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And Yet Another Post About Oregon

This time the post is about Salem, Oregon. There are 2 main reasons for going to Salem for me. Yes, it is the capital city, but I care little about that. My reasons are family and blueberries. Going in mid to late July means there are you-pick farms with the fabulous fruit just waiting for your labor. At $1/pound, it is hard to resist! We came home with quite a haul.

Here is an interesting factoid: when I visit one of my sisters, we often walk along the St. John’s River. When my family visits me, we often walk along the Kaweah River. When I visit my sister in Salem, we walk over the Willamette River. And, this trip involved the Sacramento, Rogue and Willamette Rivers. Didn’t know I was such a river rat, didja?

piano over the Willamette River in Oregon
Salem Oregon is having a piano event. There are 11 pianos scattered about town, painted up, and inviting anyone to just sit down and play. These strangers didn’t know a California artist was photographing them for her blog.
2 sisters picking blueberries
My sister is a great blueberry picker. I kept eating them, but it wasn’t stealing because I ate them off the ground. No one would be filling his bucket with blueberries off the ground, so it wasn’t stealing, but gleaning!

Picking blueberries is a-may-zing, as the youngsters say. (Have you noticed that the word has replaced “awesome”?) It wasn’t hot or dusty or sticky or thorny. That is unheard of in any sort of fruit gathering in California!

cute baby girl
This is the world’s cutest baby. Her name is Brooklyn and she is my grand niece. If I were going to name a baby after a bridge, it would have to be Oak Grove. Doesn’t quite have the ring of “Brooklyn”, but I think her dad chose it because the Dodgers used to be in Brooklyn.
Retired Road Guy holds a pink baby
Who knew? This is Retired Road Guy, aka Trail Guy. Babies like him. I’m still recovering from dropping my cousin when I was 8 and she was an infant, so I’d rather hold the camera. (She survived; thanks for your concern.)

4 Comments

  1. Diana, if you really want to know, email me and I will forward it to my sister to give you directions. Thank you for the invitation – ‘twould have been wonderful to A) still be in Oregon and B) paint with you! Some day. . . ?

  2. We used to live not far from Salem and I loved going to the U-pick places for several varieties of fruit. A dollar a pound is hard to beat… in fact, I’d like to know where that is!

    Wishing you happy trails and good eating… and happy painting when you get a chance!

    If you’re still in Oregon at the end of the month, please take a little trip over to Hood River and paint with us at the Columbia Gorge paint out! It’s too late for an official entry but we could still do some painting together.

  3. Hi Jana,

    Is that Melinda in the pic with you picking berries?? Tell her hello from her old friend!! Picking blueberries is fun, we have a place here in Arroyo Grande I go to, they are yummy!!! Michael looks relaxed holding a great niece, good for him. Glad you are having a great time in Oregon, I have not stayed in Oregon in years!
    Hugs,
    Melissa

    • Melissa, you guessed it in one!

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