#29 MOTHER'S WEEK in Oregon

Life Begins at Ninety Blog #29, Mother’s WEEK in Oregon!

It all happened because I was late returning my book to the library branch near my home in the Village of Oak Creek near Sedona.  

Suddenly I see dangling feet... A man was sitting on the back of a truck in the parking lot taking pictures.  So I asked him if he could take a picture of me from my own phone camera.  As he did that, his adorable wife Zoe showed up... They went with me to return my book and then walked back to my place to see my paintings.  After seeing the paintings and my book lying on the table, he said, “I am Bill Willetts from Oregon.  When I return home I will swap my book for yours, and send you the book my mother wrote when she was 95, like you are about to be.”  I learned that she came as the youngest daughter of a large family from Italy through Ellis Island, and was interviewed about her immigrant experience as part of the Ellis Island museum. 

In a week we got a lovely package containing a book, a chocolate bar and a mug with a picture and logo of Five Pines on them, as well as printed information about the lodge he had built.  We thanked him, and received an unexpected surprise: an invitation to be their guest for 3 days.  Monday – Wednesday May 4-6, checking out on Thursday morning, May 7.  The cabins are fully booked Thursday – Sunday, so the beginning of the week was good for them and good for us too. Never did I dream that I could ask Alicia to skip a Friday evening service, but she agreed that we would go, and not rush back.  There would be a lay-led service on Friday at the Sedona synagogue, and we would take our time with an extra day to come home.

Alicia began to read the book, and loved it.  The print was too small for me, so Alicia read parts out loud to me about the fascinating story of Bill’s mother’s life.

So we planned Mother’s Week... Why just one day?  Like a Polish wedding or birthday… lasts all week!

We had to take two small planes from Phoenix via San Francisco to reach this small airport at Redmond, Oregon. 

Nika on the plane reading a book downloaded into her android phone

Then Alicia rented a fiery red Dodge Journey, perfect name for this trip.  Just couldn’t find any place to plug in the GPS so she had to navigate the old fashioned way – with a little, inaccurate tourist map, and asking directions. We arrived at what looked like an enchanted pine forest…vertical lines of hundreds of tree trunks reaching to the sky. 

There is a lodge, and a conference center,  a spa called Shibui, run by Bill’s wife Zoe, and many cabins with different designs..ours was the Caboose Cabin, with an extra alcove for Alicia’s bed. 

Alicia adds: Nika couldn’t understand what animal was leaving all those thousands of droppings under the trees…. I laughed and told her they were pine cones!!!

Alicia drove us to the nearby town of Sisters, all of several blocks long, with cute little houses turned into galleries, stores, and restaurants. 

In the Conference Center, everything was dedicated to Bill‘s mother Elda, with inspiring quotes about forgiveness from his mother written on large wooden plaques.  The family pictures were framed and displayed in the central entryway, making this public space homey and personal.

Zoe and Bill have been married for many years, since she was 16 and he 18... Their parents had been against their getting married so early, but she got pregnant and against everyone’s advice they did get married and kept the child, and created a life and large family together.  Now they have grandchildren already in college! What a strong, loving, family life they created!

This Five Pines Lodge was built only 8 years ago after many years of Bill’s having businesses in sales and design.  Read the book to find out more...  

It is called “The Sugar’s at the Bottom of the Cup.”  The lodge is located in Sisters, Oregon, named after the Three Sisters Mountains nearby. If you want to smell the best, cleanest air ever, we highly recommend you go there and enjoy this fairy tale spot.  People return year after year… We read some of their reflections in a journal in the cottage with entries from families who visited again and again..

Alicia:  On Wednesday, our second full day at the Five Pines Lodge, Nika decided to rest in the cabin so I went exploring to find the Head of the Metolius River, suggested as a remarkable destination for anyone visiting the area.  I drove among miles of pine trees, parked – the only car in the whole parking lot – and started walking down the path.  The only companion I had was a lively chipmunk. I did reach the spot where one has a view of the flowing river, but the air was very cold, and the sky was grey, so I turned around and quickly headed back.

