Ten Years Ago

It was ten years ago this month (October 1998) that Leela and I first visited Oregon -- well, Leela had actually been here before, but it was my first time to set foot in the Northwest. My daughter, Iola, was living and working in John Day, Oregon. At the time she was a fire fighter for the National Forest Service serving in the helicopter rappel program. We visited her for a few days and then drove around to various parts of the state in our rented car. According to my notes from the time, we drove up Highway 99 from Eugene and spent the night at the Budget Inn in Corvallis. I don't remember looking around Corvallis at all; it was really no more to us than a cheap place to spend the night. The next day we headed west on Hwy 20 toward Newport and the Pacific Coast. At the time we had no inkling that ten years hence we would be living in Corvallis less than half a mile from that Budget Inn. I think I left a toothbrush there.

And it was just one year ago this month that we signed the papers and made the final commitment to buy our place here at CoHo.