#205 My Favorite Cars

 Special Note: My website [www.penandprint.com] will soon be going to internet heaven. It’s been a good run, but it’s no longer needed for contact with Scottish, Welsh, and Irish golf courses. Be sure you bookmark this blog  www.penandprint.blogspot.com  so that you can easily connect to Have Pen and Camera, Will Travel when I write new posts. And thanks for your comments.

My Favorite Rides

On Facebook a few days ago there was a question asked—one of those share your experience posts. The question was, “What is the favorite car you’ve owned?” Good question, but why not share a more complete answer on my Blog. So, here it is, a discussion of the favorite autos (and trucks) that I’ve owned.

The first car I ever owned was a tank. A sick green 1950 Buick automatic with a dynaflow transmission (you stepped on the gas, waited three seconds, and then the tank started to move). Not a favorite, but a starting point for a list of favorites. Two vehicles need special mention here. 

Bookings HS Speech Team Van-boot Sale

The first was a 1974 VW bus (aka, a micro bus) which we used as a speech team carrier in Brookings where I started a team in 1980 and the district didn’t have transportation we could use. The blue van allowed me to take six students to a tournament. The 1600cc engine developed 67 horse power and got the fully loaded van up the coastal hills at 35mph. At the same time we had the second car of special mention, 

a 1976 yellow Dodge Colt coupe with 90 hp. Anne could carry three more students to tournaments. Both of these vehicles are remembered fondly as reliable friends who helped build my career as a speech coach.

We sold the blue bus our last year in Brookings (the school district finally had a minivan we could use) and bought our first VW GTI, a 1984 special edition Rabbit with 90 hp, suped-up suspension, special seats, and five speed stick transmission—

1984 GTI in Autocross in Medford

it was our first pocket rocket. The gray with red stripes racer led to a lifetime of small, hot cars raced in auto-crosses and hillclimbs throughout the northwest. Very often we had his and her’s VW Golf GTIs in our parking area in Canby. 

16 Valve GTI at Mary's Peak Hillclimb

We had new Golf GTIs in 1988 and 1994 and our only non-GTI when we bought a 2000 4-door. Our last VW GTI I’ll tell more about later in the post.

Many or most of you know we raised and raced Siberian Husky sled dogs for many years. That meant we had trucks, many of which were not our favorites. I particularly remember a Chevy LUV mini pick up that we jacked up and converted to 4-wheel drive. With the dog’s boxes full it was so underpowered that besides fearing it would tip over at the slightest corner, we were again stuck going 35 mph over every mountain pass. For a while we did have an old 1952 International pick up that I drove around town when I taught special education at the Oregon State Hospital in the 1970s. The film company for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” paid me $25 to park in my usual spot at the hospital so a period car would appear in the Supt’s window. We’ve never been able to find it in the movie (probably ended up on the cutting room floor), but Anne and I got a nice dinner out of it. Our favorite truck, though, was our last one.

In 2019 we bought a very low mileage Ford F150 to tow a small Little Guy Mini travel trailer. The truck was fun to drive and the combination of truck and trailer was great. 

We had to give the pair up because of my advancing Parkinson’s symptoms, but the truck still stands out from all the others we owned.

This brings me to our current favorite autos, Subarus. We bought our first Subaru Outback Special LL Bean edition in 2003 and fell in love with the cars. 

2012 Outback in Mitchell, OR

They are comfortable to drive, small and yet roomy, have plenty of power, and are very reliable. We are now on our fourth Outback (2003, 2012, 2016, and 2018). 

2016 Outback

We’ve bought new ones as equipment and features have changed, not because of wear or mechanical problems. Anne’s favorite is the 2018 Outback 3.6R.

Our fifth Subaru is my favorite. We traded in the 2017 F150 for a 2021 Forester Sport equipped for off road with special tires, suspension, and skid plates. 

It’s an easy and fun car to drive in town or longer trips. And while it’s the favorite I drive now, it is not the most favorite.

My favorite of all the vehicles we’ve owned is a 2007 VW Fahrenheit GTI #914/1200. The special Lamborghini Orange 2.0L 200 hp with six speed automated manual transmission and European tuned sports suspension was a special car. 