The highlight of our trip, however, was not the meanderings downtown, nor the exploration of the Head of the Metolius River,  but the dinner at the Open Door Restaurant inside the Clearwater Gallery in Sisters. In the evening, they put tables into the gallery space and instantly it becomes a restaurant. 

Alicia: Bill knew of my mother’s love of art, and so picked this fine dining venue in the midst of paintings and sculptures for a family gathering to which we were invited.

We hugged Bill and Zoe, and then were introduced to their son Greg, and his sons Sean and Gabriel.  We also got up and walked around the small gallery, and met all the other diners.  At one large table were people who hold a regular Italian conversation group, so we practiced speaking Italian with them.  Other diners exchanged email addresses with us.  Very friendly, warm atmosphere!

We exchanged gifts with Bill and Zoe, and felt like extended family. We hope to meet the rest of the family in the future.

After our three days in this fairy tale like place, we made a detour to Bend, Oregon, on Thursday morning, where Alicia found (after a few stops to ask) the Old Mill District, which in our minds would be a kind of promenade along the Dechutes River with tables and cafes and cute local shops.... No such thing.  It was indeed an old brick mill with smokestacks turned into an outdoor mall with Chico’s and all the usual franchise shops... And... it was bitter cold and windy. So, never mind, we just went, much earlier than expected, back to the Redmond Airport to drop off the car, and wait for the shuttle from the Comfort Suites Inn to pick us up. We had both agreed that it would be too rushed to return back home after those 3 days... Rather we decided to stay at a hotel for one more night before flying back to Sedona the next morning, Friday. Kind of time to decompress.

We got to this hotel expecting nothing but a clean room. We open the window curtains, and Oh My God...there was a rushing, turbulent, torrent of water right under our window.  Alicia yelled out, “Mom, the river, finally!!!”  Actually it is an irrigation channel for watering fields downstream, but for us, hey, this was The River!!!

After shuttling us to a quaint restaurant nearby with tasty sandwiches, we rested, and then decided to utilize the pool. Had a swim, and then didn’t want to dress again or go out for dinner. 

So… had a picnic feast in our room: Champagne and mango juice (try it!), and microwaved chicken pot pies from the choices at the front desk kiosk. 

Great, restful sleep, and then after breakfast provided by the hotel, they took us in their shuttle to the local Redmond Airport.  and... believe it or not, there was NO ONE THERE... I mean empty!!! I guess the rest of the locals knew to come only 10 minutes before the flight. 

The whole of Friday, May 8, it took us 12 hours to return to Sedona... two short flights, but a lot of waiting in between, and the two hour long shuttle ride back to Sedona, made comfortable by Ed of Red Rock Transportation.

Today, Sunday, May 10, is Mother's Day, and Alicia brought daisies (you know I hate roses), and we sat down together to write this blog about our Mother’s Week. I dictate, and she types and ads her own comments.

I always need to have something to look forward to…. and now that this Oregon adventure is passed, I’m looking forward to my 95th birthday on May 27, and then going to Cape Cod by June 1 for my 70th summer in Wellfleet, where our children and grandchildren spent part of their vacation… and now also our great-grandchildren will join the fun.  We will celebrate my birthday, and the naming of Tali and Craig’s babies, whose American names are Gabriella Roux and Amalia Belle, this summer in July.

Alicia: It is a custom to give babies their Hebrew name with a ceremony in which the parents and other relatives welcome the babies into the Covenant of Judaism through their significant Hebrew lineage names, linking them to earlier generations. As both a rabbi and a grandmother, I’m looking forward to both roles in this moving Baby Naming and blessing ceremony!

I wish for every mother in the world to experience such fun with her own children and create adventures... So start walking to your local library!

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