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Crater Lake’s Magic
End of May, 2021. My allergies were at their peak. And, we had decided to stay in a quaint little town called Roseburg in central Oregon for our weekend getaway. Roseburg happens to be 70 miles from Eugene, the pollen capital of Northwest US. Let’s just say I had forgotten this little factoid when I booked the hotel for a couple nights, half way between our home and Crater Lake. I had researched allergies at great length and even written about it on Medium. The hotel was 10 mins from Oregon’s biggest Animal Wildlife Safari in Winston (a great place for the kids & adults alike) and only 90 mins from the deepest lake in US. It sounded like a great idea. So, the expectedly unexpected Surprise #1 was the physical assault all the grass pollens made on my respiratory system. Boy, was I miserable, despite all the Allegra and Tylenol pills and wearing a mask round the clock!
But it was all worth it.
It was worth it because of Surprise #2. No sooner did our car start ascending the hilly road that brought us to the magnificent Crater Lake, did my allergies start subsiding. That was the best I had felt in the past 72 hours, or the entire past month really. The air was pure, moist and crisp. The snow from the winter past was still on the ground. Cold Snow, warm Sun, blue Skies, tranquil Water, and breathtaking Scenery were like extra cherries on the top. The setting was magical and something I was not expecting at all. But the best of all, the fresh air, the pollen-free breeze. Muah! I inhaled uninhibitedly for the first time in 3 days.