Fast, agile, head-turning, this GTI was a dream to drive, although we worked hard keeping the mileage low (having good Outbacks for long trips made that easier). I finally gave up the Fahrenheit GTI when we needed a truck to pull the trailer. It was a terribly hard decision, but the right one—trading one toy for another.

At this time in our lives I can’t see us needing another car, so my list probably won’t change. It’s now time for me to ask…

What is your favorite car? 

#204 Story, Photos, and News

       This post contains a story from our travels to Scotland, some favorite old photos (film that's been digitalized), and some other news. Hope you enjoy.

The World, It Is Exploding

Our first time using timeshare for lodging in Scotland was in the fall of 2003. We spent a week at Scandinavian Village in Aviemore in the central Scottish highlands. Our apartment had two bedrooms and a kitchen/dining/living room. What we missed by staying in self-catering (mostly the grand B&B breakfasts) was made up for by doing our cooking. With a stove, oven, and microwave we had plenty of cooking options.

Scandinavian Village unit in 2014

For breakfast on our first morning of cooking I planned to cook a microwave soft egg like I do at home. I had a correct size microwave proof bowl, but unlike home where I use Syran Wrap I had no plastic cling film to top the bowl. I just covered the bowl with a paper towel. I set the timer for 45 seconds on high heat (at home I use 55 seconds at 80%) and turned it on. Something made me turn and look at the microwave just in time (about 40 seconds) to hear a loud bang! The door of the microwave was blown open. Egg bits splattered everywhere and steam poured out of the open door.

Surveying the disaster scene I discovered nothing but particles of my egg were left in the oven, but that no real damage had been done in the room—the microwave was a mess, but still worked. As I cleaned up I mulled over the cause of the explosion. Were the eggs different enough in Scotland that they couldn’t be done in the microwave—after all, eggs in Scotland aren’t cleaned and are almost never refrigerated? Was the microwave too powerful at my settings? Did I really need cling wrap with holes poked in?

I never did find out the true cause of my eggsplosion, but in the more than 25 trips I took to Scotland after, I never tried to duplicate my experience.

Favorite Photos

    Astronomy: an interest of mine since Jr High days.

Telescopes on Mona Kea at over 13,000 feet. Grainy photo from 800 ASA film.

Solar eclipse from Biggs, OR, 1979--published by Sky & Telescope magazine.

Sled Dogs: Raised and raced Siberian huskies from 1970 to 1985.

Anne running at team at one of the Oregon beach races in mid-70s.

A winter run on a wheeled rig with limited snow at Beaver Marsh, view of Mt Thielson.

Forest Fire: in the early 80s we were on Mt Ashland when a major forest fire threatened a friend's home.

Backpacking with Dogs: we backpacked from the early 70s into the mid-90s.

Backpacking into Chambers Lakes basin for an article for Cascades East magazine.

Me and Myko in the Three Sisters Wilderness area.

Myko early morning in the Green Lakes area on South Sisters.

Other News

This next section of the post isn’t the fun stuff, that was all in the story and the photos. This section is a report about us. First, Anne is working hard at recovery from total shoulder replacement surgery on her left shoulder—no golf for her most of the summer. Her surgery was three weeks ago and she is doing fine, but the hardest part, physical training (otherwise called physical torture) is to begin in a week and a half. We know how hard it is going to be, she had the same surgery on the other shoulder about eleven years ago. It’s amazing how strong she is and how independent.

Anne has to wear her sling for at least 4 weeks, but rides along while I play.

 

Second, while I live with the spinal stenosis that makes walking difficult, I continue to learn about life with Parkinson’s. My symptoms are so far quite mild and mostly controllable with medication. I know that things will change, there is no cure, but one of my hardest challenges is accepting that I won’t know how PD will affect me until it happens. I’ve always relied on my old Boy Scout training and tried to be prepared. I find that it’s difficult to prepare; all I can do is adapt—it’s a new concept. I still play golf, although my balance is completely different than it used to be. All I can say is have one of the more unique swings out at my golf course.

I lose my balance when I swing the driver, but I haven't fallen...yet.

Although we can’t really do much travel planning currently, we are both thankful for all the support we’ve received from friends and family.

