Swimming in a Volcano

On Friday we continued our road trip about an hour and a half south to Crater Lake. It was James’ idea to visit here and we had an excellent day. We came in through the north entrance of the National Park and went to Cleetwood Cove where we bought tickets for the five hour boat trip to Wizard Island. First we had to descend on a steep path into the crater which took about half an hour. This of course worried me because I realised that I would have to climb back up at the end of the day!

The very friendly park ranger on the boat pointed out all of the features of the lake including the hard ignaeous rock which stood out on the slopes, the landslides and the colours of the rocks and plants. About seven and a half thousand years ago Mount Mazuma grew, erupted, collapsed, and then the caldera filled with rainwater and snow melt. Or as our park ranger explained, it “Grew, blew, fell and filled.” It is truly amazing that such a beautiful and peaceful place has been formed by violent eruptions. 

Wizard Island was formed by a later, smaller eruption and rises in the lake with a crater on the top, and we were dropped off there to spend three hours exploring. We headed up through the trees to the crater, a hot and steep forty-five minutes walk. I tried to think cool and breathed through my nose and took lots of sips of water, and it actually worked; I got to the top without stopping and we were rewarded by fantastic views around the lake. I felt quite stupefied by the beauty of the place. 

When we got back down to the jetty we decided to go for a swim in the lake. The water was very clear and very cold, but it was great fun to be swimming in a volcano!
The boat collected us got the last part of the tour around the lake, which was very entertaining. I managed the walk back up the crater to the car park surprisingly well and it only took us thirty-five minutes - the park ranger had estimated forty-five minutes so I was well chuffed. My secret was to walk quite slowly - the path was all uphill of course - but not to stop for a rest.
After our amazing day, we still had to drive ninety minutes to our next destination of Ashland. We had dinner at the very welcoming Annie’s Creek Restaurant before leaving the National Park. We arrived in Ashland at half past ten at night, and were pleased with our spacious and smart room at the Bard’s Inn Hotel. I had to take a shower before bed because my hair was full of volcano dust.

Oregon Coast

Before we set off on Thursday morning we had a walk around the Oregon Gardens which give our hotel its name and I was so glad that we did. It’s a beautifully designed and maintained, with different areas such as water gardens, a market garden, and all sorts of gorgeous flowers.
The next destination on our road trip was further south to the Steamboat Inn on the North Umpqua River. However we decided to take a detour west to the beautiful Oregon coast on the way, which added another couple of hours to the journey. 
We reached the coast at the bustling little fishing port of Newport, where we had a walk and had lunch at a waterfront seafood restaurant. I had fish tacos which are very popular here, and they were lovely. I may try to recreate them at home. We also bought a box of cherries from a roadside stall which we consumed during the rest of our travels. 
The busy road south along the coast passed a series of long, white sand beaches. We stopped at one of them and walked along beside the deep blue Pacific Ocean in the warm breeze with the white-capped waves breaking on the sand. 
We had coffee in the little touristy town of Florence before setting off east and away from the coast. The rural roads were much quieter I’m glad to say, and we listened to Country music on 101 on the radio. There was a catchy song called “Greatest Love Story” by Lanco which I really liked; it ends with a cliffhanger marriage proposal. We noticed quite a lot of large birds of prey circling over the fields and forests. We arrived at the hotel to find that it’s a delightful fine dining sort of place; a very picturesque wooden cabin style hotel with fairy lights strung on the trees in the garden. The dinner was fantastic, the best of the holiday so far. Given the location, it’s also a fishing hotel decorated with many fishing accoutrements, and when we strolled down to the river bank after dinner we saw two fisherman casting their lines in the twilight. We finished the day sitting outside in the warm evening, having drinks in the garden.

