seward. I believe the most recent count is 58 attendees for the family reunion which starts tomorrow late afternoon. We opted to rent a house instead of staying at the Seward Hotel so that we have a kitchen and a place to stage food out of. Tomorrow, we are providing a light dinner and on Saturday I'm doing an outdoor cookout at a rented pavilion on the beach.   

On Thursday afternoon, I rode from Anchorage to Seward and this road is really one of the most scenic in Alaska. Every way you turn there are more snow capped mountains. There was a pretty stiff headwind and the Ural was wide open and just able to maintain 55 mph. The speed limit was 65 but the wind was keeping most of the RVs going at Ural speeds. In fact, I even passed up two of them. I stopped at Turnagain pass mostly to check the cylinder head temperatures after the climb. They peaked at right around 425°F on both sides which is right at the upper limit.

About 25 miles out of Seward I stopped at Moose Pass to pick up some water. But also to add a fleece layer as the temperature had dropped and it started to rain. The rain was intermittent but occasionally heavy but let up completely by the time I arrived in Seward. Since I didn't have the address of the house, I wandered through the streets until I saw Bridget's Prius. More pictures later as the 2016 Machida Family Reunion ramps up... 

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