Day 3 was the Monday of Thanksgiving week.

We were a little late on our itinerary since we got in to Eugene too late to visit University of Oregon. So on the morning of Day 3 we had a nice breakfast at the hotel in front of the river. I believe the Willamete River. I didn’t write it down so I could be wrong. Then we headed to University of Oregon. I could tell my son was not pleased. The school was okay, and the weather was nice – perfect, actually. But Eugene is too much of a small town for my son. He’s so picky. I loved it. Although if I was 16 looking at colleges, I would not have wanted to go to a small town too. Especially being from Los Angeles.

From Eugene, we went to Corvallis and visited Oregon State University. He liked the school better than UofO but Corvallis was even smaller than Eugene. He liked the weather better too, although I could not tell the difference. Next we headed to Portland. We got to Portland around 2’ish and we had such a heavy breakfast (really 4 meals for 3 people) that we weren’t really hungry for lunch and we were meeting one of my very best oldest friends for dinner. So, we went straight to the University of Portland. My son liked this school the best of all 3 schools. It was in a more urban setting, the weather was nice and cold, and he liked the atmosphere. Who knows how a kid determines what they like or not? I guess he could imagine going to school there. I liked it because their school colors are purple! My favorite color.

Afterwards, we visited Cheese and Crack, recommended by my cousin, and we all loved it. We enjoyed ourselves hanging around the area.

We picked up my dearest friend and went to Nongs for dinner. It was ok. They had run out of the dish they are known for and so we didn’t get to experience what we had gone there to get. But the company was good. Unfortunately we didn’t end the night well. We went back and our new minivan’s windows were smashed in and a few items were stolen.

It sucked. But these are times where I can be grateful for many things and whoever did this needed the items they took more than my family and I. It was inconvenient and not fun but a few years ago this kind of event would have been the end of my world. Instead we changed our plans and made the best of things. And I am so thankful for the luxuries and resources I now have that I didn’t have back then.

Hugs to all this holiday season. I still have the rest of the trip lined up to view and proofread and post so stay tuned!

Always,

Melanie