Last night we drove through the rain out into the country for pizza night at a bed and breakfast. Claudia, the woman who runs it is also a chef, and an excellent hostess and chef she was. Her friend, Mary, who owns a local winery we've visited often, was there with several friends, so Claudia pushed our two tables together, and as we got to know each other, it developed that there was a strong Sonoma County connection. We talked wine and travel and trimming the hooves (claws?) of alpacas while we ate salad, three kinds of delicious pizza and rhubarb pie with fresh cream. Yum...

This morning we went to Le Patisserie, a splendid French bakery in Corvallis. This has become something of a tradition on our trips there, because the pastries are not to be missed. It seems a fitting way to bid adieu to these excellent friends and a week of delicious meals. The only alteration in the tradition might be to go to Le Patisserie every morning!

We have now made our way through the green, green Willamette Valley, admiring the tidy farms, old barns and beautiful clouds, the passes through the timber covered hills and are back in the same room we had in the way up in Ashland.