April 10-14 April 15 April 16 April 17 April 18 April 19	Monday, April 19 Despite wanting to sleep in, I got up at the usual time... I dilly-dallied around the room until 7 and had breakfast at the restaurant. Then I packed up the rest of my stuff and checked out. I was on the road by a little before 8!!! Gabby said I’d arrive at the rental car return at 9:12 - much, much too early for a 3 pm flight. As a result, I took the scenic route. Every chance I got, I exited I-84 and took the old road - US 30. It was a very pleasant drive, especially since it was Monday morning and no one else wanted to take the slow road... I stopped at Multnomah Falls again to use the restroom and take in the falls one last time. If my tripod hadn’t been in the bottom of the suitcase to be checked, I might have spent longer at several of the stops. I also stopped at Sheppards Bridge. What a nice waterfall! I sure wish my tripod had been handy... I also stopped at an overlook (Women’s Forum Overlook) that had a nice view back to Vista House. Luckily, no tripod was needed for that stop. The two photos here show the view east towards Vista House with the Columbia River Gorge spreading out behind it. Poor Gabby kept trying to talk me back onto the interstate, but I stuck with historic US 30 almost to Portland. She kept “recalculating....” I drove straight to the rental car return without any fumbling or backtracking, arriving about 10:30. I got everything resettled fairly quickly. Enterprise is so friendly! And, for once, I managed to return a rental car with an almost empty fuel tank! I finally got to the Frontier desk to find it deserted! A clerk finally came out and checked me in, but couldn’t take the suitcase yet. Seems the computer won’t let them check a bag until 4 hours before the flight time... So, I found the ladies room then wandered around the set of shops outside of the security area. Finally made my way back to the desk and they’d now check my bag. I was a little startled when the clerk handed it back to me. It seems one takes their checked luggage to the TSA screening area after checking it and they scan it there, in the middle of the concourse! Never had that happen before in the US. So it was on through security, which was a breeze. I checked out the Pendleton outlet store at Carl’s request. No, they don’t have any wool ballcaps. He should check online... Ah, well, I tried. So, I settled in at Gustav’s Bar and Grill across from my gate for a leisurely lunch. It’s a good stop - also recommended. I had a salad that I took my time on and hot tea followed by a draft that I sipped and managed to stay there for over an hour and a half. By then, my bladder was complaining, so I paid my bill and moved on. Only an hour left until boarding begins, so I brought this journal up to date and got myself into cargo mode... This flight was with Larry the White Tail Deer (at least, I think that’s what they announced). We had an uneventful flight back to Denver. After walking from one end of the terminal to the other, I finally arrived at Baggage Claim to find Carl waiting with my suitcase. Once again, it had beaten me to Baggage Claim! We stopped at BJ’s for a small pizza on the way home. Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Addendum: We closed on the house today! Despite the many complications along the way, we're homeowners again. We'll probably move some time in the next six weeks or so. I'll forward contact information when it all becomes available... Here's what the front of the house looks like.