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Winterail 2018 3/14-18/2018

For the 40th Anniversary Show of Winterail, Chris Parker and I planned to fly to Portland, Oregon on Wednesday and ride the MAX light rail to Beaverton before riding Westside Express. We would then ride to the airport and obtain a rental car then ride Amtrak from Vancouver, Washington to Tukwila and take the southbound train back with Elizabeth Alkire. After an overnight stay in Milwaukie, depots, trains and substations were on the itinerary before making our way to Corvallis. Robin would fly up on Friday and we would attend the Railfan and Railroad Magazine Pizza Party while Robin would take the Amtrak Thruway bus to Albany, where Chris would pick him up. Saturday morning would be a couple of covered bridges then Winterail and Sunday would find us railfanning back to Vancouver to drop Elizabeth off before returning the car to the Portland Airport and all fly home.

I worked my day at Heninger Elementary then came home before my mother drove me to Orange County Airport and I was TSA pre-check so went through security with no one else in line. I walked over to Gate 13 and waited to board and once on the plane, I read half of the book "Pittsburgh Penguins Back-to-Back Champions 2016 and 2017". The two hours flew by and soon we landed in Portland where I exited the plane then bought my light rail ticket and took the next train to 82nd Street. I walked to the Days Inn, checked in and watched the Pittsburgh Penguins play the New York Rangers before Chris Parker returned and we watched "NCIS" before calling it a night.

3/15/2018 We arose at 6:00 AM then fifty minutes later, left the Days Inn, walked over to the MAX 82nd Street station and purchased our day passes for the morning before boarding a Red Line train for Beaverton.

Downtown Portland crossing the Willamette River. We made our way west and arrived on time to Beaverton.

The Red Line train here. We walked over to the Westside Express station and waited for the train to arrive from Wilsonville.

The Westside Express commuter train arrived, which serves parts of Washington and Clackamas counties. Opened on February 2, 2009, it is owned by TriMet and operated by Portland & Western Railroad and travels 14.7 miles between Beaverton and Wilsonville along a route just west of Oregon Highway 217 and Interstate 5. The line serves five stations and connects with MAX Light Rail at Beaverton Transit Center. Service operates on a 45-minute headway on weekdays during the morning and evening rush hours.

The route presently used by WES consists of two historically separate railroads. The segment between Greton (near Tigard) and Wilsonville was originally built by the Oregon Electric Railway in 1908; at Greton the line continued northeasterly to Portland, a route that was abandoned in the mid-1930s. The Oregon Electric stopped running passenger trains in the late 1930s and soon after switched to diesel locomotives, continuing to run freight trains to Beaverton and Portland to the north, and to Salem, Albany and Eugene to the south.

The Tigard branch from Greton to Beaverton was built by the Beaverton and Willsburg Railroad, an affiliate of Southern Pacific, beginning in 1906, and opened to traffic in 1910. This route connected with Southern Pacific's existing west-east West Side branch in Beaverton that provided service to Portland and Hillsboro, and a second route south of Tigard to Cook, which was a junction with the Newberg branch between Lake Oswego and McMinnville. In 1914, the Southern Pacific electrified these lines as part of its Red Electric service in competition with the Oregon Electric Railway; by 1929 the Southern Pacific ended electric service, and passenger service was switched first to steam trains and doodlebugs and later buses.

Both the Southern Pacific and the Oregon Electric (and its successor Burlington Northern) continued to provide freight service on the line until the 1990s when both railroads leased its low-density branches to shortline operators. In this case, the Southern Pacific leased its lines to newly formed Portland & Western Railroad in August 1995; followed by the Burlington Northern leasing its lines to the Portland & Western in October 1995. This put the operations of two competing railroads in the same hands for the first time in history.

Our train at Wilsonville.

Equipment failures and periodic maintenance on the agency's Colorado Railcar DMUs resulted in TriMet substituting buses for some runs on several occasions since the service began. To provide backup equipment for the line, TriMet purchased two Rail Diesel Cars from the Alaska Railroad in 2009. TriMet refurbished the cars and planned to operate them as a backup for the Colorado Railcar units when they are out of service. They entered service on January 24, 2011. This is Westside Express RDC 1711, ex. Alaska Railroad 711, nee New Haven 121, built by Budd Company in 1952.

