Starting Mileage leaving Astoria: 7720
Ending Mileage arriving Corvallis, OR: 7897
Miles Driven: 177
Avg. MPG: 7.7
Gas Price: $3.85--Woodburn, OR
Travel and Reminisce Day
Overnight: Corvallis, Oregon
Albany / Corvallis KOA
The drive from Astoria to Corvallis, OR, was relatively flat and uneventful. One interesting fact about Oregon is that you cannot pump your own gasoline at a gas station. It's nice not to do, but it's also kind of weird these days. Sometimes they clean your windshield and sometimes not.
After we arrived at the Corvallis KOA and Dave got us all set up, we drove around town.
Dave lived in Corvallis from about age 4 to 10. So, he has fond memories to rekindle. (Dave was born in Lancaster, CA, and then moved to Corvallis.)
We have been here before looking at his stomping grounds, but it's fun to do again. This time, we did go to a few more places than before. Neither of us can remember when we were here last. We know the kids were not with us, so we can't figure out when it was. Alas, old brains don't compute as well!
First we drove to the Corvallis airport. Dave's father, Lee, and another man had a business on the grounds in which they made wooden toys. Dave and Bev, his sister, had gotten in to trouble here with the FBI for breaking into a building to play. Funny story if you want to ask Dave about it.
Here's a picture of some controlled burns that were being done off in the distance from the airport. There were four going on at once--as if it wasn't hazy enough!
Next we drove out to Kiger Island. This is where Lee worked to help harvest Filbert nuts. There is still a great number of Filbert tree farms on the island.
Although Dave's home is no longer there, a barn where he and neighbor kids played is still standing, as is the home of his neighbor (first girlfriend), Arleta.
Here are a few critters that we enjoyed seeing on the island.
Next we went on a search for the Episcopal church that the family attended. But, no luck. We think we may have found it and it has changed names/types. But, Dave couldn't be sure.
We also found the theater where Dave would go on Saturdays for 25 cents. It appears that the town is trying to restore the theater.
Dave's family moved from Kiger Island into town and had a house on Grant Street. We found the location and address of the house, but an apartment building now exists on the property.
Our final tour down memory lane was to find his grade school. And, to our surprise, it still exists. The only change that Dave could remember was that the second story has been removed. He knows it existed because he wasn't able to attend Kindergarten because it was on the second floor and he was in a wheelchair at the time. Dave had a good time seeing the school as we didn't see it on our previous trip to Corvallis.
Dave's second grade classroom.
After our tour of Corvallis, we stopped at Dairy Queen to get some burgers to go. We drove back to the RV to indulge. Retired early as more driving to do in the morning.
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