Sunny at Silver Falls State Park

On Wednesday we visited Silver Falls State Park to walk the Trail of Ten Falls. It was spectacular.
The waterfalls were all different, and all stunning. Some slid at great speed down the rocks, others spilled over cliffs and dropped from a great height. You could walk underneath several of them and it was amazing looking out at the blue sky from behind the crashing water. 
The trail was mostly in dappled shade which was just as well because it was another hot day. James found some salmonberries growing by the side of the path which we ate, and we also tasted some Oregon Wood Sorrel which has a sharp citrus taste. It was an excellent walk.
As we passed through Silverton on our way back to the hotel I noticed a sign which said “45 degrees - halfway between the North Pole and the Equator”
Back at the hotel we relaxed (and I swam) at the open air pool, it was great fun. In the evening we listened to an excellent musician singing Country and Western music in the bar.

Columbia Gorge and Mount Hood Loop

We had heard that this three hour round trip drive would take us past some beautiful places, so we decided to devote Tuesday to the trip, stopping wherever took our fancy and going on at least one of the many possible hikes. 

Our first stop was at Multnomah Falls. This high waterfall was impressive but I didn’t think that it warranted the vast crowds that thronged around it, perhaps because it was situated only about fifty feet from the busy main road. So we jumped back in the car quick smart and continued to the village of Cascade Locks, right on the banks of the mighty Columbia River. This was much quieter and therefore more to our taste. We went for a stroll along the banks of the river and arrived at the jetty for boat tours just in time to board the attractive sternwheeler “Columbia Gorge” which was about to set off on an hour long cruise. This took us under the Bridge of the Gods and up to the Bonneville Dam. Both of these things (and the locks which preceded the dam) made a huge difference to travelling in the area, because in the 19th century the pioneers on the Oregon trail had a terrible time getting past the rapids which used to be here; they had to take their boats and all their possessions out of the river and drag them on land past the dangerous parts. It was back breaking work. 

They wouldn’t recognise the wide river now, flowing along majestically with Oregon on one side and Washington State on the other. 

Back on the road again, we soon turned south towards Mount Hood. How stunning it is, rising up from the green forest all white and snowy. The countryside became much more agricultural with lots of orchards and vineyards. We stopped at the Hood River Ranger Station where the rangers were really helpful and informative, and gave us a detailed information sheet on our trail of choice - Mirror Lake. 

But before we set off we stopped for lunch at a little village, the strangely named Government Camp, after a troop of soldiers who became stranded there in the mid 19th century by the weather had to abandon their supplies. I was astounded to find that it is a ski village complete with Swiss style chalets; it seemed so out of place in the middle of the forest in summer. And what is more, it was in full swing because Mount Hood has enough snow for summer skiing so there were people walking about with skis! We had lunch in a lovely restaurant where I had a slice of yummy Huckleberry pie. 

We then parked the car at the trailhead for Mirror Lake, which is a glacial lake which has great views of Mount Hood. It’s a short (forty minutes) but steep hike through the woods up to the lake. It was well worth it; the lake is perfectly round and surrounded by forest, and Mount Hood can be see reflected in its surface. I went in for a paddle and nearly had my toe nibbled by a crayfish (or crawfish as they are called here!)

It was then time to start heading south, a couple of hours drive to our next destination of Silverton. It’s a while since I booked all of our hotels for this road trip so each one is a surprise! The Oregon Garden Resort is a bit like an old-fashioned country club with extensive gardens. It reminds me of the hotel in the film “Dirty Dancing” but sadly there is no Patrick Swayze.

Mount St Helens 38 years on

I can remember the news coverage of the massive volcanic eruption of Mount St Helens very well. It was in May 1980 and, while an eruption was known to be imminent, nobody expected the whole side of the mountain to explode, which is exactly what happened. Sadly this led to some loss of life, although fortunately the majority of people nearby had been evacuated in time.