Westside Express RDC-3 1702, ex. Alaska Railroad 702, nee New Haven 129, built by Budd Company in 1953.

Westside Express RDC-1 2007, ex. Trinity Railway Express 2007, exx. VIA Rail 6127, exx. VIA Rail 9062, nee Canadian Pacific 9062, built by Budd Company in 1957.

Westside Express RDC 2011, ex. Trinity Railway Express 2011, exx. VIA 6106, exxx. Canadian National 6106, nee Canadian National D106, built by Budd Company in 1957.

Westside Express shops at Wilsonville. We reboarded the train for the ride back to Beaverton.

The interior of the Westside Express and chatted with our conductor for most of the trip.

The Oregon Electric substation in Tigard.

Our train back at Beaverton, after which we boarded a waiting Red Line MAX to return to the Days Inn.

We crossed the Willamette River with a Union Pacific train exiting Albina Yard.

We arrived at 82nd Street then walked back to the hotel, collected our luggage and left the keys in the room and returned to the 82nd Street station and rode the next Red Line train back to the airport.

The Red Line train at its terminus. We went to the rental car center and Dollar Rental Car took care of us then we drove east to Troutdale, where we stopped at Arby's to pick up lunch and went to Depot Park.

A Union Pacific box car, details unknown.

Union Pacific caboose 25748, built by International Car Company in 1975, with my favourite Union Pacific slogan.

Union Pacific Troutdale station built by the railroad in 1907.

Depot Park in Troutdale. From here, we drove to the Vancouver, Washington Amtrak station to watch some trains.

Amtrak Cascades 504 arrived and departed.

BNSF 5792 West came in with a grain train.

BNSF 5182 West leading a coal train, after which we re-located to the west side of the tracks.

Port of Vancouver switcher RLPX SW1200 3541, ex. BNSF 3541, exx. Burlington Northern 210, nee Northern Pacific 151, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1957.

A trackmobile switching grain cars. We then stopped by 7-11 for some needed supplies and returned.

Vancouver station scenes.

Coast Starlight Train 11 arriving and departing.

The BNSF local, led by BNSF 3009, returned from the Port of Vancouver.

A BNSF local, led by BNSF GP39-2 2707, bound for Portland, went through next.

The Vancouver Amtrak station built for Spokane, Portland and Seattle in 1910.

The BNSF local returning to the yard at Vancouver.

BNSF 4648 West with a grain train.

BNSF action at CP Vancouver Center.

BNSF 5166 was the DPU on that grain train.

BNSF 5270 East ready to change crews.

BNSF GP38-3 2645, ex. BNSF 2629, exx. Santa Fe GP35u 2963, exxx. Santa Fe GP35 3464, nee Toledo, Peoria and Western 902, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1965.

BNSF GP35u 2554, ex. Santa Fe 2854:2, exx. Santa Fe 3354, nee Santa Fe 1354, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1965.

That BNSF local returning cars to the Port of Vancouver.

Union Pacific 5297 West.

Canadian Pacific Railway ES44AC 9374, built by General Electric in 2012.

The BNSF local was done for the day.

Amtrak Cascades Train 517 arrived.

Three trains in Vancouver.

Amtrak Cascades SC-44 1401, built by Siemens in 2017.

Amtrak Cascades Train 517 departed.

Union Pacific 5297 moved to the west Vancouver Yard.

BNSF GP40 3009, ex. BNSF GP40E 3029, exx. Burlington Northern 3554, exxx. Burlington Northern 3009, nee Chicago, Burlington and Quincy GP40 179, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1966.

Amtrak Cascades Train 518 which picked us both up; Chris in Car 6 for Tacoma and myself in Car 5 for Tukwila. I worked on the travelogue up to Olympia-Lacey before getting online and clearing out my e-mail. Making the most of what was most likely my last daytime trip along Puget Sound, I just enjoyed the view. We arrived at Tacoma and Chris detrained then slow running commenced, putting my connection in danger, so I went to the conductor and told him my problem, and after telling them how much I had ridden trains, he said they would get me there before the southbound train, which they did, as we arrived at 6:21 PM. I found the tunnel to the other east platform and walked up to the track, saw a green signal and knew I was in the correct spot. Then I saw a headlight, but it was not my train.

