Jaunt

If you are planning a road trip and it turns out that you will be driving long distances during the hottest weekend of the year? Take my advice... don't. If, however, you do decide to throw logic out the door and hit the road then make the best of it. Like Missy and I did.

I think both of us were dying to try Kina's pizza. Plus we both wanted a few days away from homes, husbands, kids, and dogs (though not necessarily in that order). A girls' weekend in Baker City was just the ticket, so we picked a weekend and made the plan. Actually, we didn't plan a lot which was supposed to be part of the fun. When people asked what we were going to do in Baker City, my answer was "not much". We sought quiet, good pizza, maybe a beer or two, and more quiet.

Rolling out of Bend on Friday afternoon, the sun was at our backs and the air was warm. Not too warm... but pretty warm. We passed through small towns and lots of farm land. The landscape turned from the ranches of Powell Butte, to ponderosa forests, to barren stretches of sage brush and juniper, to the rocky cliffs of the John Day fossil area. And so on. We stopped in John Day for a quick snack at the DQ. As soon as I saw the menu though, my stomach grumbled and I realized I was ready for dinner. After downing a cheeseburger I felt much better. Missy also looked revived, and we continued our drive East.

It was twilight when we left John Day. By the time we got to the turnoff for Baker City it was dark. I was a little worried about missing the turn but we stayed alert and spotted it easily. We wound through more of what must have been heavy woods, and for a while we followed the shore of Phillips Lake. I wouldn't have even noticed the water, but for the reflection of the moon. We laughed and mused about the origin of the name for Social Security Point. (Turns out, it's a popular spot with the over-65 crowd.)

Finally we rolled into Baker City. It was late and the sidewalks were all but rolled up and put away. We stopped at the Domino's Pizza and Missy asked someone sitting at an outdoor table for directions to Paizano's Pizza. He laughed, explained how to get there, and told us he thought they were closed for the night. After a short drive we saw the blinking lights of the Paizano's sign in the distance.

We made it!!!

to be continued...