On Monday James and I made the two hour trip from Portland into Washington State to see Mount St Helens at first hand. We were absolutely amazed by what we saw. Even after thirty eight years, the trees which were scattered like nine pins over the hillside are still lying there, and the slopes of the mountain are still covered with ash. However there is also lots of new growth of trees and bushes, and the wildflowers are bright reds and purples. You can still see the huge hollow of the explosion on the side of the mountain. The crater is full of snow with a new glacier forming.  James and I walked the Boundary Trail, an undulating 10 km round trip, which had fantastic views of the mountain and the surrounding devastation caused by the eruption. When the explosion happened, the blast rolled over the ridge within two minutes like a rollercoaster of destruction. James extended his walk up to Harry’s Ridge, from where he could see over into Spirit Lake.
It was a really good hike and we both loved it. Before we left the car park at the visitors’ centre we both made use of the portable toilets which were called “Honey Buckets.” Without going into any details, they were not aptly named.
On our way back to Portland, we passed a motel called Mount St Helens. Their sign added “Hope you had a blast!” which we thought was very funny. 

Unusually warm in Portland

Another early start on Sunday, this time very early, and we caught the 8 a.m. flight from San Francisco to Portland in Oregon. We were pleased to be able to check into our hotel room straight away, and by late morning we were strolling around downtown Portland. We went to the bustling Sunday street market by the river and listened to a jazz quartet as we sipped cool drinks. It was very hot and sunny (30 degrees) and we decided to hire bikes and go for an eleven mile riverside cycle. I was enticed into this venture by the fact that it was a very flat circuit. All started well, in fact I was in tremendously good spirits as we pedalled along the urban but attractive cycleway. However as the miles went on I became increasingly hot and tired. With hindsight, this was probably exacerbated by the eight hour time difference between Scotland and the west coast of America, and by the short and broken sleeps I had had over the previous twenty-four hours. James couldn’t hide his despair at my frequent rest stops. The hot breeze felt like a hairdryer blowing on my forearms and face as I slogged along. However I did manage to complete the cycle, which gave me some satisfaction, and James treated me to a delicious smoothie in a smart wee café. When we returned the bikes, the owner of the bike shop told us that it is unusually warm for Portland. By dinner time we were both so tired that we could hardly keep our eyes open, and it was so good to get to bed!

San Francisco

We were up early on Saturday morning for our flights to Heathrow and then on to San Francisco. All went smoothly. We enjoyed the delights of the British Airways lounges, and our carefully chosen seats upstairs on the A380 ensured that we were in a row of only two seats, so we didn’t have to climb over anyone when we wanted to go for a little stroll or to the toilet. We were plied with several airline meals and were even given choc ices. Keen to meet my fitness targets, I did some surreptitious jogging at the back of the plane during the ten hour flight. I needn’t have bothered though, because when we arrived at San Francisco we found that our airport hotel was right on the bay front, so we were able to go for a very pleasant sunset walk along the waterfront path. Since my watch had skipped backwards eight hours to San Francisco local time, I could easily have met my targets on the hour long walk. The views towards the airport and the city beyond were lovely in the gentle evening glow, with the sky lit up in pink, blue and gold.

End of an era

The warm, sunny weather came back out for my last two days of teaching. This was just as well because both days were activity days when the whole school took part in a variety of fun events, many of them outdoors. The staff supervised the activities and although I expressed no preference, I was delighted with what I was allocated. On Thursday I accompanied a group of pupils to a football match at Toryglen Football Centre. It was very exciting, and our school beat the other team 5-4 so there was much celebration! Then in the afternoon I was with a group who were “Cooking with the Navy.”  A very personable Navy chef showed us how to prepare healthy food. His chopping techniques were very impressive and gave me some good tips. 

And on Friday I spent the whole day in Queen’s Park with some really lovely pupils and staff. We visited the reptiles in the Glass House and the pupils got to handle a cockroach and a gecko. We also saw an axolotl which is a cute wee horned amphibian which can regenerate its own limbs - this was all explained to me by one of the pupils who has a special interest in animals. Then we went bowling and played tennis and putting, and had a picnic all together in the sunshine. It was a great day. 

I will gloss over the surprise leaving presentation which was sprung on me, which was very touching and left me feeling quite emotional. And so ended my teaching career. 

