We left home before 4 am for our 7 am flight to Eugene, Oregon with a stopover in Phoenix. Mark and Cindy used some of their Alaska Air miles to bring us to Oregon to assist them in moving into their new home. We were concerned about our flights since we were in the middle of the longest government shutdown in US history. TSA agents and other federal officials have not been paid in weeks, and many airports have had to cancel flights because of a lack of workers.
We reserved parking at the Hilton on Turfway Drive in Covington, Kentucky through onestopparking.com for less than $50 using some of our points and a discount code. We parked at the Hilton a little before 5 am and caught the shuttle to CVG at 5 am. We ate a breakfast sandwich of Clifty Farms ham at the airport then went through security without a problem. There seemed to be plenty of TSA agents, and we had no problems with our personal items or carryon bags. Since we had some time before our flight, we walked through some of the concourses at the Cincinnati Airport then made our way to our gate. The American Airlines employee at the gate was asking passengers to agree to gate check any carryon bags. We were pleased to get our bags checked all the way to Eugene so we wouldn’t have to mess with them until we arrived.
On the four-hour flight to Phoenix, we both read. I enjoyed Anne Hillerman’s Shadow of the Solstice in the Leaphorn and Chee books. We were fortunate to not have a crying baby, an uncontrolled dog or someone hacking from a cold or flu nearby. At Phoenix, was had lunch at Panda Express splitting a meal of orange chicken, broccoli and fried rice. It was surprisingly affordable since one meal fed both of us.
The flight from Phoenix to Eugene was delayed by about 30 minutes waiting for the aircraft to arrive at the gate. This was a much smaller aircraft and carried fewer passengers. Like the flight from Cincinnati to Phoenix, the flight and landings were excellent.
On our arrival to the Eugene, Oregon airport, we were met by Cindy at the arrivals area of the airport then made the 40 minute or so drive to Whittington’s new home stopping at Albertson’s grocery store for a few items for the week.
We had a tour of Whittington’s beautiful new house then Mark showed me where he wanted the new fence and what the materials. We took the dogs on a walk along the Leaburg canal that formerly brought water to an electric generation plant near their home. We were impressed by the growth of horsetails and invasive Asian Blackberries. The Whittington’s house has four bedrooms, three of which are upstairs. One of the bedrooms is concealed behind a bookcase. There are many large, exposed beams that are six inches thick, 16 inches wide and up to 30 feet in length. There are three huge fireplaces and lots of windows overlooking the McKenzie River.
Robert was living with Mark & Cindy for the time being until there was a resolution to his upcoming divorce from Sheena. He was happy telling us about his job driving a semi carrying waste forest products like sawdust, wood chips and bark. We are hoping that the legal and personal issues surrounding the divorce are settled soon, especially custody of their daughter, Zella and the unborn baby.
Dinner was a beef roast from Idaho that Mark cooked in the Instant Pot then shredded for slider buns with cole slaw. Since we were up at 4 am this morning, we turned in early and slept well.
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