Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Day 1 - Ontario, Oregon

We left this morning at 6:56 AM from the Pacific Inn.  The hotel is under new ownership and is going to be under the Hilton Hotel chain.  I hope they restore it to the grand hotel it was. 

We went through US Customs the quickest of any trip!  The US Customs Officer asked our group leader if anyone was carrying over $10,000.00 US.  Fred said "these are Post Office retirees, NO!" Our first stop was Ferndale to gas up the bus and get our breakfast at Pilot Truck Stop or McDonalds  I'm glad we had a light breakfast at home!  Our next stop was North Bend, just east of Seattle.  It was great because we all went to Safeway and stocked up.  We then traveled over the Snoqualmie Pass.  The roads were clear but still lots of snow at the top.  Snow depth was 134" at the Summit. 

We made a nice stop at Prosser and ate our deli lunch from Safeway at McDonalds!  We continued on down Highway 82 to 84 and ended our long day at Ontario, Oregon, very close to Boise, Idaho.  When they planned this trip they decided to have a very long first day so tomorrow we can spend time in the afternoon in Salt Lake City at Temple Square,

We've been going on these trip for 15 years.  We probably missed three years because of commitments and it's great to be reunited with old friends.  All the people on the bus are great!  Here are some pictures from our drive today.  These pictures were taken from a moving bus!
Columbia River

Outside Pendeleton, Oregon


LeGrande National Forest

Great rock formation!
 We will be up early to board the bus.  Tomorrow, Salt Lake City!  I love Utah, it's a beautiful state.


It's time for Aunty Acid