From SAGE to Sutherlin

Blog and Photos by Garrett Fulton
The day was blocked up from top to bottom with appointments James had to make with various groups. It wasn’t a day of adventure, but a day of business.
The SAGE office in Portland was our first stop. It was an immaculate facility which by all appearances could have doubled as a surgical hospital. Out back was inviting greenery where employees could take lunch or just get out and enjoy some fresh air. A few photos and a bit of banter and we were once again on the road in haste.
Pressing on late again to the next appointment we met up with Greg and Kevin who work for DesignR1. The meeting was held in an old fashioned Americana diner the style of which every small town seems to boast. As "Caseys Hot Dog's" has the catering contract at the armory where endless events are held, they boasted scores of autographed photos on the walls from the various musical acts that performed there, from Randy Travis to Rob Zombie and everyone in between. The staff there really had great business sense and went out of the way to be accommodating and hospitable. Their success is well deserved.
Rocketing off yet again, we met up with numerous ACT! consultants at a Shari's restaurant. By now the heat of the day, road chaos and confusion had my head bobbing in my chair as struggled to keep awake. I felt bad that I couldn’t have been more animated or engaging, but the days events had tired me out. Latee was ever so kind and picked up the tab for us. We said our good-byes and hammered down the road for our final stop for the night. The scenery en route to Sutherlin was enjoyable. Doing a night run for the first time on this journey everything looked different. One forest we rode through had thick dark trees that crowded the roadside like ominous green jaws threatening to snap shut on us if we didn’t hurry through. It had an evil fairytale look about the place and I half expected out of the corner of my eye to see a flicker of clothing or a wicker basket as Hanzel and Gretel disappeared in the inky black to encounter the witch.

P.S. No I am not about to plant one on Greg Ferber's nose to Kevin's amusement! JK