Corvallis – the start

Well, we finally made it to our starting point, which seems a little odd considering that we spent a week in Portland prepping the bus for the trip (pictures and details to follow in another post). Although we had driven down earlier in the week for a quick look and a check of our mailbox, this was the first real visit for Ayrril, Carson, and Bridger.  After checking in at the KOA and visiting the beach, we drove in on Monday morning for breakfast at The Broken Yolk, a local establishment in the heart of the quaint downtown area. In a word – delicious! We don’t want to dwell on all of our meals here in America but it was just terrific, with a great server, wonderful food, and a sign on the wall that read, “Be Nice Or Leave.” 🙂

We visited Corvallis High School, where Carson will be taking his 9th grade classes online, and met the registrar and the assistant principal. Both were excited about our trip and really warm to our whole family. They gave us free rein to wander around the school. We found the German and French classrooms, the math rooms with some hilariously clever hand made signs (“288 is too gross!”), and the library. Great place, friendly faculty, and a very welcoming feel. We stopped in to see Bridger’s potential school, too. He’ll be starting 6th grade next year with the chance to participate in band and take Spanish classes for a couple of years before hitting high school.

Sandwiched in with the school visits, we had more great meals at local restaurants and worked to get the bus ever closer to ready. After stops at Home Depot and various local shops, Ayrril said, “It feels like there’s a contest going on to see who can have the friendliest customer service!” It was truly remarkable. Waiting for our takeout pizzas to be ready at the American Dream Pizza parlor, we enjoyed two of the ten (ten!) local microbrews on draft – Ayrril had a Ninkasi “Maiden the Shade” and I had a Lagunitas “Lil’ Sumpin’.” When the manager called my name, he didn’t have pizzas in hand, though, and told us that they had put the wrong toppings on one pizza by mistake. He apologized, told us that the complete order (including the incorrect pizza at no charge) would be ready in about 10 minutes, and offered us another round of beer on the house. Sweet! While drinking our second round, we overheard someone in the next booth say, “I love Corvallis!” We couldn’t agree more.