#203 Central Oregon Beach Trip

A two night trip to the Oregon coast is the meat of this post. The plan was to visit some of our favorite sites and eat at some of our favorite seaside restaurants. A great plan got even better when the weather turned super nice on the coast—sun and fog, while the valley sweltered in unseasonably hot conditions. My photo kit included three cameras—a Nikon Z50 with a 24-200 lens and a Nikon Z5 with a 24-70 lens for landscapes, and a Lumix LX 100ii for quick grab shots and interiors. The trip also included short stops at the two local casinos (Spirit Mountain in Grand Ronde and Chinook Winds at Lincoln City) where Anne won enough to almost cover my losses.

Book Store

Our first stop at the coast was at our favorite used book store, Robert’s Bookshop (SE Hwy 101 in the old Nelscott District of Lincoln City). Opened in 1987, the bookstore has more than 200,000 used and antiquarian books—1.64 miles of bookshelves. Anne found some art books for her watercolors and I bought two photo  books of Ansel Adams’ work. Check with the shop about trading or selling books. 

Anne found the books she needed for her watercoloring.

  

Bridge and Marina

We stayed in Newport at the Hallmark Resort near the Nye Beach District. It’s not inexpensive, but then nothing is today. Our accommodations were lovely and we had a great beach view. Our hotel was close to the famous Yaquina Bay Bridge and the Newport marina. During our stay we made a couple of trips there for photos. The bridge was started in 1934 and opened in 1938. It’s over a half Mile long and is 133 feet above the river. There are good views of the bridge from its base and from the active marina.

Even tattered and wind torn Old Glory still looks good.

Beach Scenes

One of our favorite spots to visit in the area is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse Natural Area (BLM). Here you can visit the lighthouse (tours available in season), see seabird rookeries, go tide pooling, and see sea lions. The lighthouse saw first light in 1783 and stands 93 feet tall. Another area worth a visit for the views is the Devil’s Punchbowl on Cape Foulweather between Newport and Depot Bay. The punchbowl is a large natural sea cave (without a roof) that can spout at high tide. We visited at low tide, but the views from the overlook are grand.

A foggy view of the lighthouse.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse at sunset from Nye Beach.

Several varieties of seabirds nest on the rocks around Yaquina Head.

Piles of driftwood are put to interesting use on the beaches at Lincoln City (old Taft). 

Sea lions lounge on the spit at Salishan south of Lincoln City.

The view north along the coast from Devil's Punchbowl.

At the Devil's Punchbowl overlook we saw this poor squirrel clinging desperately to a tall dead tree. Obviously frightened, the squirrel let me get quite close. Its perch was very precarious with a long drop beneath. Perhaps it had been chased to this perch, but we could see it wasn't comfortable.

Food

There are some great places to eat on the Oregon coast and we are blessed with a nice variety of eateries in this section. Two of our selections were rebuilds. Both Dory Cove Restaurant and Otis Cafe had had thier original shops burned down. And both have comeback stronger in nearby locations. There are also plenty of fine dining restaurants in the Newport area as well. We couldn’t get a table at Local Ocean (the beach restaurants do get crowded), but we did eat at Georgie’s next to the Hallmark Resort. The restaurant, opened in 1998, has wonderful ocean views. Not far from our accommodations in the heart of the Nye Beach District is a great Irish pub called Nana’s. It’s a staple in the area and we think it’s a little touch of Ireland a block from the beach. We also found Triple-D funk at the 24 hour Newport Cafe on Hwy 101 in the middle of town. As you can see from the pictures, we never go hungry when we travel.

Late Lunch at Dory Cove.

Breakfast at Georgie's (Thanks Charleen and Dave)

A chicken pot pie for me and steak and ale pie for Anne.

Breakfast at Newport Cafe

Highlight of the Trip

The Siletz Bay Wildlife Refuge was established in 1991, but we’d never visited it. That’s a mistake we won’t make again. This is a hidden gem. The refuge contains salt marshes, mud flats, sloughs, conifer/hardwood forests, and rivers which attract a good variety of birds. The refuge has a nice parking area, several hiking options, is open from sunrise to sunset, and is free, though no pets are allowed. Look for the sign on the east side of Hwy 101 after crossing the Siletz River south of Lincoln City.  We had a wonderful time on an easy 3/4 mile walk.

Wood Thrush

This pair of noisy Canadian geese were creating quite a racket defending their nest from another pair.

The path we took in the refuge was well maintained.

We packed a lot into our two days in Newport. And even though we been there many, many times before, there’s always something new to see or discover.

A Newport Sunset