Change of Pace

This trip has been a departure from how we typically travel on vacation. That is to say, I didn't do as much planning ahead of time, and we have not constantly been on the move. Other than a lunch date at 1:00PM and a basketball game tonight, we had nothing else on our agenda for today. So, after finishing breakfast (the free hotel breakfast was actually served at the Denny's across the parking lot), we decided to check out the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville.

The most notable aircraft on display at the museum is the Hughes H-4 Hercules, better known as the "Spruce Goose." The moniker is misleading, though, because it was made almost entirely of birch.

Wow, that thing is huge!

Wingspan: 320 feet, 11 inches
Length: 218 feet, 8 inches

Looking aft in the cargo hold

The space exhibits are located in a separate building

High altitude reconnaissance SR-71 Blackbird

Admission to the museum includes one movie, so we watched the 12:00 showing of "Fighter Pilot". We didn't realize that we had already seen it before at another museum (California Science Center?) until we were a few minutes in. But it didn't really matter to me because I took a nap!

I wore my SPAM t-shirt in honor of the occasion!

Then we were off to meet R's college roommate and his wife for lunch (their kids were still in school so we didn't get to meet them). Grain Station Brew Works is housed in a renovated timber barn - great atmosphere and equally tasty food! Afterwards we walked around downtown and went to T's office at the church where he is a pastor to see his global SPAM collection. So fun to catch up!

From here, it took us a little over an hour to get to Portland. The sun was out, so it was a beautiful drive through the Willamette Valley. Traffic was slow on I-5, but the Waze app suggested an alternate local route to our hotel downtown. It's a little disconcerting for this control freak to follow a disembodied voice blindly turn-by-turn, especially when it seems like you're going the opposite direction, but it definitely helped us avoid being stuck in traffic.

The Magic is in the Hole!

Before our trip, M's friend told him that he absolutely had to go to Voodoo Doughnut, so he was very excited to find out that it was just around the corner from our hotel. In fact, we could see it from our room! We headed over there on our way to the Trailblazers game to see what all the fuss was about. They are open 24/7 and have fences set-up outside to manage the queue, but it wasn't a big deal since the line moved fast. We sampled some of their tamer doughnuts - all were super fresh and lived up to the hype! M loved the Portland Creme!

Doughnuts in hand, we then found our way to a MAX stop and boarded a train to the Moda Center for the Portland vs. Milwaukee game. J had been really looking forward to seeing Damian Lillard (POR) play. But other than him, his teammate CJ McCollum, and the "Greek Freak" Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL), the game was painfully ugly to watch - lots of turnovers, bad defense, and horrible shooting from both teams. The Trailblazers, who are fighting for a playoff spot, squandered their chance to tie up the game at the end, losing 90-93. According to J, Portland has been hot lately, going 8-2 since the beginning of March. It figures that we catch them on an off night. Boo!

Afterwards, we squeezed ourselves onto a train back to downtown. Walking from the MAX stop, we passed by Pine Street Market and stopped in for something to eat since we didn't really have dinner (doughnuts don't count). Most of the places in this trendy food court were getting ready to close, so we just settled for ice cream from Wiz Bang Bar (ice cream doesn't count either). Great way to end the day!