Over the Mountains

Art is a fruit that grows in man, like a fruit on a plant, or a child in its mother's womb.
-- Jean Arp

Sunday, September 2, 2001
One year ago: Clay Pipe

This morning we drove to Jack's parents place, near the Columbia Gorge in Eastern Washington. Of course, we didn't get going as early as I'd have liked to. But I knew it would take Jack a while to drink coffee, shower, putter around, get the car loaded. I'd packed my bag on Friday morning!

We finally got going around ten o'clock. I drove over the mountains. I think we benefitted by leaving on Sunday -- the traffic wasn't bad! We stopped before Yakima at the big fruit stand, and bought ears of corn, and some peaches, dried peaches, and honey. This fruit was for H--- to cook with on our return; she'd picked a recipe out of the slow-cooker cookbook I'd gotten from the library. I want to encourage her to fix dinner or cook for us once a week. She'll be doing peach crisp; yum!

The fruitstand was also by way of being an antique store; I think their prices weren't too bad! But we didn't buy anything. The fruit was appealing, too (peeling! Ha!), with lots of varieties of peaches, apples, tomatoes, at good prices.

We passed through Union Gap and on to Toppenish, city of murals. At the Branding Iron cafe, H--- had a hard time picking from the menu. The waitress kindly offered to let her go to the salad bar.

Jack drove the rest of the way, through Satus pass and into Goldendale. He wanted to stop by a creek and paddle his feet. H--- and I didn't actually get our feet wet, but we enjoyed the break. We were fortunate in the weather; it wasn't that hot. My car is air-conditioned, but it was still nice not to have the overpowering heat that can happen in Eastern Washington. We stopped for sodas to bring to his folks' place, and for me to get some cash.

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Both of Jack's sisters, and their children, were there when we arrived. This made for a lively group! I sat outside at a picnic table with Jack and his folks, and showed off my engagement ring. We chatted about wedding possibilities. Sister T---- made a good mexican dinner (make-your-own burritos, dip, and such), with assistance from others. The kitchen's not that big, so I stayed outside.

After dinner, H---- went with her aunt K--- and two of her cousins to spend the night at their place in Dallesport. They have a trampoline there, so I expect they did a lot of jumping on it.