It was day #3990 of my running streak, as I wandered through the streets of McMinnville, Oregon. It’s been our home base for wine tasting these past two days and the gas alone propelled me along. I did mange to get out between rain showers in the near freezing temperatures. So far, we’ve tasted from eight different vintners plus dinner pairings, and plan on at least three more today as we make our way back to Portland. I was “key” on watching watch some I.U. soccer this morning as they play in the Sweet Sixteen, but there is no television coverage out here in the boonies. It will be another frustrating day of internet monitoring with a sporadic signal. I missed the thrilling end to yesterday’s Bucket game while we were traveling on a gravel road to our favorite vineyard. Our host was somehow able to get me the final score. It made my day.

During yesterday’s travel, we stopped to see the famous Spruce Goose that is actually made of birch and bought some custom cooking knives and a pearl Christmas Tree. My wife, the “Pearly Girl,” could not resist a little shopping along the way. We also have several cases of wine in the back of our rental SUV so we could easily accommodate the four of us, packages, and luggage. Neither of our convertibles would have worked for this particular trip. The dogs stayed at home with a sitter, her first trial with them in our new apartment. 

I haven’t felt burdened with keys these past few days. One of the biggest hassles of living in a secured building is that every door requires a key or key fob. I’m always digging in my pockets to find the right one and my pants sag from the weight. I’m ready for a stylish janitor’s key ring to wear on my belt. I passed along most of my heavy keys to the pet sitter in exchange for a plastic hotel room key card I can carry in my wallet, while the valet has my car keys. As a result, my pants are staying up much better on this trip. 

The new knives that we bought made me think of our plans to watch “Knives Out” tomorrow for Matinee Monday. Once again, we’ll walk to the theater. Our friends are getting a taste of big city living before they return to Tucson. I’m sure they feel somewhat trapped in our tiny apartment, knowing that they can’t get in and out without us. The trip to wine country has given us all a chance to spread out and breathe some cool mountain air. However, it’s just a bit too cool, especially for their much thinner blood from living in a considerably warmer climate. We hope that our next home will be near a hot, sunny beach. We’re “all keyed-up” to check-out the Florida Gulf Coast in a few weeks.