Category Archives: Home Sweet Home

A Fond Farewell

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Goodbye to the Sunday morning breakfast offerings from my local Sweet Tomatoes restaurant.  I received a disturbing email yesterday that stated the Sweet Tomatoes breakfast will be going away in two weeks. I received a disturbing email yesterday that stated the Sweet Tomatoes breakfast will be going away in two weeks. Since I will not be home next weekend, today was my final opportunity to indulge in this great breakfast buffet that will be shortly missed! So I bid a fond farewell and goodbye to this occasional Sunday morning treat.

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One last time for the sweet cinnamon rolls, biscuits and gravy, Belgium waffle and my favorite, the chilaquiles.

Secret Savings: Flying Elephants at the Portland Airport

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If I were to ever have another flight leaving the Portland airport after 9 p.m., in addition to enjoying the lounge access in the Alaska Airlines Board Room, I will also indulge in some cheap food at flying elephants Deli. After a certain time every evening, they discount a good portion of their hot and cold foods. I don’t quite know when this magic hour is comma but when I went there this past weekend it was already 8 o’clock. So I imagine either 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. is when they will discount the food. And they do have a large and varied selection as you can see here. And sometimes, you will get lucky because the pastries and cookies will be half off as well. So naturally I had to get a peanut butter cookie for my flight!

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I Bought a New(er) Car! Part 2

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Back to the new car!  Part 2…

Just a few minutes after finalizing the transaction and on the way home, the first of a series of disappointments set in:  the Check Engine light appears.  This never happened at all during my test drive.  Is this for real?  The whole time I test drove it, not once did it light up.  But now, now as I’m driving home, there it is, illuminated in all its glory, just mocking me.  And then halfway home it disappeared.  So maybe it is not such a big deal, right?  But had this light come on during the test drive, I probably would have not purchased the car.  The car ends up making it all the way home, success!

Over the next few days I inspect the front end damage and determine that it might cost around $300 – $500 to get it back in shape.  Plus I’ll need some new tires, which will run around $300 at Costco.  Throw in all the Oregon DMV title and registration and DEQ fees, that’s another $250.  Okay, so worst case scenario, it will be around $1000 to get it back to perfection.  I can live with that, about $2000 total…I think.  But first it must pass DEQ.

I bought that car on a Saturday, and was eager to have it pass DEQ, as the current tags expire at the end of March 2017.  However, DEQ is closed on Sunday.  And Monday too.  Tuesday couldn’t come fast enough!  I drove the car to work, and immediately after work, I drove to DEQ.  Unfortunately, it was February 28th, the very last day of the month when everyone is there.  Sure enough, huge line.  But I resolved to be patient and kept the faith that it would pass the emissions test.  I waited in line, about seven cars ahead of me.  I turned off my engine every now and then as I creeped up the line, and that’s when the check engine light returned.  Fortunately for me, the car is old enough that DEQ won’t automatically disqualify my car.  Newer than 1998 (I think), and they would have said no.  But it’s a 1994, so they can’t deny me!

Finally it was my turn.  The tech stuck the sensor into my tail pipe, and while in park I lay down the gas peddle until he asked me to stop.  Total time was probably five minutes.  Five really long minutes.  I was hopeful, crossed my fingers, waited for the good news…

Yeah, no.

Fail.  Didn’t pass.  No go.  Too much C02.  It should be at a 1.0, but mine was over 3.0.  The tech saw my check engine light and said that the engine is most likely the cause of my failed inspection.  Sheesh.  I was so sure that the car would pass!  It seemed to drive just fine, well, except for the check engine light.  But it was not to be.  The car failed DEQ, which means this — the DMV will NOT allow me to register or title the vehicle until it passes.  So I have to somehow figure out what is the issue.  Which I can’t do, because I know diddly squat about cars.  Time to get the mechanic…

Achieved: McMenamins Passport Completed

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After almost two years of visiting over fifty McMenamins properties and collecting stamps from all the venues, we have successfully completed the McMenamins Passport program!  We received our final stamp yesterday at the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse and then drove out to the Grand Lodge to validate our passports and receive our prizes:

  • Cosmic Tripster t-shirt
  • Key Chain (they were out)
  • Drinks at happy hour prices Sunday-Thursday
  • Pair of concert tickets or movie tickets
  • Three overnight stays at any of their hotels — valid for two years
  • Cosmic Tripster party

The prizes are valued at over $500, and it only costed us $30 each.  We enjoyed exploring all the properties and will definitely get another passport to complete for the future.  Between the both of us, we have a total of SIX free nights to stay at their hotels and although there are blackout dates, we are very excited to start planning for our staycations.  Hooray for McMenamins Passport!

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