BNSF 4917 East at Tukwila.

Amtrak Cascades 507 arrived at Tukwila. I boarded and quickly found Elizabeth waiting for me, which was good news and told her about my adventure then showed her my Penguins championships book, which she thoroughly enjoyed. We checked the score of the Penguins game, found they won 5-3 and Kris Letang, whose shirt I was wearing to show Elizabeth, had two assists. The trip south was much faster until we reached Reservation, where we waited upon the Coast Starlight, which Chris Parker had seen while he was in Tacoma waiting for us. Chris boarded and good conversations were had all the way back to Vancouver and we arrived to a night-time rain storm, so quickly made our way to the rental car and then drove south via Washington Highway 14 and Interstate 205 to Milwaukie, where we checked into the Econo Lodge and all had a good night's sleep.

3/16/18 We arose at 6:15 and met at the car at 6:40, with the first stop at MacDonald's for breakfast then had a confusing drive to the Amtrak station in Oregon City.

The original Southern Pacific Oregon City station built in the 1920s which is elevated, but is not used as a station.

The Oregon City Amtrak shelter.

Amtrak Cascades 500 arrived.

Amtrak Cascades 500 departed.

As we drove away, I pointed out the End of the Oregon Trail conestoga wagon skeletons, which had seen better days.

Willamette Falls in Oregon City, after which we made our way to Aurora.

Southern Pacific Aurora station built in 1882. The three of us next proceeded to Donald.

There was no station nor substation here, just the station sign. A stop was made at Walmart in Woodburn then we drove south on Interstate 5 to Brownsville.

The Brownsville Southern Pacific station built in 1895, which is the Linn County Museum.

Southern Pacific caboose 1010, built by the railroad in 1937.

This boxcar is used by the museum as a theatre car.

The boxcars west of the caboose.

A Brownsville station scene. From here we drove on Interstate 5 further south to Springfield.

Pennsylvania Railroad "BM70KA" railway post office car in faux Southern Pacific paint; it was never used by the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was built circa 1923.

Springfield Southern Pacific station built in 1895.

The Springfield station sign has the date it was built and when it was moved.

Springfield station scene. We then drove into Eugene to where both stations still stand.

The Oregon Electric station, built by the railway in 1914, which is home to an Old Spaghetti Factory.

Behind the station, we found Spokane, Portland and Seattle baggage car 90, built by Barney and Smith in 1915.

On the right is Spokane, Portland and Seattle coach 279, nee Spokane, Portland and Seattle parlour-observation car 558, built by Barney and Smith in 1915.

Spokane, Portland and Seattle railway post office-baggage car 59, nee Spokane, Portland and Seattle 44, built by Barney and Smith in 1918. These three cars have been here since the 1980's.

A caboose painted as Oregon Electric and Eastern, but its origins are unknown.

Eugene Southern Pacific station built in 1918.

I am not sure if this was originally a railroad structure but its design resembles such, and the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts is the tenant. We then made our way toward Junction City.

On the way there, we caught a Willamette and Pacific local, led by 2313, switching across the highway.

Finnish State Railways 2-8-0 418, built by Linne & Jern in 1904 and came from Finland in 1960 as a gift to the City of Portland. It was displayed at Oaks Park in Portland with Southern Pacific 4449, Spokane, Portland Seattle 700 and Union Pacific 3203 for a number of years before going to Junction City. Presently it is under cover and appears to be in good condition.

Amtrak Cascades 511 going through Junction City.

The Oregon Electric station, now known as the Burlington Grill, where we had a delicious lunch. On the way to Albany, we were surprised when the Coast Starlight blasted by us as we were still five miles out.

Coast Starlight leaving Albany with Norm Orfall on the platform of his private car "Tioga Pass". From here, we drove over to the rear of the yard.

Willamette and Pacific SW1200m 1201, nee Albany and Eastern 1866, built in by Electro-Motive Division in 1953, and a California Northern passenger car.

Willamette and Pacific SD40-3 3052, ex. Portland and Western SD45 3603, exx. I&M Rail Link 450, exxx. Buffalo and Pittsburgh 450, exxxx. Helm Atlantic Leasing 7357, exxxxx. Southern Pacific 7537, nee Cotton Belt 9153, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1970.

