Author: leh

August 1, 2011 – Arising early we see the morning view of Reser Stadium from our hotel. Then it is on to the admin building where a life-size cardboard cutout of Michelle Obama’s basketball coach brother (apparently being menaced by a standing beaver) greets us at the Visitor Center. We are (luckily) split off from the main tour group of thirty or so to get our own special, private wheelchair-accessible tour led by the sparkling Katlyn, who has published two scientific papers and conducted research abroad as an undergrad. Early up is the LEED-Certified (the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design national standard for green building), state-of-the-art engineering building. Then on to student affairs and student union areas, the main campus quad and much more. Then we were handed off to Courtney for the housing/dorm tour. After that we met with economics and computer science advisors. We got lost more than once, but were struck with the friendliness and helpfulness of everybody we encountered. Following more self-guided exploration, we finally hooked up with Rachel and Ivi so we could begin our late afternoon sprint to Ashland.

Leaving Portland, we drive to Corvallis. Landing at the Hilton Garden Inn, we find ourselves on the OSU campus at sunset, immediately across the street from the OSU football stadium (Go Beavers?).

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Early afternoon found us in Portland, stopping at the Portland Art Museum for the eagerly-awaited (in some quarters) exhibition, Allure of the Automobile, a collection of some of the world’s most striking automobile designs, mostly from the 30s and 50s.  My absolute favorite was the Talbot-Lago (I used to have a Road and Track centerfold of one on my wall in my Santa Monica apartment in the 70s, but it is long gone now).  Second would be the 1938 or 39 Alfa Romeo 8C Berlinetta coupe, although the Spyder is my choice from that era and marque.  Hispano-Suiza, Bentley, Bugatti and many more.  Except in the day-lit lobby area, the show’s lighting absolutely conspired to make photography virtually impossible, as neither flash nor tripod was permitted.  Most of the photos were taken hand-held from 1 to 6 seconds, but at least I got some “reference” images.

Also showing at the Museum were some mostly auto-themed photographs from the 50s and 60s made by Ray Metzker, one of the masters of black & white “street” photography. An unexpected surprise, time ran out before we could fully examine all of the large body of work on display.

July 31, 2011 – We set off for Portland early in the morning, sans Ivi.   Her most excellent friend Rachel drove into town the night before after completing music camp in the Wallowas.  After a night of seemingly mostly talk and laughter, the two girls proceeded independently to Rachel’s home near Lebanon, awaiting a rendezvous with the rest of us the next day when we were to reach Corvallis and OSU via Portland.