Columbia Gorge Inn: 1999

We spent Christmas with our oldest son and his family. Santa went to one of the families that his daughter-in-law befriended--a single mother with two children. It was fun seeing our grandchildren on Christmas morning. After we dressed we went over to our daughter-in-law's parents. My husband was dressed in casual Santa clothing. Her family, including the adults, sat on his lap. Some were very shy. We started for home. The weather was bad in the gorge. We looked for a vacancy sign and saw one. In the loop we turned off on we passed a cheaper hotel and ended up at Columbia Gorge Inn. The rooms were more expensive, but they had one. They gave Santa a discount on the Waterfall Room. It looked out on a waterfall. The Inn usually had their own Santa, but his last day was the 24th and he wasn't there. So we walked around a bit. The grounds were like a fairy land. Santa wanted to work there someday. We decided to go to the dining room for something to eat. We ordered Christmas Goose. I had my back to most of the room. I was not dressed up but did have my hair up in a bun. All of a sudden, someone in the room called out, "We want to know how come Mrs. Santa isn't dressed up?" That opened it up for Santa to talk to the patrons and he took advantage of it. One woman brought a young girl up and said, "She has never believed until now. Santa talked with her. I gave him a post card I had bought. He signed it and gave it to her. After we finished in the dining room we went to our room where he trimmed his beard and I cut his hair. When we left there the next morning, the "virus" had worn off--until next year. But the question would return again. Who was I married to? The man in red, or the man without the virus? It was a puzzlement.

Mrs. Claus