Portland and Western GP40-2 3003, ex. Locomotive Leasing Partners 3203, exx. EMD Leasing 200, exxx. Government of Ontario 725, exxxxx. Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 3004, nee Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 380, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1967.

Willamette and Pacific GP40-2 3053, ex. Portland and Western 3604, exx. I&M Rail Link 456, exxx. Helm Atlantic Leasing 7565, exxxx. Southern Pacific 7565, nee Cotton 8973, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1967.

Portland and Western SD9 1501, ex. Willamette and Pacific 1501, exx. Southern Pacific 1530, exxx. Southern Pacific 1401, exxxx. Southern Pacific 2701, nee Southern Pacific 5280, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1952. It was acquired by BUGX (Dieselmotive Power) in 2023.

Railfan Magazine Friday Night Pizza Party and Slide Show 3/16/2018

We drove to Corvallis and checked into the Days Inn. Elizabeth and I went to Elmer's for an early dinner and I had the flat iron steak then we returned to the hotel, picked up Chris Parker and went to the Railfan and Railroad Magazine Friday Night Pizza Party and Slide Show. I duly gave Evan Werkema the flash drive containing my program, had a Coca-Cola while everyone else enjoyed their pizza then chatted with various acquaintances I see only once a year. I called Robin who had arrived in Portland and would call him again about the time he was getting on the bus.

At 5:50 PM, we were allowed to go into the auditorium and chose our usual seats. The shows started promptly at 6:00 with Railfan's Associate Editor Otto Vondrak showing an excellent program about the Boston and Maine around Massachusetts, followed by a very educational program by David Lange entitled "Spreading Her Wings" then David's father, Charles Lange, showed "A Tribute to The End", which dealt with cabooses he had taken pictures of over the years. Before Randy's program, I stepped out and called Robin, who was sitting on the Thruway Bus getting ready to leave Portland. After that, Randy Nelson started his "Nomo's Northwest Wanderings" and made it as far as the Holiday Express when computer gremlins took over. So Vic Neves came to the rescue and showed two drone videos, one of a Union Pacific freight train which was quite interesting and one on the remnants of the Tillamook Branch which was quite sad because we all had ridden the Tillamook Branch back in June 2006 on one of Bart Jennings' rare mileage trips.

A fifteen minute break was taken while Randy found another copy of his program and it was installed on Evan's computer. The third time was a charm and not only did we see the Holiday Express trip but also the pre-Winterail excursion from last year, which I organized, and seeing it from a different perspective was nice. Next was Greg Molloy who showed us trains from his visit to Romania which was indeed fascinating. Chris Parker left after this to pick up Robin from Albany and brought him to the theatre. That was followed by Bruce Blackaddar showing "Western Canada from the Great Lakes west to Alaska", which I really enjoyed as well. Next up, was my "A Year Of Trains In The Life of Chris Guenzler" and this year, I used captions so did not have to narrate each picture, which was well-received. That was followed by Dave Oroszi's "Big O's Best of the West". The last official show of this evening was by Mike Pechner, who showed his adventures on the American Freedom Train. Steve Barry then showed a unique former Winterail presentation with the music of Jackyll called "Northwest Loggers" which included the sounds of chainsaws. With that, this year's Railfan and Railroad Pizza Party and Slide Show was a wrap and we returned to the hotel and Elizabeth and I finished the travelogue before calling it a night.

3/17/2018 We met at the car at 7:00 AM but Robin was late coming down as he only had two hours of sleep last night, so we decided to give him the railfan tour of Corvallis. Our first stop was the Oregon Electric depot, which is now an Old Spaghetti Factory. Then we went to McDonald's for breakfast, which was followed by taking Robin down the street-running and over to the old Southern Pacific station with the two Spokane, Portland and Seattle passenger cars behind it. From here, we drove over to the Portland and Western yard and had an engine to photograph.

Portland and Western GP38-3 2005 originally Southern Pacific 7413, ex. Utah Railway 2005, exx. Southern Pacific GP35A 6322, exxx. Southern Pacific GP35 6525, nee Southern Pacific 7413, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1963. We drove Robin to Avery Park where he photographed Georgia Pacific 2-8-2 5 then we made our way to Wren Road and went back to our second visit at the Harris Covered Bridge.

