Alaskan Trip, Part Won

I recently returned from a seven-day cruise of Alaska...   At least as much as you can see on a seven-day cruise, which is relatively small.   Basically, you are visiting the panhandle.  But what a beautiful panhandle!   I came back refreshed, inspired and about fifteen pounds heavier ...and whatever weight I gained, my bank account lost.   I promised I would give you the details of the trip, so without further ado, here they are!

DAY ONE:   We had decided to drive up to Seattle to and enjoy the sites on the way there and back.   My plan was to leave at about 2:00 AM and get in a lot of driving before it got dark.   Well, we did leave at 2:00...   PM.   I really have to start packing earlier.

We drove up interstate 5 and stopped for in Santa Nella for lunch at Pea Soup Anderson's, which is known far and wide for their kitzy Danish architecture.  I had pea soup, which I believe is the only time in my life I have eaten a meal without any sort of meat involved.    We continued driving until we reached Corning, which seemed as good a place as any to spend the night.


Pea Soup Anderson's in Santa Nella. 

DAY TWO:  After a rousing breakfast in the Best Western hotel lobby (we stayed at Motel 6),  we continued up Route 5 into Oregon.  Oregon is a odd state.   They have a state law that states you can't pump your own gas.   They have attendants that pump it for you, and one of them, I swear this is true, actually washed my windshield.   I wish I had my camera ready.

Lunch was at Heaven on Earth Restaurant and Bakery.  It's in Azalea, a little past Grant's Pass, in  the middle of nowhere.   The place looks deserted, and I almost didn't stop since it looked abandoned.   But I couldn't pass up the sign on the side of the building: "Home of the World Famous Cinnamon Rolls." 

We pulled off the interstate, parked in the dirt lot and walked in.   I was met by the hugest assortment of baked goods I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in my life.   And they were all HUGE.   Cakes, cookies, jams and jellies, bread, and the biggest cinnamon rolls I have ever seen.  Literally, the biggest one is the size of a round cake. 

 

We were greeted by a seemingly pleasant lumberjack and taken to our table.  We were the only ones in the place besides Lumberjack Jim.  At this point, I remembered the Yelp review I read before we went in: "Good setting for a horror movie"   I didn't see any copies of To Serve Man around, so I got comfortable and ordered lunch.  

We had the turkey dinner and a hot roast beef sandwich.  The food, to put it mildly, was fabulous.   Everything was homemade, from the mashed potatoes to the huckleberry lemonade that was currently in season.  The turkey was just like Thanksgiving dinner; carved pieces straight off the bone.   For dessert, I had a huckleberry cobbler that was delicious, and we took with us some cinnamon rolls, lemon cake and cookies.   These desserts would later suffer an ignominious fate, but more on that later.

We continued driving up through Portland, then took a right turn onto Route 84 east.   There's an amusement park in Coeur d'Alene that I wanted to visit, and since we were in the neighborhood, I decided to take a side trip to Idaho.  We drove through Hood River (a party town if I've ever seen one) and ended up at The Dalles.   The name of the city comes from the French word dalle, meaning either "sluice" or "flagstone" and referring to the columnar basalt rocks carved by the river (thank you, Wikipedia).  Here, we had a delicious dinner of Chicken McNuggets (it was late), and settled down for a good night's sleep. 

NEXT:  Look for the story of the Backbreaking Roller Coaster Ride, the Great Luggage Relay and ignominious fate of our cinnamon rolls, all in the next thrilling chapter!   Plus, we finally get on the boat!