They call it breakfast, I call it a blessing to eat this good food beside the fireplace at the Multnomah Lodge.

Here's an update about the Columbia Gorge Express, in case you saw any of my videos posted on Monday. I've discovered and claim it to be true that if I had dug into their Web site deeply, I would have learned much more which would have most likely have meant that I would not have missed the bus away from the Gateway Transit Center, nor would I have gone too early to wait for the bus back to Gateway from Multnomah Falls. I thank them for their efforts to get me there and back so that I could make magnificent Memorial Day memories!



First memory at Multnomah Falls, this really, really, really (I could go on and on) scrumptious breakfast known on the menu as Trailblazer! Those are supposed to be silver dollar pancakes. Gosh! If silver dollars were that large, we'd all be tickled to have four of them, right? I tell you what, as great as these beauties tasted and as fine as their texture yielded to the fork, they were perfect as is, no need to be a collectable coin. I have not had a pancake since Mother's Day, 2015. These were worth waiting for! I ate only one slice of bacon and about two thirds of the scrambled eggs, both delicious. I ate all of the pancakes and figured out how to count the carbs when I got home to my WiFi.



The view looking across the dining room, looking north. The blue-tinted trees are across the Columbia River in Washington. I couldn't resist taking this candid photo.



I like the look of this lamp in focus with the background out of focus. Do you?



A worker got another log out of a closet in the wall to the right of the fireplace and tossed it onto the fire. In no time it seemed to me the flames grew taller, crackling and popping. Outside the sun shone, but in the shaded by virtue of being the central room on that second floor, the dim lighting allowed me to get this photo that I like.



One of two photos that I took looking out the second floor window outside the restrooms. I wanted you to see the flower beds enclosed in the rock walls and part of the crowd. Believe me, the crowd grew and grew as I hung around enjoying myself for several hours. The crosswalk markings on the road lead to a short footbridge, then to an underpass beneath not only the railroad track but also beneath the eastbound lanes of I-84. The parking lot over there is larger than the one you'll see a portion of in the next photo but still not large enough for the crowds. So, there is a free round-trip shuttle from there to another nearby park at Rooster Rock where there is more parking. The Oregon Department of Transportation runs it. If I were to drive out there--which I won't do because I don't own a car and have no intention of getting a Zipcar to go there--I'd go very early and try to park here at Multnomah Falls.



The second photo that I took from the second floor. You can see for yourself how small the parking lot across the road from Multnomah Falls appears--it's narrow and always full when folks have the chance to get out to the Gorge. I for one am thankful for the new shuttle service, the Columbia Gorge Express, $5 round trip from the Gateway Transit Center in Portland to Multnomah Falls and back. Not without some hiccoughs on its inaugural weekend, nevertheless, I shall use it again later on this summer. I've now been able to learn the ropes through trial and error and will be much better prepared mentally next time. Of course, being open on a weekend that abutted a federal holiday really put a strain on their preparations. That's their plan, to be open Friday through Sunday and federal holidays, May 27-September 25.



The room where I ate, to the right near that closet door. I added some light when I took the photo so that you could actually see the room--it was nicely dim in there.



The next room towards the back of the lodge, bathed in light from those big windows. It has just dawned on me that you probably can see parts of Multnomah Falls from those windows when the trees have lost their leaves. I wonder. Something to check out on my next trip there. Even if there are still leaves on the trees, I can always ask an employee.

I left the restaurant and visited the gift shop before taking my pancake-fueled body outside and towards Multnomah Falls, the real reason that I had made the trip. Next time I'll have two reasons, the falls and the pancakes!