The Harris Covered Bridge built in 1926 which spans the Marys River near Highway 20 in Benton County. It is open to traffic and carries Harris Road across, but the road to the bridge is partially gravel. The bridge is a classic Howe truss design, 137 feet long with a 16.7 feet deck. Its features include a rounded portal, narrow windows below the roof line for natural light, the longitudinal deck planks, the board and batten-style siding and a shingle roof.

Robin, Elizabeth and Chris Parker. We then drove north through Kings Valley to the Ritner Creek Covered Bridge, which was new to all of us.

The bridge as seen from County Road 223.

The more traditional shots of the Ritner Creek Covered Bridge built in 1926 by Hamer and Curry Contractors to Oregon State Highway Commission plans. It is the last covered bridge on a state highway in Oregon and carried Oregon Route 223 over Ritner Creek between Pedee and Kings Valley, about 15 miles south of Dallas, or 10 miles north of the junction with US Route 20 in Wren. The original portal design was rounded at the edges but was changed to a square design in the early 1960s to accommodate larger loads to pass.

The 73 foot long bridge was named for pioneer Sebastian Ritner, who arrived in the area in 1845. In 1974, the bridge was declared structurally unsafe and scheduled for removal. Local residents started a petition to keep the bridge, which became a ballot measure in May 1974. The measure passed and it was moved, replaced by a new highway bridge. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, following nomination by the State Historic Preservation Office due to the fact that while nearly 450 covered bridges existed in Oregon at the time of the bridge's construction, by the mid-1970s fewer than 60 were left in the state.

The bridge history plaque.

The group on the bridge. We returned to Corvallis and stopped at the hotel so I could pick up my memory card for the Three Favorites.

We drove back to Corvallis High School for Winterail and found a parking spot quite easily. We went in, were given our wristbands and then started looking around the swap meet. My first venture this year was to buy Photobob's Espee book and also a Western Maryland Railroad Company timetable dated September 1, 1959 as that would give me the mileage information I needed at this summer's NRHS convention. After browsing the tables, I joined the queue for entry into the theatre and was the third person in line. Elizabeth soon joined me and then at 11:30, the doors were opened.

At noon, Vic Neves showed "Being 40 and 40 In Your Life" as a special bonus feature. Then it was time for the first official show "Apache Railway 100 Years A Survivor" which was excellent. During the break, I bought two more timetables (Red River Valley and Western and a Portland and Western/Willamette and Pacific Railroad System Timetable No. 2), returned to the theatre and checked the door prize list and to my surprise, I had won. I chose Portland and Western Railroad Timetable No. 1. The next show was "A Mountain Railroad - BNSF's Scenic Sub" which was also a wonderful show.

During the lunch break, Elizabeth and I did our customary annual three laps around the track walk, as we did not have time to do the last one without being late for the next show, which was "Southbay Vignettes" or "I Love The Eighties" by Ken Rattene. That was followed by "Country Roads" by Charles Dischinger which featured a good selection of music. The photo contest voting opened and we both voted for our favourites. Back in the theatre, we really enjoyed Keith Ardinger's "Northwest State of Mind". Next it was Tim Tonge's "Colorado's Black and Gold" which was also excellent. He had a good variety of all Rio Grande power plus the Rio Grande Zephyr and Ski Train at the end. The most amusing program of the afternoon was a short entitled "I'm Just Going Home Now - Mexican Rail Misadventure" by Steven Brown, which had the audience laughing as many things happened to him on his trip. It was then time for one of the most interesting parts of the event when people's Three Favourites are shown. There were some oohs and aahs throughout the theatre. This was followed by the dinner break, so Elizabeth and I went to Carl's Jr. before we returned to the room to eat and write this travelogue.

After dinner, we had "Oregon Lumbering Ghosts" by Dave Stanley before the Hall of Fame Award which was given to Wayne Monger this year. The photo contest winners were announced, with Steve Carter winning Black and White Recreational and Hunter Lohse winning Colour Recreational. In the Revenue Black and White category, second place went to William Puhl and first place went to Dale Skyllingstad. In the Revenue Colour category, William Puhl was awarded second place and Hugh Harvey took first place.