Tragedy and Comedy

Sadly, there was another fire at Glasgow School of Art on Friday night. Four years ago a fire destroyed part of the building including the library, but this time it was much worse. By the time a passing policeman saw the flames, the building was well alight, and it has been completely gutted. The outer walls are still standing but it’s still unclear whether they are stable enough to be saved. The building seems to have been under the care of the building contractors who were still in the process of restoring it after the last fire. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Glasgow School of Art was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and is a very famous and much loved building; generations of Scottish artists have studied there (including my own Mum and sister), so it’s a real shame that it has been destroyed. Although I agreed with Nicola Sturgeon that thank goodness there has been no loss of life. No doubt there will be vigorous debate about its ultimate fate, whether to demolish or to attempt to keep the facade.
As it happens, we were the Stand Comedy club on Saturday evening. Jennifer was visiting us before we all headed to Bill and Katy’s party the next day, and David came too. We had a great evening and all four comedians were very funny. Since it was very topical, I was not surprised that one of them brought up the subject of the fire, but I wondered how the mainly Glaswegian audience would react. He was talking scathingly about the very low terrorist barriers at Edinburgh Castle and suggested that the terrorists must have been scared away by them and set fire to Glasgow Art School instead. When the whole audience gave a sharp intake of breath followed by a collective groan, he said, “What, do you think that terrorists started the fire?” The audience laughed and he then sensibly moved on to other topics.

Bill’s adoring nieces

It has been a pleasant week. David and Chanel are here because Chanel has been doing work experience in East Kilbride, so it has been lovely to see them. I was very busy at school getting everything finished and tidied before I leave next Friday. And I took Grandma for an appointment at the audiology department at the New Victoria which went very well. After about five weeks of absolutely brilliant weather, the rain finally arrived. The endless sunshine couldn’t last forever. It’s actually quite strange to have grey skies again! But it’s not all bad, it’s still warm and in between showers we can still go for lots of walks and sit in the garden.
And today we were sitting outside in Bill and Katy’s garden in Biggar during their Golden Wedding Anniversary party. It was a very happy occasion and as Jennifer, Janie, Julie and I were all sitting with Bill chatting to him I overheard someone saying “There’s Bill with his adoring nieces!” Well it’s true! Bill and Katy had put up a display board with photographs from their wedding. Katy looked so beautiful and Bill looked like a cool 1960s guy. I was their flower girl (aged five) and there were a few photos of me, one with me dancing with my Dad which I found very moving. I remember my beautiful pale blue dress and matching hairband so well. I can hardly believe that it was fifty years ago.
Katy was telling me that around that time she once took me home from school when my Mum was in hospital and I told her that “My Grandma said that I am the best girl in the world” Again I found this very moving because my Grandma died when I was three. I wonder if my Mum and Dad reminded me that she said that in order to comfort me. I have no recollection of her telling me that now (although I remember my Grandma very well) so it was very nice to hear, like a voice from the past.

Thunderous

It has been a good weekend. Ally was home because he had been attending his firm’s Spring Ball in Edinburgh on Friday evening, and Davie and Chanel were here too. Cat was on a sailing weekend with her firm which sounds very exciting. With both of his brothers here and having fun together (they were very wholesomely playing frisbee in the garden!), I missed Jamie a lot. The warm sunny weather is still with us, even though there was a goodly amount of thunder rumbling about the sky on Saturday. I had been preparing food all morning while James was doing a huge amount of gardening. So in the afternoon I decided to go out for my favourite 5 km walk around the area for some fresh air and exercise. The thunder was constant and really loud. And yet there was no downpour, at least not where we live. When I was walking across Holmhills Park I could see dark sheets of rain across other parts of the city, and a few flashes of lightning too.

Marjory, Forrest and all three of their young ones came to us for a barbecue in the evening, and I was pleased that it stayed dry. We had made burgers, chicken kebabs, and halloumi kebabs as well as baked potatoes and different kinds of salad. James and Ally manfully braved the smoke of the barbecue to cook it all and our guests devoured it appreciatively. We had a very convivial evening and it was warm enough to sit outside and chat.

