Couple of stops along the way

Our ultimate destination is Wallowa Lake in the northeast corner of Oregon. It's about a 6.5 hour drive from Portland so we made a couple of stops along the way and spent the night in beautiful Boardman.

Our first stop was at the Mary Hill Museum just over the river in Washington state. We have driven by the museum on many previous trips but finally decided to stop this year. About 30 minutes prior to arriving at the museum we were caught in a torrential downpour which is unusual for this part of the state. We were grateful to pull off the road at the museum and let the weather clear. The contents of the museum were more eclectic than we expected. My favorite exhibits were the chess set collection and the view from the balcony.

After spending the night in Boardman we visited the recently opened SAGE (Sustainable AGriculture and Energy) Center. It was essentially a public relations outlet for the agriculture and industry of Morrow County but it was quite well done. Mr. Snootypurse is driving a tractor simulator at the Center trying to apply fertilizer more accurately than a GPS guided system. They also offer a simulated hot air balloon ride, numerous interactive exhibits, and a free scoop of Tillamook ice cream!

Nehalem Bay crabbing

For readers not in the Pacific Northwest, this has been one of the most spectacular fall seasons in recent memory. Until today we hadn't had rain for approximately eighty days. We decided to take advantage of the good weather and sneak in a trip to the Oregon coast before the fall rains began.

Crabs live in the coastal estuaries and they like it when the salinity in the water is high. Because of the dry fall, the bay waters were perfect for crabs. We recruited some co-workers and left home about 4:30a to be ready to go at dawn. It was cold but clear and we were successful rustling eight yummy crabs!

We cooked our catch and took it to a nearby park to enjoy a crabby lunch and a walk on the beach. All of us agreed it was worth getting up at such an early hour!

Tee/Tea time

Today we went our separate ways. Mr. Snootypurse has a co-worker residing in South Carolina. They met for a round of golf at Charleston National Golf Club. Although play was slow the weather was perfect. Mr. Purse enjoyed getting out on the golf course for the first time in about six months.

Meanwhile, I plotted an adventure in the countryside for myself and my Aunt who drove up from Pawley's Island to spend the day with me. We started with a visit to the Angel Oak Tree. This 1500 year old Live Oak tree is over 6 stories tall and shades 17,000 square feet. It was too large for snapshots but an Internet search should bring up some pictures for you.

Our next stop was lunch at the Tomato Shed Cafe.This was Low Country cuisine prepared in a healthy way with lots of local vegetables. It was one of the best lunches on the trip. The metal chickens were sitting in front of the cafe and caught my eye but I resisted bringing one home.

We wrapped up the day with a tea time of our own at the Charleston Tea Plantation, America's only tea garden. We took the trolley tour of the grounds. One of the stops was the computer-monitored greenhouse pictured above. The computer takes care of the baby tea plants by opening and closing the blinds for light, watering them, humidifying the air, and cooling them if necessary with the black tubes running under the plants. The most interesting factoid we learned is that Argentina is the world's largest producer of tea. My Aunt and I shared a fun day and I'm grateful she drove up to help me escape the city.

We are reluctantly heading home tomorrow afternoon. They are predicting snow again. Ugh! We have the morning here so we may try to visit the Charleston Museum before heading to the airport.

Our day began with a drive across the bridge to Patriots' Point in Mount Pleasant to catch a boat to Fort Sumter. This is a picture of Fort Sumter as the boat pulled in. What you don't see are the dark storm clouds rolling in behind us... The tour schedule allows for about an hour at the fort. Fifteen minutes after we arrived the heavens opened and rain chased everyone into the small museum. It was unfortunate because there were several interesting exhibits scattered around the grounds that we missed.

These are the six flags that flew over Fort Sumter as it changed hands a few times before, during, and after the Civil War. Fort Sumter was held by the Confederacy until near the end of the Civil War making Charleston the only seaport for the Confederacy during the war.

Patriots' Point offers other naval history exhibits including an aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown, but we headed back to Charleston after our return due to the weather.

We took the last carriage tour of the day from Palmetto carriage tours. It was still raining so we got a little damp but enjoyed the narration of Charleston's history. This Roman villa is thought to be the inspiration for the Tara plantation house in Gone With the Wind. After the tour we drove down to the Battery to stroll along the seawall and gawk at the fanciest homes in the city.