From Joseph Stewart C.G. we drove further up the Rogue-Upmqua Scenic Byway around Diamond Lake (seeing Mt. Thielsen on the way) and then took 138 back to Roseburg, OR and Hwy 5. It was a beautiful drive and we felt adventurous doing it with the camper (we’re finally getting a little more courageous!).
From there we drove north up to Albany, OR where we had a couple nights at a Harvest Host at Deluxe Brewing and Sinister Distilling. As we drove we discovered that this area is the grass seed capital of the country (world?). Over the next several days in that area of Oregon, we discovered there is a plethora of agriculture in the area from hazelnuts, to apples, to vineyards, to Christmas trees, to peaches, and more!
Matt and I got drinks and played a little shuffleboard after dinner. Then the next day we made good on Reece’s Christmas present of hang gliding lessons! We got up and walked over to get coffee and a cute shop in downtown Albany and then drove to the Corvallis airport for our lesson. BUT, the wind wasn’t great so the instructor pushed our time back to later in the afternoon when the wind was supposed to be better.
We pivoted and grabbed some groceries and then headed to Avery Park in Corvallis where we were one of many groups that were out enjoying the sunny day. We hiked around, skipped rocks on the river, ate lunch, made daisy crowns, and tossed a frisbee. Eventually it was time for our lesson.
We started with the basics of flying/wind patterns/etc. It was very informative, albeit not particularly adrenaline producing. Next, we got harnesses on and tried out the simulator. Then, we put the hang glider together and brought it over to the field/runway.
It was a lot of work running against the wind and trying to catch air, but it was still pretty fun. Someday we’ll find tandem flights to do, which will be much more thrilling, but we’ll be ready! (I learned Sleeping Bear Dunes area is a popular place for hang gliding (because of course our instructor was originally from MI)!)
(Note – I also caught some air, but have no photo documentation of it!)
We returned to the camper, had celebratory sodas at the brewery and then had our first Burgerville experience – the seasonal rosemary shoestring fries and strawberry cheesecake shake were particularly good!
It was a great day!
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