The second program of the evening was Dan Scheidell's "Aerial Videography In The West", which was followed by "Autumn 1964 - My Ultimate Railfan Vacation" by Gordon Glattenberg, "Across the Great Basin" by Dick Dorn and "The Second 10" by Ray Lewis. To finish off the evening and the 40th Anniversary Winterail was "Remembering Milwaukee Road's Coast Division - Scenes From A Dying Transcontinental" by Blair Kooistra. The show ended at 9:50 PM and it was one of the best Winterails when it came to quality of programs. All the shows were really well done, very entertaining and we all thoroughly enjoyed them. Plus, it was always good to see all our friends whom we only see once a year when we come up to Winterail. I went to bed for my final night motel sleep in Corvallis.

3/18/2018 We arose, prepared for the day then met at the rental car at 7:00 AM, first for petrol, then onto MacDonald's for breakfast. We drove north on California Highway 99 West, then I remembered the Oregon Electric substation in McCoy so for Chris Parker and Robin, we stopped there, then went McMinnville for its Southern Pacific station, followed by the Southern Pacific Carlton station, now the Ken Wright Cellars Tasting Room Winery. From here, we drove to Banks for something for all of us.

The replica Southern Pacific station in Banks.

A wig-wag crossing signal on display, after which we drove to our next destination on US Highway 26.

In the early 1970s, a friendship forged between two men who loved timber gave birth to something neither could have built alone. Gordon Smith, an Elsie, Oregon logger and passionate collector of old logging machinery, had a dream: a place where the tools, the machines, and the memory of the men who worked Oregon's forests would never be lost.

Maurie Dooly Clark — born into Oregon's logging dynasty, a World War II veteran, and the man who built the largest industrial insurance brokerage in the state — used his connections, resources, and quiet determination to make Gordon's dream a reality at milepost 18 on the Sunset Highway. Today, Camp 18 is a 501(c)3 nonprofit museum, a living monument to the golden age of Pacific Northwest logging. At the heart of Camp 18 stands a memorial building with inner walls bearing over 400 individual copper plaques — each one a name, a face, a life given to the logging industry of the Pacific Northwest.

These men and women felled timber in the fog-soaked forests of the Pacific Northwest — Oregon, Washington, and the great redwood country of Northern California. They ran the rigging, set the chokers, worked the steam donkeys. Many gave their lives doing it. Every plaque represents a family that still grieves, a community that still remembers. The artifacts, tools, and personal belongings displayed throughout the memorial building belonged to the very men and women memorialized on these walls. They are not museum pieces — they are their things, left behind so we would never forget the hands that held them. The memorial grows by approximately 10–15 plaques each year as families come forward. It is never finished. Every logger deserves to be here.

Clark and Wilson Lumber Company wooden caboose, nee Southern Pacific 711, built by the railroad, year unknown.

A railroad logging crane is also on display.

Wilson Lumber Company bay window caboose, nee Spokane, Portland & Seattle 790. It has been converted into restrooms. We then proceeded to Astoria.

Oregon Eastern Railroad wooden caboose 206 on display.

The Spokane, Portand & Seattle station in Astoria, built in 1925.

The Astoria trolley station where service would begin the following weekend.

Empress of the North paddle wheeler.

The Pilot tug boat. From here we drove to St. Helens.

Portland Western GP40-2 3006, ex. Locomotive Leasing Partners 3208, exx. EMD Leasing 205, exxx. Government of Ontario 721, exxxx. Chicago, Rock Island and Pcific 3002, nee Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 375, built by Electro- Motive Division in 1967.

Portland Western GP39-2 2316, ex. Willamette and Pacific 2316, nee Santa Fe 3616, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1974.

St. Helens Northern Pacific station built in 1884 and is home to the South Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. From here we made a beeline to the Amtrak station in Vancouver via the St. John bridge and Interstate 5. At Vancouver, we dropped Elizabeth off then drove to Portland International Airport and turned in the rental car. I breezed through security then waited at Gate C4 for Robin to arrive. When he did, I bought an ice cream sandwich then he and Chris went to get something to eat. Robin and I boarded our flight, Alaska Airlines 5928, for Orange County and I finished my Penguins book over the sea of clouds that finally broke over Malibu. I saw all the channel islands before we landed at John Wayne Airport, said goodbye to Robin then had a perfect pick-up by my mother, before stopping at KFC for dinner to bring home. That ended another excellent Winterail trip.

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