MONDAY and TUESDAY 28/29 APRIL 2025

Wedding duties done, our time in San Francisco was finished. I thought about donating my bridesmaid dress to Goodwill, but in the end I squished it into a little used part of my suitcase. It may come in handy for fancy dress nights.

Well refreshed from an early night and good sleep, we breakfasted and checked out in plenty of time for an 8am free shuttle to the airport (that transfer being the main reason I chose last night’s hotel).

This in turn had us at the airport in PLENTY of time for our United Airlines flight to Eugene, Oregon. We followed a couple from the shuttle into Terminal 3 (solely UA flights) only to discover that they were premium passengers. We had to turn around and head back down the other end of the terminal. No big deal.

I’d checked in electronically the day before and paid for our suitcases – a hefty USD40 per piece. Once again we were soon assisted with bag tagging, dropping off, and directions to security.

Security was fairly tight. I was quick to dob in Bill as being “over 75” so he didn’t have to take his shoes off. He grumbled a bit that he was “still 75” but I was too busy getting my shoes back on to take much notice.

There are only two UA flights per day San Francisco to Eugene, and we had been anxious not to miss ours. No chance of that! We wandered around a bit filling in time. Fitted out much as you would expect from most airport terminals except for one feature we had not seen before.

A robot coffee barista.

I wasn’t fast enough to catch a video of the coffee he made a previous customer. All I can offer is a couple of still shots. The robot waves it arms to attract business, and looked efficient while on the job. And I guess it doesn’t work for tips.

The flight was done in under two hours. We flew low enough to admire the snow-capped landscape, in particular Mount Shasta.

We’d come to spend two nights with fellow blogger Lavinia Ross of Salmon Brook Farm, and she was waiting for us with a big sign. Although the flight was full most people had taken advantage of free carry on. We’d let them scoot on ahead when disembarking, and then we’d stopped by the restroom, so Lavinia was getting worried she’d missed us. 🙂 But, no! We had really made it.

The drive back to the farm was around an hour through green forested hills dotted here and there with hazelnut groves. Planted, I believe, in expectation of supplying Nutella.

Rick greeted us on arrival, but not the two remaining cats, Nod and Silkie, who beat a strategic retreat to under a bed for the majority of our stay.

After settling-in chats and a tour of the farm with its various vegetable plots, grapevines, and trees – some bearing spring blossom – we settled into a seafood soup masterfully prepared by Rick, with even more masterfully presented accompanying wines … Rick being an expert in the field.

The wine theme continued next day with Lavinia driving us to St. Innocent Winery where both Lavinia and Rick work from to time assisting in the horticulture. We had mezze sharing plates with a paired wine tasting selection. Very enjoyable. You may care to look up the setting. My photos tag it as being in Jefferson.

The countryside in this part of Oregon, the Willamette Valley is stunning. Quite the contrast to the New Mexico desert, through which we are travelling as I write this. (Which, in turn, was a couple of weeks before publishing this post).

As well as wineries, which are prolific, another industry in this part of Oregon is logging. We had not long returned home before friends of Lavinia and Rick arrived for a late afternoon/early evening dinner get together. Not only are they wine experts, they are also in the timber getting business.

Furthermore, they had recently returned from a cruise of East coast Australia and New Zealand.
A convial evening combining Rick’s culinary prowess with flowing wine and conversation ensued.
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