Sunday was mainly spent relaxing in the garden with the young folk and the cats (I was of course in my beloved hammock!) Tom and Floof love to keep us company when we are in the garden and Floof did her very best to catch a squirrel for us. Luckily she failed. Grandma came for dinner and enjoyed seeing the boys and Chanel. And then I gave Ally a lift to the airport to go back to London and was very sad to see him leave (even though he was rather annoyed with me in the car, because everything I said seemed to irritate him!) 

As I write this at 11.15 p.m. it is still not quite fully dark. How I love this time of year. 

Cannoli for breakfast

On my last day of my great wee London mini-break, I decided to return to the British Museum. There’s so much to see there. So I bade farewell to Ally and Cat when they went off to work, and walked north to the beautiful and verdant Russell Square, where I had breakfast sitting outside the Caffe Tropea. I’m not sure that cannoli is a healthy breakfast, but I just couldn’t resist! I haven’t tasted cannoli since we were in Sicily. It’s only a few minutes walk from there to the museum, and today I decided to concentrate on the Greek antiquities, in particular the “Parthenon Sculptures” (formerly and less politicallly correctly known as the Elgin Marbles). There was an information board robustly justifying the presence of the sculptures in London, on the grounds that they are in better condition than if they had spent the last two centuries being looted and polluted in Athens. Also that the museum that now houses the rest of the surviving sculptures in Athens and the British Museum “complement” each other so that they can be seen in different contexts. 

I found it all fascinating and then went to the exhibition (free to members!) on Rodin and Greek Sculpture. That was really interesting too; I hadn’t realised that Rodin had taken ideas from Ancient Greek sculpture and then given them a very modern (at the end of the 19th century) treatment. 

I now felt ready for a coffee and a small custard tart in the Members’ Room, which was delightful. 

Later I went to collect my wee case from Ally at his work. As I was striding past a bus stop I noticed a bus right there beside me and I asked the driver “Are you going to St Paul’s?” When he answered in the affirmative I boldly jumped aboard and it dropped me right outside Ally’s office! He looked so handsome in his suit!

I made my way to London City Airport without incident and was soon on my way home. It has been a really lovely wee holiday and I have enjoyed wandering around all the parks and buildings and cafés. Ally and Cat were so welcoming to me in their smart flat in its amazing location. 

Paradise Pods

I have had another busy day in London. I met Jennifer at the Wallace Collection which is a small museum which was once the home of Victorian art collector Sir Richard Wallace. It has some amazing paintings, of which the most famous is probably the 17th century Dutch “The Laughing Cavalier” by Frans Hal. It’s really good and has a special meaning for Jennifer and me because our parents had placemats with famous paintings on them, and we called this one “Handsome Harry with the big moustache” after a friend of our Dad’s who did bear a resemblance to the eponymous cavalier! 
There are lots more work by Dutch artists as well as paintings by Velásquez, Gainsborough, Landseer, Canaletto and more. There are also collections of furniture and armour and fine china if you like that sort of thing. The café / restaurant is set right in the middle of the house in a beautiful glass-roofed courtyard and our lunch there was excellent - I would very much recommend a visit to this smashing wee museum. 
We then went for a walk and a chat in the sunshine in Regents Park, enjoying the greenery and the rose garden. It was a truly lovely afternoon.
After Jennifer returned home by train I made my way by underground to the South Bank, visited the Globe Theatre, and relaxed beside the Thames, watching the crowds go by. Later I walked across the Millennium Bridge to magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral, and met Ally at his office when he finished work. 
Cat had booked dinner at a fantastic restaurant right on the river beside the Tower of London. It has “Paradise Pods” to dine in, which are large perspex bubbles decorated with plants and fairy lights. It was great fun. We had views of the Shard as well as Tower Bridge. The staff were really friendly and pleasant and the food was delicious. It was a very special evening. 

Members’ Room

I’m in London to visit Ally and Cat. This afternoon while they were both at work I went to the British Museum. This was for two reasons - I love all the early Egyptian and Greek and Roman stuff AND my very kind sister Jennifer gave me a membership of the museum for Christmas! This involves all sorts of great privileges such as 10% discount in the shops and cafés, and free entry to exhibitions. However the best privilege of all has to be the Members’ Room! It is peaceful, private, and has its own little café and toilets. One wall is lined with books about history and art that you can peruse. I had a delicious salad for lunch there. It overlooks the main courtyard area which was thronged with tourists. I just loved it.
I decided to concentrate on Egyptology today and took my time wandering through the collections. I found it very informative and really interesting, I learned lots of new things and stayed until closing time.
I walked back to St Paul’s and relaxed in a café in Paternoster Square until Ally and Cat joined me after work. They took me to a roof top bar which had fantastic views of St Paul’s and all the city buildings, and then we had a great dinner at Smiths of Smithfield, ending up on the open air balcony on the top floor to have our desserts. It was amazing that it was still warm enough to eat outside at 10 p.m. Back at Ally and Cat’s flat they insisted that I use their bedroom while they slept on the sofa bed in the living room. I feel thoroughly spoiled!

Marvellous sets

Yesterday evening we went to see “Birdsong” at the Theatre Royal with Heather and Ewan. I read the book by Sebastian Faulks many years ago so I was interested to see it brought to the stage. Before the play we had a tasty dinner just across the road in the Piper’s Tryst Restaurant, where Alasdair and I used to have a weekly snack while Davie was at his piping lesson. Its menu has a Scottish slant, which I like.
At the interval we were chatting about the play so far and Ewan commented “Marvellous sets!” (about the scenery) However I misheard and thought that he said “Marvellous sex!” (there had indeed been a couple of love scenes). I was surprised but thought he was just being very frank, and started discussing it until James pointed out my misunderstanding. I thought that this was very funny and found myself laughing about it several times during the second half. I had to stifle my laughter because it was not appropriate for the tragic play, with its themes of war, death and doomed love. All in all I thought that it was an entertaining and well executed representation of the book.
It was not all that well attended which was a shame (although it was far from empty). However because of this they closed off the balcony, where I had chosen “cheap seats” (on the grounds that I would rather go to the theatre cheaply and often than expensively and only occasionally) and we were upgraded to excellent seats in the dress circle. 

Hot hot hot

Oh my goodness the heat continues! James and I decided to go for a walk this morning and chose Strathy Park because it takes about an hour and we wanted to chill out in the garden in the afternoon. But oh dear, it seemed reasonably pleasant at first but I just got hotter as the walk went on until I was absolutely sweltering. James told me that I was probably panicking and breathing too fast and that’s why I was overheating, so I tried to follow his instructions and “think cool” with little success. The park looked beautiful. It can be rather bleak in the winter but today it was all green and lovely. There were runners (of very varying ability!) doing a 5 k. And there were canoes racing on the water, and lots of cute cygnets and goslings paddling along with their mummies and daddies. James insisted on calling in at B&Q on the way home. I was not best pleased.
However James redeemed himself by setting up my hammock after lunch without even being asked. I read my book and dozed for an hour before some thunder heralded some rain at last. It was a shower rather than a storm but the garden smelled amazing afterwards, almost tropical, like the Botanic Gardens.

Awaiting the storm

There was supposed to be a storm today, but it has not arrived in Glasgow as of 10 p.m. However reports have reached us from East Kilbride that say it has been “lashing with rain” there. It is very humid and clammy, and it was so hot at school that sweat was trickling down my back even though I had all three of my classroom windows open wide. I arrived in town at about 3 p.m. and parked in Albion Street with the thought that we might eat in Merchant City later. There was one rumble of thunder and a few spots of rain but nothing more. I did a bit of shopping (new sandals) and then walked up to the GFT to meet James - oh boy it was hot! The streets were full of people and just about every pub and café had put tables outside, adding to the summery feel.
We went to see “2001: A Space Odyssey” which is one of James’ favourite films. I had forgotten how good it is, and I enjoyed it very much. When we came out of the cinema it was still very warm and we strolled back down the hill amidst the Friday evening revellers and had an absolutely delicious South Indian curry at Dhakin.